How much should you pay a marketing consultant?
Saw a great Tweet from Trevor Levor this morning, quoting Red Adair “If you think hiring a professional is expensive… try working with an amateur” - it made me smile, and think of practically every new business meeting I’ve ever been to.
So, let’s get it out there, Clear Thought’s day rates are at the higher end in terms of what you can pay for ‘marketing consultants’ – so, when people ask for a day rate, I’m braced for the teeth sucking moment. And, it’s not once that I’ve heard people comment that a day of my time costs them more than their accountant. I know that we deliver exceptional value for money because we are very good at what we do – and that’s making marketing pay.
But, as the owner of a small business I also know that when looking at day rate next to day rate, that it is hard to choose the seemingly more expensive option.
So, what is the going rate for a marketing consultant?
And, what do you get for your money?
So, typically when a small business is looking for a marketing consultant, it is because they need more leads, need to convert more leads, or need to increase customer loyalty. There are a number of people who will say that they can help you with these things. Below are the most common experts that a business will turn to for help of this kind. We’re based In Bristol, so we can give you a reasonable run-down of rates in the South West. It goes something like this:
Management consultant from a big firm: Upwards of £2,000 per day. Typically, a management consultant will have trained with their firm, have a decent degree, and will have delivered a range of projects for similar businesses. They will have access to a wealth of resources (research, etc.) and discipline specialists in their firm. However, they have rarely been in your position, or actually managed a marketing budget for themselves.
One-to-one business coaching: About £2,000 per month for about a day over the month, for the decent franchise coaching companies (e.g. Shirlaws, ActionCoach, etc.). A business coach will usually have a decent CV behind them, probably with a senior job or two under their belts. They will be working to tried and tested techniques, usually a particular methodology that they apply to all their clients to a varying degree.
Decent agency strategic planner: circa £1,500 per day. If a marketing agency has a strategic planning team, you are likely to work with a planner on things like preparing your marketing brief, planning your activity, etc. These people have typically worked their way up through account management in an agency. They will have seen a number of clients of your kind, but won’t have sat in your seat.
Freelance marketing consultants: Ok, so this is where you get a real range of people… all broadly called ‘marketing consultants’. They will range from £200 to £1,000 per day. The way I would break this down is:
- Marketing Direction – the strategy: you should be paying £500-£1,000 per day for this, and you’re looking for at least:
- 10+ years experience.
- CIM marketing diploma at the very least, ideally MBA or similar.
- Experience of running a marketing budget of more than £500k.
- Ideally they will have reported directly to an MD with responsibility for marketing.
- They should have experience of working with a range of agenices – PR, digital, design, etc. – even better if they’ve seen both sides of that desk.
- They should demonstrate an excellent understanding of marketing process and measurement right through to profit.
- Marketing Management – making it happen: you should pay £250-£500 for this, and you’re looking for at least:
- 5+ years experience.
- CIM marketing diploma if poss, or equivalent experience.
- Experience of putting together integrated execution plans, turning the strategy above into an action plan.
- Proven project managers with examples of scheduling, cost-control, etc.
- Proven ability to manage third-party suppliers and an excellent network of them to call on.
- Relevant discipline experience, e.g. direct mail, web development, events print, etc.
- Ability to report on campaign success, key metrics, etc.
- Marketing Execution – the daily grind: you should pay £150-£300 per day for this:
- 1+ years experience.
- Graduate level, intelligent, IT literate.
- These people will do stuff like update your website, proof read your copy, etc.
The people above are marketing generalists – they are the sorts of people you would have in a client-side marketing team. You will also need to use specialists, like telesales teams, designers, copywriters, web developers, SEO experts, etc. And, your marketing consultant should help you to identify the specialists that you need, and (crucially) get the most from them.
How do you know which kind of marketing consultant your small business needs?
The first thing to establish is what you’re trying to achieve, and how much you already know. If you have your plan, but just need some help getting it out the door, there are a range of low cost options. If however, you’re not really sure how to approach the whole thing, you’re going to need some heavy-weight support. Check out ’10 signs that you need strategic marketing advice’ for pointers on this.
Where most small businesses get their fingers burned is in getting a consultant who is great at marketing management to try to give them strategic advice, or in getting a smart young graduate to deliver their marketing plan. In both circumstances, you’re likely to waste money, become very frustrated, or even seriously damage your business. A good marketing manager might have a go at strategy only to send you off in the wrong direction, missing market opportunities. They might produce a brilliant campaign – but are you targeting the right people? And, the smart grad? If you’re getting someone to do things for you for the first time, you are necessarily elongating the process – it may cost you more in terms of day rate to get an experienced pair of hands – but it is likely to get delivered more quickly and with fewer costly mistakes on the way.
Some key questions to ask before you appoint a marketing consultant:
In addition to checking out their previous work (ideally by picking up the phone to a client), here are some other things to think about before you engage a marketing consultant of any kind. There are loads more, but this will get you started.
- Do they have professional indemnity insurance?
- Are they a member of any professional bodies?
- How to they keep their knowledge up to date?
- Do they include online project management tools in their costs?
- Do they have access to market research, best practice guides, etc?
- Will they transfer the skills to you as they go or will you need to go back to them each time?
- Do they have a decent network of experts on which to draw? Their black book is part of what you’re paying for.
- Do they have legally sound terms of business?
Oh, and the accountant comparison… does your accountant fundamentally shape your business? Does the fee you pay your lawyer have the potential to generate leads day-in, day-out for the next year? Marketing is fundamental to your success. I’m not denigrating the skill and professionalism of accountants and lawyers, they are crucial to your business – what I’m urging you to do is to think as carefully about the marketing consultant you use because getting it wrong can be the difference between having a business and not having a business. In my experience, if you buy cheap, you buy twice.
By Bryony Thomas | Chief Clear Thinker | Clear Thought Consulting Ltd | @bryonythomas | www.clear-thought.co.uk
If this article is of interest to you, you may also like to view:
- Offer: Half day marketing audit
- Blog: 10 signs that you need strategic marketing advice
- Blog: Coordination = colours, Integration means business
- 3 minute video: Gradwell 12 month transformation
Clear Thought Consulting works with small businesses, equipping them with the marketing strategies, suppliers, skills and set-up that they need to become bigger businesses. We do this by planning and delivering 12-month marketing transformation programmes – supporting a small business through a step-by-step process to making marketing pay. We firmly believe that when you can’t out-spend your competition, you have to out-think them.
Published on 7 July 2010
