When is the RIGHT Time to hire a Marketing Strategist?

Would you pursue a law degree, simply because your business needed help writing up a few contracts?

No you wouldn't!, you would enlist the help of a lawyer!

So why do companies, leave their sales and marketing function up in the air, knowing that their internal staff may be limited in certain areas.

There are a number of benefits of hiring a freelance marketing strategist.

Typically, salaries constitutes the single largest expense in many businesses. However, many small and medium companies just don’t have the resources to take on a new employee for their marketing initiatives or strategy.

But therein lies the benefit of hiring an independent marketing consultant or freelancer! Your business will be able to get critical work done, while allowing for the increases and decreases that come with market conditions and the demand for hiring talent.

Marketing consultants, independent strategists, contractors and freelancers are usually ready to start a project on day one, with no training required. 

And most marketing consultants have been fine tuning their craft for years, giving you experience gained from a number of industries and diverse organisations.

So how do you know your business is ready for an independent marketing strategist?

1. There is too much internal politics 

Ah yes! The office politics.....smhlotics .

We know It’s true!

We find it especially in family run businesses and in organizations with toxic work culture.

 Many times, from C-Suite executives right down to middle management, every one seems to know your business better than the next person—but that exact familiarity can be a weakness to growth.

A marketing consultant can help you stay laser-focused here, rather than drifting off into the day to day activities.

A marketing consultant can help design a strategy, set the turnaround period for the tasks, and can also help you to monitor everything to make sure that things fall into place.

2. Business isn’t booming

It's not uncommon for businesses to go through valleys. But if you are finding it hell to navigate out of those pit falls, you may want to consider external help.

Are you losing market share?

Are there growing competitors?

Are customers complaining about your service?

A marketing consultant or strategist is best equipped to help you deal with these challenges and many others. A marketing strategist is there to help you formulate the right strategies and initiatives that can bring in more customers during “famine periods".

3. You need a more modern approach to your communication

Staying up-to-date with a range of techniques and tips is part of the territory when it comes to marketing consulting. 

A marketing consultant will work with you to ensure that your branding is distinctive and is in line with what matters to your target market.

Marketing is about positioning your business so that it is unique when compared to your competition and ensuring that you are communicating that difference to your prospects and customers.

Need help with your marketing?

We have designed a number of offerings to suit your business needs. Here's how we help with a fully integrated approach:

*Training, Coaching & Development in Sales & Marketing

* Strategic Marketing Plans

*Personal Branding Training for Entrepreneurs & Executives

* Marketing Audits

*Competitive Analysis

*Speaker and Workshop Facilitation

*Social Media Strategy and Management

*Website Development & SEO

*Paid search and online advertising

*Branding, logos and graphic design

*Content development (blog posts, whitepapers, e-books, sales sheets, email marketing)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The Stammering Communicator

Debbie-Ann Jollie is a Marketing Strategist and Business Development Consultant with more than 15 years experience combining sales, marketing and branding strategies for corporate clients and first-time entrepreneurs that help grow their businesses. In her not so spare time, she enjoys her friends and family, sipping on Jack Daniel's Honey ('cause vodka gives her a headache) and taking naps on Sundays.