Different ways to work with small business marketing consultants
Need support with your small business marketing? Working with a marketing expert can really help you gain clarity on your marketing strategy. But if you can’t afford to hire someone on retainer, how can you benefit from their expertise?
If you’re struggling with your marketing activity, then getting a small business marketing consultant to help give you some clarity is a great way to get some fresh ideas. And if they do their job right, you could also see audience growth, more engagement and sales. But what’s the best way to decide what support you need, and how to work with them?
First, identify your problem
What exactly do you need support with? Are you happy to do your marketing, but you’re lacking in knowledge and confidence? Maybe it’s just that you need some accountability in order to get things done, or you might even just need a fresh perspective from a marketing expert. If you can understand what exactly you need from hiring a marketing expert to support you, it’ll be easier to find the right solution for your budget.
If you feel you need to learn more about marketing, maybe all you need is an online course that can give you marketing basics so you can do your own thing and run with it.
However, if you’re also lacking in confidence, or know that when you’re learning you need a bit of extra support, maybe you need a marketing course that offers tailored support from a small business marketing consultant - this is an easy way to get access to an expert to support you if you have limited funds to invest in your business right now.
Looking for a marketing course
When searching for a marketing course, it’s important to find one that can support you at whatever stage you’re at with your business. Sometimes, marketing courses can be very focused on early stage businesses for example, and spend more time telling you how to set up your socials than how to grow, engage and convert an audience.
Equally, there are a lot of courses or programmes that are heavily tailored to a particular industry or business model. These can be great if your business falls into that category, however the methods they teach you might be very limiting.
You may not be able to either repeat that exactly for your own business without 1:1 support from the course creator, or use it in future if you decide to change your business model or move in a different direction.
How do you learn best?
Another thing to consider is how you learn best as well. Do you need the accountability that comes from a structured programme of lessons, or would you prefer to take the classes at your own pace around your schedule?
Some people learn better in a group environment as they’re not only able to learn for themselves, but also get a sense of achievement from supporting others. Others may find 1:1 support invaluable, however face to face 1:1 from the expert who has created the program can often come at a high price tag.
Group programmes and 1:1 support can be really helpful in providing accountability as well, if that’s something that you know you need in order to develop your small business marketing.
Other ways to work with a marketing consultant
Outside of marketing courses, group programmes or 1:1 coaching, you can also sometimes find small business marketing consultants offering one off 1:1 sessions.
This might seem like a costly option if you look at it as just an hour of time with someone, but if you choose a reputable marketing consultant, you’ll leave the sessions with a clear list of actions and plenty of practical solutions tailored to your current marketing challenge.
If you’re unable to invest in a longer term, high-value piece of training, and one off 1:1 session could be just the thing you need to help get you out of your marketing rut, this is the perfect solution.
However you decide to work with a marketing consultant, know that choosing to invest in yourself and your business is a big step. It can be a tricky decision to make, but seeing that commitment as an investment in your business's future. Plus, you can always look at it from the perspective of how much of your product you need to sell to cover the costs.
Hi I’m Laura! I’m a small business marketing consultant who’s passionate about taking a mindful approach to marketing, and I want to purpose-led business owners thriving.
Wanna work with me? Find out more about my marketing course with a twist here. The Mindful Marketing Toolkit will teach you how to create a marketing plan that is tailored to your business, and your goals.
If that’s not for you, get in touch to see how else we can work together.
