5 Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Marketing Consultant
Do you want to elevate your marketing, but have no idea where to begin? Are you looking to bring in a marketing or branding consultant to help you decide what to do next?
Do you even know what you need? Perhaps you think you need a refreshed logo when you may actually need an entirely new positioning and messaging approach? Do you need an entirely new website or just a cosmetic refresh to update your copy and identity?
Insights and recommendations from a marketing and branding expert can save you time and headache and take your business to the next level. In this post, we’ll go through what you should look for and which questions you should ask when hiring a consultant for your home industry or interior design marketing.
Why marketing strategy guides everything
The good news and bad news is that we have many different options these days when it comes to marketing your business both online and offline. An increasing number of consumers do research online when deciding which interior designer or home industry company to work with, and when you’re the brand they have a great experience with, you’re more likely to be tapped for the job.
Marketing strategy helps you get the right message to the right people, and a seasoned marketer can save you hours of headache and thousands of dollars along the way. But not all marketing companies are created equal.
Usually, a big marketing agency will want to do all of your marketing for you, which can get real expensive real quick. You know that you or someone on your team could handle simple marketing tasks like social media and email newsletters, but your missing puzzle pieces are things like:
Knowing WHERE should you be focusing your time and energy online
Feeling confident about WHAT to post or write next
Gaining clarity around WHO you are trying to reach and HOW to reach them
And – most importantly –
WHY this strategy is the best next step for you.
An established marketing professional will know the answers to these questions.
Sometimes it makes sense to engage an agency to support you with a structured engagement—like a retainer for 3-6 months to get your foundational marketing solidly embedded within your business—and then follow up with monthly strategy calls to support your growth.
And sometimes you may just need a short contract period to support you with a brand refresh or targeted marketing campaign.
To help discern who you should work with, here are 5 questions you’ll want to ask someone before contracting their services for your marketing strategy.
Question #1: What experience do you have within my particular industry?
Is this marketing professional someone that knows the ins and outs of your unique industry? Or are they trying to be the Amazon of consultants, offering everything to everyone? Whenever possible, look for someone who is a subject matter expert within your particular industry.
Remember, marketing is strategy; ensure your consultant understands the implications of their recommendations and how to guide you to success.
Question #2: How long have you been doing this?
Did this person become a consultant ten minutes ago? Or have they rolled with the punches for years? Even if someone is newer to freelancing or offering consulting services, what you want to look for here is evidence that this person knows how to take care of you—the client—from start to finish.
Look for evidence that this person is an experienced business owner, operating at the level of service and quality your clients expect from you.
Question #3: What will happen in the first 15, 30, and 45 days of our time together?
Does this person trying to take your money have a plan? Or will they call out suggestions on the fly and then expect you to figure it all out yourself? Scan for a plan on how the two of you will be working together.
Good consultants follow a framework, program, or series of steps to help their clients get results. Every client’s business is certainly unique, but knowing that this person or company has a proven system they follow to get you results builds up major confidence points. Don’t be afraid to be persistent on this.
Question #4: What are some of the results past clients have had based on your work?
Client rosters are understandably confidential, but a consultant should be able to illustrate for you the results previous clients have gotten from the consulting experience.
With this question, you’re looking to examine realistic outcomes that come from working with this person. The goals and objectives a consultant advises can sometimes be aspirational or pie-in-the-sky, which is great – we wanna aim big! – but we also want to see how these objectives actually played out with past clients. Ask for referrals or testimonials if you don’t see them on their site or socials.
Question #5": What assets will I walk away with at the end of our time together?
If you’re investing money and time in someone who will help you with strategy, you want to walk away with a plan that you can refer back to for weeks and months to come.
Ask potential consultants what assets or takeaways you will get after your time together. Do you receive a written recap of the strategy? Recordings of the Zoom calls? It’s pretty easy these days for a service provider to produce these resources for you, and having them as points of reference will help you cement the recommendations they made and start taking action.
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Sometimes, you don’t need a whole firm to come in and flip your marketing upside-down to get results. A few sessions with a skilled consultant who knows the industry will not only give you technical direction, but also re-inspire you to make marketing and visibility a priority for your firm.
In review, the 5 questions to ask at the bare minimum are:
What experience do you have within my particular industry?
How long has your business been in operation?
What will happen in the first 15, 30, and 45 days of our time together?
What are some of the results past clients have had based on your work?
What assets will I walk away with at the end of our time together?
Get the help you need to dial in your strategy first and often the operational steps will fall into place from there.
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*About the author
Ericka Saurit (enchanté in case we haven’t met! 👋) is a designer and brand strategist, obsessed with how our built environment shapes the human experience.
Through this blog and her popular newsletter, she shares stories and insights about marketing, branding, and the home industry’s creative pulse.
*My hope is to spark ideas that help you grow your business and build a brand that truly shines.✨
