Does Your Business Need a Marketing Consultant?
Have a booming business with more clients than you could ever possibly service, then stop reading right now – this article isn’t for you.
I’m assuming that since you’re still with me, you’re not currently swimming in more money that you could spend in a lifetime. So let’s talk about how to get more customers in the door.
When it comes to being a business owner, most business owners are pretty proficient at whatever it is the business does. If you own a landscaping business, you’re probably a pretty descent landscaper. If have a roofing service, you probably are pretty good at roofing a house.
But being a business owner does not make you a defacto expert in marketing a business. In fact, many business owners are downright lowsy at it.
That’s Why I generally recommend hiring a marketing consultant. Just like that plumber being good at doing plumbing, a marketing consultant is usually a pretty damn good marketer and can quickly see ways for your business to make more money.
The key here is to hire an *independent* marketing consultant. The guy who calls you up to sell you space in the yellow pages – not a marketing consultant (those people are called salesmen, a noble profession, but not the same thing). Same goes for the cable company rep that wants you to buy a 30 second commercial – salesman, not consultant.
Find a consultant who isn’t tied to any one strategy and they’ll be able to see where the opportunities are for your business. For example, instead of telling you to purchase more advertising on the radio, they can help you rework the campaign to be more effective.
Another example would be the Internet and local business owners are some of the worst offenders here at make *terrible* websites. Oh, and just because you have a good looking and aesthetically pleasing website doesn’t mean yours is good. Instead, the real litmus test is if the website actually brings in paying customers.
Again, a good marketing consultant can look at your site and how it ranks in the search engines and develop a strategy to make it far more effective.