Many businesses contemplate whether they should hire a marketing consultant, hire a marketing agency or hire an employee within the company. There are pros and cons to each one of them.

For example, hiring a large marketing agency can be beneficial as many of your marketing needs can come from one source. On the other hand, many marketing agencies have a lot of over head and therefore the pricing can be pretty expensive.

Hiring an employee can be beneficial as the company can have more control and someone dedicated specifically to work on marketing tasks. A downfall can be that hiring employees and having a payroll is expensive. Especially if this employee is full-time, you may be paying for benefits as well.

Below, we are going to focus on what it would look like to hire a marketing consultant and how that can be beneficial to your bottom line as a business owner.

1. We help your business get found online

How do consumers find you now? Today, people are searching online before taking an action to contact you. Your ideal customers are looking at your online reviews, reading your website content and looking at other directories you might be in to get a feel for who you are and to hear from others’ experiences.

Consumers may also be looking at your competition to see which company may be a better fit for them. As an SEO and an online marketing consultant, we help your ideal customers find you and choose you rather than your competition.

2. Surpass your competition while managing your brand

In small to mid-sized business, often people are wearing many hats to fulfill tasks. Many times, we see founders and CEOs of a business acting as the chief marketer officer (CMO) until the demand for marketing becomes too big for them to manage on their own.

Imagine having the time to focus on running your business while someone else worked in your best interest to manage your  social media, SEO, content and brand management. Having more time on your hands gives you more opportunity to grow your business. Hiring a consultant not only takes a load off of your shoulders, but is also a cost-effective method to keeping up with and analyzing your competitors and managing your brand.

3. As consultants, we help keep your customers engaged

It can be challenging to engage with your current customers and potential ones when you are limited on time. You may find yourself unsure of where to begin as you want to make the time you dedicate to marketing count. So, how do you engage with your customers, keep them interested and show them you’re the right choice for them? You will need strong content and a long-term strategy that encourages engagement and proves to potential customers that you’re the right choice for them.

4. Digital marketing consultants give you a fresh perspective

It’s easy to get lost in your own industry jargon. It’s also easy to think you have the best website and advertising strategy, but how does your website and advertising strategy compare to your competitors? Are your potential customers engaging on your site and taking action to contact you or are they leaving and going to your competitor’s websites? Marketing consultants can give you a fresh, outside perspective on your current marketing efforts and make your dollar count when it comes to marketing.

5. We give your website and brand a “face lift”

There’s no such thing as a perfect website. As marketing specialists, we take our knowledge in user experience, search engine optimization, design, and content optimization to ensure your website looks and functions at its best while monitoring it and making adjustments over time.

We also make decisions not by opinion, but by looking at your analytics and data. It’s important to reinvent your website every few years and make frequent updates to your site. Not only do search engines like fresh content, but so do your consumers.

6. As consultants, we educate you

There is a lot of jargon and buzzwords in the marketing field. Many SEO companies may approach you with these marketing buzzwords and jargon, so if you’re unsure what the words mean — ask.

At Erika Port Consulting Group, we strive to avoid these buzzwords and jargon. Our goal is to educate our clients so they are on the same page with us when it comes to their online marketing and SEO efforts. Additionally, we provide monthly updates of what’s happening in the world of SEO so you can feel confident in the reasons behind our recommendations to improve your online visibility.

7. Digital marketers constantly analyze and monitor your reputation

It’s no secret we live in a “heads down” world with people spending hours each day on their mobile devices and searching for answers to their questions and needs online. Business owners don’t have much control when it comes to what consumers say about their business online.

Today, consumers use social media and other review platforms like Yelp, Google, and Glassdoor to leave reviews about their experience. How are you handling what is being said about your business? Are you aware about what people are saying? Digital marketers and SEOs monitor and analyze how your brand is being mentioned online and work hard to protect your reputation.

8. We are affordable

Think about how much it would cost to hire an in-house social media specialist, SEO, copywriter, advertising executive, PR manager, etc. and invest in HR to recruit, interview, and train them on top of paying salaries and benefits…

Wow, that’s a heck of a lot of money! Wouldn’t you rather pay a fraction of the cost for the same caliber of work? SEO consultants are often independent contractors. Businesses will pay an hourly or monthly fee for consulting services without having to worry about employee benefits, health insurance, training, and other overhead.

9. We stay on top of marketing industry trends

The largest search engine, Google, rolls out approximately 500-600 updates per year. The question is, how many of these updates are affecting your industry and online presence? An experienced SEO will keep you informed of the algorithm updates that can impact your business in a positive or negative way.

10. As consultants, we partner with you

We understand that business owners wear many hats. You may be unsure where to make your dollar count in the marketing world, too. Find a marketing consultant who will advocate for you and your company’s growth online. Find an SEO who won’t try and up-sell you just for the sake of making them more money. Hire a marketing consultant you can trust.

Summary

Hiring a marketing company or specialist will be a decision you feel is best for your company. Do research, interview, and trust your gut intuition. Remember, you have a right to ask questions and you deserve transparency.

We hope we’ve shed some insight to help you make a more confident decision. If you have any questions, we invite you to contact us.

We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comment section below.