TechKnowmad
Many marketers feel that the only way to attain success in the office is to work as a full-time employee and climb the corporate ladder. People often overlook the fact that they have another option: becoming a self-employed marketing consultant.
Because there are so many different digital marketing career paths to choose from, there is a growing demand for qualified individuals. Aside from that, the market for independent consultants is growing, in part because some businesses are hesitant to invest in pricey huge marketing or advertising organizations, preferring instead to invest in a single expert who can train their current internal team instead (s).
The management consulting sector is valued $250 billion, with hotspots in the United Kingdom and the United States. Aside from that, the job growth rate for management consultants and analysts is projected to be 14 percent by 2022, which is faster than the projected growth rate for all other occupations.
Of course, self-employment is not for everyone; as with every job, there are advantages and disadvantages. Continue reading to learn more about becoming a marketing consultant and assess if it is the ideal career choice for you.
Table of Contents
What is the role of a marketing consultant?
The role of a marketing consultant varies from company to company and project to project, but it often include advising businesses on the most effective ways to attract, engage, and convert customers.
Marketing consultants can provide a variety of services, including the following:
- Providing feedback on current marketing initiatives and giving recommendations for improvements
- Assisting in the development, planning, and implementation of digital marketing strategies across several channels
- Educating other marketers on optimal marketing methods and technological advancements
- Provide workflow optimization solutions or innovative techniques of reaching and converting customers.
- Analytical tools are used to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
An important benefit of hiring a digital marketing consultant is that they can provide unbiased advise and ideas to help a company’s marketing operations succeed. The person who fills this position should have advanced knowledge of digital marketing and be able to provide advice on a variety of critical areas such as paid media, SEO, analytics, optimization, social media strategy, and automation, among others.
As reported by Credo’s research, the typical digital marketing consultant earns $147.67 per hour, with the rate increasing dependent on the number of years of expertise they have in the sector.
What Are the Requirements for a Successful Marketing Consultant?
Taking the necessary steps to become a successful marketing consultant is essential if you want to achieve your goals. These milestones involve showing your abilities through the completion of an industry-recognized certification, gaining relevant work experience, and developing a professional network and client base.
For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of the qualifications and skills you’ll need in order to get you started:
- A bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or communications is preferred (or an MBA with a focus on marketing, if possible)
- A strong portfolio that displays your history of marketing actions and successes is essential.
- Years of proven experience as a full-time marketer with a strong understanding of digital technology and strategies.
- A unique niche expertise or extensive experience working across multiple industries are both desirable.
- Copywriting and communication abilities that are second to none
- Marketing knowledge in a wide range of fields is available (social media, content, SEO, lead generation, PPC, etc.)
- Marketing automation expertise gained through the use of software such as Marketo, HubSpot, Eloqua, Pardot, or another top software provider
- You should be confident in your abilities and prepared to defend your work.
- Excel, PowerPoint, Salesforce, and Microsoft Office proficiency are required.
- An grasp of the difference between strategy and tactic (a strategy is a plan of action with a goal, while a tactic is a specific action that is part of implementing the strategy)
- Soft abilities such as persuasion, adaptability, and creativity, among others, are essential.
- Leadership abilities, professionalism, and a positive attitude are required.
- The ability to listen and empathize with others
If you possess all of these abilities (or have a plan to develop them), you are well on your way to being a successful marketing consulting professional.
Establish Your Reputation
Following your realization of your skill requirements, there are various activities you may do to further solidify your job success.
Make a Name for Yourself.
If you are unable to establish trust, you will have difficulty obtaining the clients you desire (or any clients at all). A strong LinkedIn profile that includes recommendations as well as website testimonials can aid in the development of your reputation and the creation of trust. There are three things a client requires in order to place their trust in you: the knowledge that you will deliver on your promises; the belief that you are worth your money; and the assurance that you will respond to their inquiries in a clear and timely manner.
Develop an understanding of how marketing influences the behavior of companies.
The goal of many businesses is to establish a long-lasting brand that customers can rely on in order to develop their customer base and maximize earnings. Marketing experts sometimes make the error of focusing simply on revenue and failing to take into account the perception of a company’s brand. For example, a half-price deal may temporarily improve sales for a client while simultaneously increasing their profit margin. However, if the client has spent years cultivating a luxury image, this could be detrimental to the brand’s long-term growth.
Become Indispensable
Finding work as a consultant can be tough when you initially begin your career. You’ll need to devote a significant amount of time to developing your personal brand and obtaining references. But if you stick with it, you will start to notice more return customers and referrals. Receiving recurring business demonstrates your dependability and ability to accomplish success. When you begin to study everything there is to know about your client’s company and industry, you begin to establish yourself as someone who is tough to replace in the future. Experiential learning takes time, and once you have gained expertise, it is priceless.
When it comes to digital transformation across industries, consider analyzing your competence to decide which subjects you are interested in, what you already know, and how you can improve your performance. Then you may utilize that knowledge to gain clients in industries that you believe are a good match for your abilities.
Learn, Learn & Keep Learning
After acquiring a marketing degree or obtaining specialised qualifications, the most successful consultants continue their education. They are always learning and honing their skills in order to keep up with the latest marketing best practices and technologies and to keep their clients up to date. Marketing is constantly changing, and it’s critical to stay on top of the latest trends in order to deliver the greatest advice and recommendations to clients and prospects.
Set the Right Price for Your Services
Knowing what you’re worth is essential, so do your research before deciding on a rate. What is a simple formula that anybody can use to fix a price?
Start from the bottom of your income statement and work your way up to the top to reach your bottom line (i.e. the fees that you will charge). Daily Fee Revenue equals Profit + Overhead. Labor-wise, if you expect to earn a $150,000 annual wage and work 260 days per year (365 days minus Sundays, a few Saturdays, holidays, and two weeks’ vacation), you’ll need to earn $577 per day before overhead costs in order to live comfortably.
Once you’ve determined what kind of revenue you want to achieve, you’ll need to figure out what your overhead costs will be. In addition to recurrent expenses connected with running your business, overheads include items such as petrol, internet service fees, phone bills, mail, and equipment. To figure out how many working days you have in a year, multiply your annual overhead fees by the number of working days in a year. This would amount to approximately $39 dollars in overhead per day over the course of 260 days.
Once you have these figures, you can re-enter them into the calculation to receive a total of $616 per day, or $77 per hour for an eight-hour day. Make any necessary adjustments.
Check out our digital marketing salary guide to discover what other marketers in the business are making.
Do Thorough Research on Each Client
There are various measures you should take before beginning a project with a new customer to verify that you have done your due diligence. These include:
- Create Google Alerts for your customer and its competitors so that you may stay on top of all the newest news connected to the keywords you specify. Discover the steps involved in conducting keyword research by looking at this infographic.
- Understand the fundamental financial information about your client. The total revenue, gross profit, and market capitalization are some of the most important figures.
- Become acquainted with the CEO and other members of the senior management team. Even if all else fails, look through LinkedIn and memorize as many names and positions as you possibly can.
- Find out who the client’s rivals are. Conduct market research to identify the client’s top 5-10 competitors, their relative sizes, main products and services, as well as their strengths and shortcomings, and then present your findings. Check in on this information on a regular basis to ensure that it is accurate.
Don’t be Afraid to Ask Good Questions
If you sometimes have the impression that you are working as a consultant for Sherlock Holmes, you are on the correct route! Questions assist you better grasp the needs of the client and the tasks you’re responsible for. Never be scared to seek clarification; it is always preferable to do a thing incorrectly than to leave it unfinished.
Set up Online Promotional Channels
Even if you begin to receive repeat business and referrals, you must continue to market your company to others. Create a beautiful website with WordPress or another platform that exhibits your portfolio and provides information about your company and your experience to potential clients.
When it comes to social media, choose the sites that will best represent your company. In addition to maintaining touch with contacts and marketing your expertise on Twitter, you may also wish to display visual work on Instagram or choose the optimum times to post on TikTok in addition to maintaining contact with contacts and promoting your experience on Twitter.
You might also think about starting a blog to express your point of view, or applying to be a guest blogger on a well-established website. Conferences are also excellent opportunities for networking and exchanging ideas. Both approaches can provide you with a significant amount of credibility, as well as audio and video snippets that you can post on your website. Remember to keep it on the ‘high level’. Don’t spend too much time talking about your own services; instead, concentrate on what’s going on in the business.
Maintaining current knowledge of the most recent marketing best practices is the first step toward becoming your own boss as a marketing consultant and escaping the confines of the cubicle for good. Browse through our choice of digital marketing courses to pick the one that is the greatest fit for your specific requirements.
Digital Marketing Certification: Become an In-Demand Consultant
With an up-to-date digital marketing certification, you can improve your digital marketing skills and boost your career in the field. After a brief introduction to the foundations of digital marketing, the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing delves into specific areas such as pay-per-click advertising (PPC), email marketing, website optimization (PPC), Google analytics, and strategy. Put your professional life on the right track right now!