Why use a Consultant?

Brand Development

As marketing relies more on technology and data, there is a need for businesses to keep testing and adjusting their marketing strategies. This is an area most businesses struggle to keep up with. In most cases, companies look for outside help to scale up their marketing services. However, most businesses aren’t sure which option offers more value to their bottom line, finding it difficult to choose between an agency and a marketing consultant.

Agency or Consultant

While a marketing consulting firm and marketing agency may appear to be the same thing, there is a big difference between the two. We want to help you to understand how these two partners approach problem solving and engage with clients so that you can determine the right fit for your needs. With the constantly evolving technology and marketing strategies, you need a partner who can help you navigate through new business environments and seize opportunities. So, what is the difference between consulting and marketing agency?

A Different Approach to Problem-Solving

One of the easiest ways to know the difference between an agency and consultant is how they approach problem-solving. Marketing agencies provide you with talented staff to help you with your marketing efforts. Marketing consultancies, on the other hand, focus on designing strategies, tools, and improving customer relationships in order to deliver on the marketing goals. This may also include identifying the strategies and providing staff and tools to deliver on the objectives. In most cases, marketing consultants are paid to share their expertise and offer solutions to a problem, while agencies provide manpower. The differences between the two lie in development and execution.

Knowledge Versus Capability

Which is more valuable to your business, experience or talent?  In some cases a hammer is all you need, other times the building instructions are required.  While marketing agencies provide talented professionals, you must manage their activities.  The agency won’t perform critical thinking.  Instead, your organization provides framework and strategies to the agency for implementation.  Meanwhile, consultancies provide experience, define solutions and create strategies.
Agency staff can be changed if they are under-performing and additional resources can be shifted based on project needs.   Sometimes, an extra set of hands might be exactly what you need.  However, what you save hiring an agency may be lost in time and resources.  The consultancy brings expertise, developing marketing goals and a plan to achieve those goals, so the client gets the most out of their investment.

Leveraging Resources

A consultant can easily hire an agency when additional capability is required.  An agency may have a consultancy they prefer to work for, but is unlikely to recognize the need to create or revise high level goals and overarching strategies.
The consultant’s main goal is to solve your most stressful marketing challenges, their compensation isn’t tied to the advice they provide.  In most cases, marketing agencies have limited backup or delivery support in case they encounter an issue that is beyond their capacity.  The consultant however, can utilize external resources if they need help in delivering on the objectives.  Agencies are most likely to solve their challenges based on internal capability or their own high-salaried staff, rather than finding the most cost-effective way to deliver solutions.
The flexibility provided by the consultant gives clients the freedom to adjust their marketing budget, improving ROI.

Integration with Staff and Stakeholders

A consultant establishes a strong relationship and works closely with their client. They are interested in a long-term partnership, supporting and integrating with your staff and focusing on collaboration to develop strategies that improve your customer’s experience.  Leveraging expertise, a good consultant generates solutions that can be adopted by everyone in your organization.
An agency provides service upon request, potentially missing the opportunity to engage with and integrate with your organization.  This relationship precludes the advantage of being able to design systems and solutions that work for and within your business, reacting to problems rather than pro-actively avoiding them.

The Glenmont Advantage

The success of our clients is what defines our success. Our mission is rooted in increasing satisfaction and experience. As a strategic marketing consulting firm, our full-stack marketing services are designed to improve brand visibility, marketing operations, sales, and digital presence for our clients.  Our expertise will help you develop a strong brand and a digital strategy to align messaging and boost your online presence.  This way, we are able to offer effective solutions to our clients’ problems.

Discover more on how a marketing consultant can improve your business and take you to the next level with Glenmont Consulting. Learn more about us, our services and how we can help your business with your marketing needs by calling us at +1 973-571-3179.