How to Choose a Marketing Consultant (And What to Avoid)
I’m going to write an article about hiring a marketing consultant that’s honest, even though I am one. Because the marketing consulting industry has a problem: there are brilliant consultants who transform businesses, and there are charismatic salespeople who deliver PowerPoint presentations and disappear.
The difference between the two can cost you tens of thousands of pounds. Here’s how to tell them apart.
When Do You Need a Marketing Consultant?
Not every business needs one. You might need a marketing consultant if:
- You’re spending money on marketing but can’t see the return — and you don’t know why
- You don’t have a marketing strategy — just a collection of random activities
- Growth has stalled and your current approach isn’t working
- You’re about to make a big marketing investment (new website, rebrand, ad campaign) and want expert input before committing
- You need senior marketing expertise but can’t justify a full-time marketing director
You probably don’t need a consultant if:
- You know exactly what needs doing and just need someone to execute it (hire a freelancer or agency)
- Your budget is under £500/month total (invest in learning, not consulting)
- You’re looking for someone to “do your social media” (that’s a social media manager, not a consultant)
Consultant vs Agency vs Freelancer: What’s the Difference?
Marketing consultant: Advises on strategy, audits your current marketing, identifies opportunities, and creates action plans. May or may not handle execution.
Marketing agency: Executes marketing activities (ad management, SEO, content creation, design). Usually works on retainer for ongoing services.
Freelancer: Specialist in one area (copywriting, PPC, design). Executes specific tasks.
What most small businesses actually need: A consultant who can also connect strategy to execution — either doing the work themselves, managing freelancers, or directing your team. Pure “strategy only” consultants who hand you a 50-page document and walk away are rarely useful for SMEs.
What to Look For
Real-World Experience
The most important thing a marketing consultant brings is experience they’ve earned doing the actual work. Not studying it. Not reading about it. Doing it.
Ask:
- “What businesses similar to mine have you worked with?”
- “What results did you achieve? Can you give me specific numbers?”
- “What did you do when something didn’t work?”
A good consultant will have specific answers with real numbers. A mediocre one will give you theory and generalisations.
They Understand Your Business Size
This is critical. A consultant whose experience is all with enterprise corporations won’t understand the constraints of a 10-person business. The strategies that work for Unilever don’t work for a regional service company.
Look for: Experience specifically with SMEs. Understanding of budget constraints. Recommendations that are proportionate to your size.
Red flag: Recommending tools and approaches that cost more than your entire marketing budget.
They Measure Everything
Good consultants are obsessed with measurement. They want to know what’s working, what isn’t, and what the numbers say.
Look for:
- They ask about your current tracking and analytics setup early in the conversation
- They talk about KPIs, ROI, and cost per lead (not just “brand awareness” and “engagement”)
- They commit to measurable outcomes, not vague promises
- They can explain how they’ll measure marketing ROI for the work they do
Red flag: A consultant who talks about “strategy” and “brand” but can’t tell you how they’ll measure whether it’s working.
They’re Honest About What They Don’t Know
Nobody is an expert in everything. A consultant who claims they’re equally brilliant at SEO, PPC, social media, content, email, design, PR, and events is lying. Or they’re a generalist who’s not particularly good at any of them.
Look for: Specialists who are honest about their strengths and weaknesses. Consultants who bring in other experts (or recommend them) for areas outside their core competency.
Red flag: “Yes, we do everything” with no specialists anywhere in sight.
They Challenge You
A consultant who agrees with everything you say isn’t a consultant — they’re a yes-person. You’re paying for expert opinion, and sometimes that opinion should be uncomfortable.
Look for: Someone who’ll tell you “that won’t work” and explain why. Someone who pushes back on bad ideas respectfully. Someone who makes recommendations based on evidence, not what you want to hear.
Red flag: They agree with everything in the sales meeting and only tell you what you want to hear.
Red Flags: Walk Away If You See These
”We guarantee page 1 on Google”
Nobody can guarantee Google rankings. Nobody. If they promise this, they either don’t understand how search engines work or they’re being dishonest. Neither is good.
Long lock-in contracts
A 12-month minimum contract with a consultant you’ve never worked with is a massive red flag. Good consultants keep clients because they deliver results, not because of contractual obligations.
What’s reasonable: Month-to-month retainers, or 3-month initial periods with monthly thereafter. You should be able to leave if it’s not working.
No clear deliverables
“We’ll work on your marketing strategy” isn’t a deliverable. What exactly will you receive? When? In what format? What will it enable you to do?
What’s reasonable: “Month 1: Marketing audit and strategy document. Month 2: Campaign setup and launch for Google Ads and SEO. Month 3: Optimisation, reporting, and recommendations for Q2.”
They won’t share case studies or references
A good consultant has happy clients. Those clients should be willing to vouch for them (at least informally). If a consultant can’t provide any evidence of past results, ask yourself why.
They talk in jargon
Using jargon is often a way to avoid saying anything meaningful. “We’ll leverage synergistic multi-channel touchpoints to drive paradigm-shifting engagement metrics” means absolutely nothing.
A good consultant explains things in plain English. If they can’t explain their strategy to you simply, they either don’t understand it themselves or they’re trying to sound cleverer than they are.
They don’t ask about your business
If the first meeting is 45 minutes of them talking and 5 minutes of questions, that’s a problem. A good consultant spends the first meeting almost entirely asking questions and listening. They need to understand your business before they can recommend anything useful.
How to Structure the Relationship
Start with a Defined Project
Don’t commit to a large ongoing retainer before you’ve tested the relationship. Start with a specific, bounded project:
- A marketing audit
- A strategy day or workshop
- A campaign setup with clear KPIs
This lets both sides evaluate the fit before committing to more.
Agree on Reporting and Communication
Before you start, agree:
- How often will you meet? (Monthly at minimum, fortnightly for active campaigns)
- What reporting will you receive? (Dashboard, email summary, formal report)
- What KPIs are you tracking? (Write these down. Both parties should reference them.)
- Who’s the main point of contact? (Avoid the agency trap where you deal with junior account managers instead of the expert who sold you)
Define “Success” Before You Start
What does a successful engagement look like in 3 months? 6 months? 12 months? Write it down. Review it together. If you can’t agree on what success looks like, you’re setting up for disappointment.
What Should It Cost?
Marketing consultants in the UK typically charge:
- Day rate: £500-£1,500/day (depending on seniority and specialism)
- Monthly retainer: £1,000-£5,000/month (depending on scope)
- Project-based: Varies hugely — a strategy document might be £2,000-£5,000, a marketing audit £500-£1,500
Be wary of anyone significantly below these ranges. If someone offers a comprehensive marketing strategy for £200, you’ll get what you pay for.
Also be wary of anyone who won’t discuss pricing early. If you have to sit through a 90-minute sales presentation before you learn what it costs, that’s a red flag in itself.
The Questions to Ask Before Hiring
Copy this list and use it in your initial conversations:
- What experience do you have with businesses my size and sector?
- Can you show me specific results from similar businesses?
- What does the first month look like, specifically?
- How do you measure success? What KPIs would you recommend?
- What’s your minimum engagement? Can I start with a small project?
- Who will I actually be working with? (Important for agencies)
- What don’t you do well? (Test their honesty)
- How often will we communicate, and in what format?
- What do you need from me to be effective?
- Can I speak to a current or past client?
The answers to these questions will tell you almost everything you need to know.
Looking for a Marketing Consultant Who Actually Delivers?
At Black Sheep Marketing, we practise everything in this article. We start with a marketing audit, we measure everything, we explain things in plain English, and we don’t lock you into contracts.
If you’re looking for honest, practical marketing advice from someone who’s spent 20 years in the trenches — not in a lecture hall — let’s talk.
