In the entrepreneurial world of a digital marketing agency, people use the terms consultants and coaches as if they are interchangeable. However, the roles and expectations can be very different. Many small-business owners don’t know there is a difference, and therefore aren’t able to make the most informed decision when it comes to bringing on someone to assist with their marketing. To help, we break down the differences here.
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Why Are Marketing Coaches and Marketing Consultants Often Mixed Up?
Short answer: because there are many similarities between the two.
- Both probably have formal marketing qualifications.
- Both will begin by looking at your goals.
- Working with either should reveal possibilities you weren’t aware of.
- Neither will take responsibility for the delivery of your projects.
If you are looking for marketing tasks to be “done for you” then neither a consultant or a coach would be the perfect fit. Hiring a digital marketing agency is the move to make if you want someone to take the reins entirely.
What Does A Marketing Coach Do?
A marketing coach works directly with you or your employees and can also offer group coaching where they work with a group of business owners who are all struggling with a common issue.
A coach can help to develop skills and grow your knowledge on how marketing affects your business and the ways in which you can take action. Your ability to draw on their insight will not only benefit you right now but also help you in the long term.
In a nutshell, the business of a marketing coach is to improve YOU.
What Does a Marketing Consultant Do?
Marketing consultants will tell you what you need to do to grow your business. More often than not, consultants are subject matter experts with a specialized skillset who will assess your business and provide you with recommendations.
Oftentimes, consultants work best when brought in to help with a specific problem, project, or challenge. You can use them as extra support to provide advice for your team. Their consulting should provide temporary support to fill any corporate gaps in abilities or marketing knowledge.
The business of a marketing consultant is to improve YOUR BUSINESS.
What to Look for When Hiring
Whether you are looking to hire a marketing coach or a marketing consultant, whoever you’re thinking of should have plenty of experience planning and executing strategies to help others achieve their goals. You will want someone who has experience marketing for others and helped other people find success in marketing their business. This is valuable to know because that means the marketing coach or consultant will have already gone through the trial and error and are likely to know what will work for your business because they’ve dealt with similar situations before. Feel free to ask for client references, or search for reviews on the internet.
TIP:
Check out the videos or blogs that the coach or consultant has created. You’ll get a feel for their personality, their experience, and their methods which can help you with your decision-making.
Tricycle Creative: Coaching + Consulting
Now that you know the difference between a marketing coach and a marketing consultant, we have some good news for you – Tricycle Creative offers both services to help small business owners and their employees be better marketers.
Schedule a 15-minute Discovery Call today to discuss your business needs and figure out how we can get pedaling!