Marketing Consultant   Are you looking for a marketing consultant who can assist your business growth?   Are you concerned that the marketing consultant that you choose to work with will over-promise and under-deliver whilst confusing you with marketing jargon?   At Stark Reality Marketing we don't hide behind jargon nor do we try to impress you with it like many other marketing consultants. You know your business better than anybody else - we know how to promote it. A Stark Reality Marketing professional marketing consultant has the expertise to increase your sales and decrease your costs.   How to Select a Marketing Consultant that is right for your business: Marketing is about commonsense so it is best to interview a few providers and see who makes most sense to you. Make sure to get references and see examples of their work before making the final decision. Most importantly, you need to be comfortable with how well the marketing consultant understands the key drivers in your business. Here is a list of questions that will assist you in selecting the right marketing consultant for your business:   1. How many years experience does the marketing consultant have in the marketing industry? Anything over 10 years is acceptable.   2. How many years experience does the marketing consultant have in consulting to small medium enterprises (SME's)? Less than 2 years is unacceptable.   3. How many different product / service categories has the marketing consultant worked across? The more diverse the marketing consultant's background the more likely they are to provide your business with innovative ideas on how to find, attract and retain customers.   4. Has the marketing consultant worked both in the corporate world and small medium enterprise? The diversity of the marketing consultant's experience across both big and small businesses is a great asset to your business, as each camp can learn much from the other. A marketing consultant that has worked with big business has the planning discipline and knowledge that can only be gained working at the big end of town. A marketing consultant that has worked with small and medium enterprises will have the street smarts that come only after one has experienced the limitations of tiny budgets that force a marketing consultant to think outside the square.   5. Does your prospective marketing consultant have B2C (Business to Consumers) and B2B (Business to Business) experience? Although the marketing principles are the same each type of market - B2C and B2B - have their own peculiarities. A marketing consultant with experience across both areas will be able to deliver more comprehensive and creative solutions to marketing challenges faced by your business.   6. Does the marketing consultant have Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) experience? What does IMC mean? IMC is the deep understanding and knowledge of all the facets of the marketing industry and how these different disciplines interact to provide the consumer with a superior brand experience.   7. Does the marketing consultant you are interviewing have experience across all or at least most of the marketing disciplines, and for how long? Here are some of the main areas: Research and Product Development Strategic Brand Positioning Advertising Direct Marketing Media Planning / Buying Sales Promotions & Events Personal Selling PR. Ask for proof of their experience and examples in all of the above areas! Only marketing professionals that have had experience in most of the above areas for a period of at least 12 months per discipline can claim to understand and utilise IMC. Why is it important, you ask? Only an Integrated Marketing Communication approach will deliver the full benefits of marketing to your business. IMC is the "helicopter view" of your marketing situation, rather than a band-aid approach to the immediate challenge at hand.   8. Has the marketing consultant worked both on the client and advertising agency side of the marketing fence? Marketing professionals on the client side concentrate on developing products or services to meet the needs of their target market, managing the distribution relationships and the sales process, analysis and research of buying trends etc. Marketing professionals on the advertising agency side concentrate on the communication aspect of marketing, making sure that the right message reaches the right prospects, the right number of times. This is also generally the most expensive part of your marketing - getting your message into the hands of your prospects, before their eyes, and into their ears. Both sets of skills are vital to achieving success for your business. Ask your prospective marketing consultant for proof and examples of their work on both sides of the marketing fence.   9. How creative is the marketing consultant that you are considering? If a marketing consultant can't come up with a few innovative ways of promoting your business in your first meeting, they are probably not right for you. Be aware, however, that ideas and strategies are tools of trade and marketing consultants may be hesitant to give those away for free, but they should be able to at least provide you with some constructive observations on how your business can be improved. If they can't show you or talk you through at least a dozen creative concepts from current or past clients, you shouldn't consider them!   10. Failure! Ask your prospective marketing consultant to give you some examples of projects that didn't succeed or attain desired objectives and why. Every one of us has failed in something and hopefully learned from that experience. This question can really provide you with great insight into the person's honesty and ego, ability to overcome challenges, and learn.   11. Has the marketing consultant ever run their own business or invested in businesses other than their consulting business? Marketing people are used to spending other people's money with the aim of doing so in the most cost effective manner. Nothing makes one appreciate the real value of a hard earned dollar as much as spending money on marketing your own business. Marketing consultants who have simultaneously worn the hat of entrepreneur are much more likely to treat your marketing budget like they would their own - and that makes a world of difference!   12. Finally, will the marketing consultant just take your brief or will they challenge it? Does the marketing consultant have the guts to challenge you - their potential prospect? It is an unfortunate fact that most marketing people who call themselves professionals do not have the fortitude to tell their clients and prospects the truth about their chances of success, about their briefs and about their businesses in general. At Stark Reality Marketing we promise to give you a good dose of Stark Reality Marketing. Our clients thank us for it and watch their sales increase.

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