What's the benefits of using a Marketing Consultant?

[nominal]

I was hoping there a few marketing professional and others around who can help me clarify the value in hiring someone to assist with our marketing strategy.

Being a small business in the software industry, with an online sales channel, there a few obvious things we can try like GoogleAds, facebook, yahoo, MSN and linkedIn.

There are other things which are not as great for us, like TV ads and probably radio ads (without having a decent budget). Other options include news papers, magazines, conferences, direct mailing etc

I guess what I am trying to say is that any marketing strategy will have to be converted to one or more of these tools. I am trying to understand the added value... or what do I don't know that I don't know?

To get some of the basics I gone through a few books like "e-myth revisited", "duct tape marketing", "eating the big fish" and many many articles. as well as having some consulting sessions.

What are the services/results a marketing consultant can provide? how do they work?

thanks for all your help.

[Jay-T]

The idea with bringing on any consultant is that you're borrowing their strengths.

If nothing else it brings a fresh set of new eyes - right now there will be obstacles (sales opportunities) inside your business that you're completely oblivious to and if you don't see them or can't solve them will cost you a sickening amount of money.

I know this one from personal experience.

A great consultant in any industry is worth pure gold.

Personally I think business owners need to be masters at their own marketing it's the one area where you need to be strong in but even still fresh eyes are invaluable.

Jay-T

[ray_223]

Hi Nominal,

I have to agree with Jay-T here with the comment that you are the best person to determine how to get more sales.

Your business area is a very full field of competitors with extreme brand recognition.
If you can find a genious to hire that gets you more sales grab them and pay them whatever they charge - otherwise you will have to do it yourself with lots of hard work and most importantly passion.

To start with (I haven't looked at your site for a couple of months) - but - You need to clearly differentiate yourself from the major competition and this may require you to focus on a smaller niche market.
Once you can dominate a smaller niche market then start in a new slightly larger niche market and try and dominate etc.

How would someone compete with Microsoft with MS Word? The question you are asking is very similar.

Good luck

[nominal]

Thanks!

Originally Posted by ray_223

... someone compete with Microsoft with MS Word? The question you are asking is very similar.
Good luck

I think this situation is a bit different, first there is only MS word,where as in our market there are two+. 2nd word is a communication channel which will be useless if other people can't read the output, so that makes it stick. Small Business Accounting Software is used mainly by one person who only needs to share (some) of the information with a tax agent. You can use a different accounting software every year without a problem.

Thirdly Microsoft has great products, they hire smart people and they improve all the time. Nothing is further from the truth regarding the so called market leaders in our market :-)

And lastly, yes I think that if you had a better product than MS Word,which was easier to learn, looks better, provides more functionality, is cheaper to buy and to maintain, is made specifically for the target market requirements AND you had a genius marketing advisor you could sell a few copies...

Any genius marketers here?

[ray_223]

Originally Posted by nominal

Thanks!

I think this situation is a bit different, first there is only MS word,where as in our market there are two+.

Yes, a bit different - but - there are 2 very big competitors with strong existing relationships with accountants.
There are also a huge number of smaller competitors many with strong niche markets.
Yes - I think you would need a genious marketer!!

[BlueFrogMarketing]

Hi,

Great Question!

The Question is of resource allocation? Money, time, staff etc. But its also allocation between customer acquisition v retention and referral, or online channels v traditional or social media v online advertising.

The Answer is strategy and experience. Good strategy involves, research, analysis, planning, implementation, Detection then back again (Oh look that's our RAPID Marketing Model - blatant promotion!).
Experience tells you which media channel, creative, offer, benefits, etc have worked well in the past for other similar clients.

So if you can find a good Marketing consultant who is great at both (supported by testimonials) then the benefit will be a better ROI!

I hope that helps.

Cheers
Justin

[JohnW]

Hi Nominal,

I've managed large and small businesses. I understand accounting and accounting software. I'm also a trained and experienced marketer.

Maybe I'm missing something but I'm having trouble understanding what you have to offer that is so special.

I've looked at your website but it tells me NOTHING about your software or why anyone should be interested in it.

You badly need the services of a marketing consultant. Your site does not effectively market your product/service.

Regs,

JohnW

[nominal]

I am aware I can use the assistance of a good marketing professional, that's why I am here asking this question :-)

I am trying to gain some understanding about the kind of services and outcome I can expect from a good marketing consultant.

As you probably know a lot of businesses promise the world for a (large) fee, for me the decision of going with a marketing consultant and the process of choosing one must be an informed one.

Originally Posted by JohnW

..having trouble understanding what you have to offer that is so special...
.. but it tells me NOTHING about your software or why anyone should be interested in it...

You could have taken it a little bit easier with the feedback :-)

Our website have gone through a lot and was professionally redone to a very good quality, there is also a lot of content in there to explain what is special about Nominal, what benefits if offers a small business owner as well as advantages over existing players.

So I think 'NOTHING' is a bit too harsh.... it could be better that's true

So a question for you why should I GO with YOU? :-)

(there must be hundreds of businesses in Australia who offer similar services, hence this thread. In comparison the Australian Small Business Accounting Software market only includes about 5-10 companies)

[Warren Cottis]

Dear Uriel

The benefits of using a Marketing Consultant are:

- They will challenge you... quite often you are just too close to your product.
- They will make you revisit and revisit “who is your ideal customer”?
- They will ask you “what is your ideal customer’s problem that your software solves"?
- They will bring structure, testing and accountability to your marketing
- ... and if you use a marketing consultant who really knows the internet then you can drive your marketing dollars further

So... re challenging you... I would want to know if we can change the name of your product? “Nominal” sounds pretty wishy washy to me and after researching its definition, I am at a loss as to why you chose it.

Changing the name could be the first step in a whole new fresh marketing campaign with pre-determined trigger points.

At the end of the day though... it's all about “what is your ideal customer’s problem that your software solves"?

I hope this helps...

[mike@engagemarketing]

Hi Uriel,
a good marketing consultant will answer the following questions:

• where should i be dividing my budget?
• what ROI am i receiving on each of my various marketing tactics?
• How should I position my product so that its unique and worth remembering?
• How can I convert eyeballs on my website to sales?
• How can I implement the latest marketing tactics (while it might not always be appropriate, the latest tactics always spark the interest of a business owner)

Hope that helps :-)

Cheers,
Mike