This is a tough topic to discuss without seeming totally self-serving. I am a marketing consultant and I make my living by helping businesses with their marketing, often by actually doing their marketing for them. So it’s easy for me to say everyone should hire a marketing consultant. But I am not a big fan of blanket statements and one size fits all solutions. Having owned two other businesses prior to this one and having consulted dozens of others, I fully understand the business owners tendency to do everything themselves, especially if it’s a small team and budget is tight (when isn’t it?).

So rather than jump right in to any conclusion about hiring marketing help, let’s look for a moment at the pros and cons of the Do it Yourself (DIY) approach.

The first thing a business owner has to ask themselves is do they have the time, resources and skills to handle this themselves. And will they have them on an ongoing basis. Contrary to what many believe, marketing is not something you do once, as in a “marketing campaign,” and then you just ride off into the sunset with bundles of money. Marketing is an ongoing part of your business. Customers will come and go, economies will go up and down and people’s needs and tastes will change, so a wise business owner must always be filling that purchase funnel through marketing.

Also, keep in mind that marketing is a whole field in itself and just because you own a business or are an in a service or product does not mean you are a marketing expert as well. Marketing pros study their subject for years, just like a lawyer studies the law or a scientist studies science. In fact, marketing has a pretty interesting mix of science, creativity, communication, design and intuition. That’s why I love it!

Also, marketing evolves constantly and the methods of reaching customers today are quite different than they were even five years ago. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of digital marketing, which now accounts for a good 25% to 60% of marketing budgets across a full range of industries.

On the other hand, as a business owner, nobody understands the business better than you. Hiring a marketing consultant always requires and investment of time to get that consultant up to speed on your industry, what you really do, who your customers are, what your value proposition really is, and that good stuff.

Also, nobody else will have the passion and dedication that you will have and nobody will do a better job of understanding nuances in customer relationships than you, the business owner.

Let’s be honest. It’s a tough call when money is scarce. Any marketing consultant worth their salt is not going to be cheap, and you get what you pay for. But it’s very important for business owners to realize that almost all small businesses reach a point where they simply will not grow unless the owner, the chief cook and bottle washer, outsources or hires new team members to handle and take ownership of some of the workload. This is often the moment of truth for a business where they must decide between a little extra expenditure (which can be scary) or trying to muscle through on your own (which can also be scary).

So hopefully this article gave you at least some food for thought. If you are going to hire marketing help, hire wisely and be sure you are getting a knowledgeable, flexible, hardworking and honest person to do the job. If o you are going the DIY route, make sure you have the time, resources and skills necessary to do the job consistently for at least a year. As always, feel free to send me comments or questions at mike@princetoncreative.com