Paying for marketing consulting: what are your options?

What are the benefits of working with a marketing consultant?

Hiring a marketing consultant can have a massive impact on your company, and could be vital to the future of its success. According to a survey completed by 150 marketing leaders, 50% of companies said their top priority regarding marketing was to utilize marketing analytics. Meanwhile, 41% said their main goal was to focus on content marketing. This was followed by video marketing, optimization and personalization, and email marketing. Well-versed in handling various tactics to elevate your company’s visibility and engage customers, a marketing consultant can help with all of these areas, and more! 

Various other benefits that come with hiring a marketing consultant include:

• Saving money through outsourcing
• Gaining access to the latest tools, software and trends 
• Getting invaluable marketing expertise
• Being able to free up staff to work efficiently and focus on their specific roles
• Having a flexible commitment

How much does a marketing consultant cost?

Credo, a company that matches businesses with marketing consultants or agencies, released the results of its latest survey on digital marketing industry pricing. Here’s the breakdown:

• The average consultant charges $141.67 per hour.
• 69.44% of consultants have a single project minimum under $3,000.
• 73.49% of consultants have a monthly retainer minimum under $3,000 per month.
• 34.94% of consultants have a monthly retainer minimum of under $1,000 per month!
• 39.29% of consultants have no contract minimum length defined. Only 20% have a minimum of at least 6 months.

How are marketing consultants paid?

Most marketing consultants charge using one of three pricing models. The first, most common method is by an hourly rate. The second works on a retainer basis. And the third is a flat fee/bid, calculated on a project-by-project basis. 

Hourly Rate

Working with consultants who charge a daily or hourly rate could be considered as the easiest option, because everyone knows exactly how the billing will work. You, the client, can add up the days, or hours, and keep track of costs, and the consultant can easily add extra services to the contract, without worrying about payment.

Hourly rates generally depend on the consultant’s experience, current demand and capacity, geographical location, and market rate. The only real downside to this is that you will be charged for every hour or day. If the consultant works slower than expected, that can add up over time!

Retainer

Recently, more and more marketing consultants have started offering their services on a monthly rate or retainer basis. And if your business requires ongoing guidance, a retainer may be the ideal way to go. At a flat rate, you’ll always be aware of your upfront investment and will be better able to budget for it in advance. This pricing model also guarantees that the consultant has to put aside the time it takes to serve your needs. 

Monthly retainers can cost anywhere from one thousand to tens of thousands of dollars per month, depending on the type and level of services your business requires.

Flat Fee

Fixed fees are calculated based on a consultant’s expected number of work hours for a project, multiplied by their hourly rate. When hiring a consultant based on a lump sum, or flat fee, it’s critical to make sure that everyone knows exactly what is required for the project. On the plus side, if your brief is comprehensive, there won’t be any hidden surprises. On the down side, any additional items that crop up along the way are likely to be subject to negotiation.

How Prism does it

When it comes to marketing consulting, many clients chose to partner with Prism long-term, based on a custom-tailored inbound marketing retainer. Because the work we do is so unique to every business, our marketing consulting services don’t come at a flat fee, and in most cases, are billed by the hour, based on time and materials. For some clients, open-ended time and materials billing does the job. Whereas other clients prefer the predictability of booking a fixed number of hours per month. Ultimately, we work with you to find the solution that is most affordable for your business and your marketing goals.