Hiring A Consultant vs Hiring A MarTech Pro

Committing to hiring a staff member is an enormous outlay of effort, time, and money. However, recruitment is still the number one most important part of growth strategy and maintaining business health. Your people are your company, after all.

Marketing and MarTech are having a bit of a post-pandemic moment. The world is increasingly interconnected and digital, and marketers have more opportunities than ever to use many channels to talk to customers and potential customers. Marketing professionals have become a mixed bag of skills to meet this demand. 

But, people are increasingly wary and turned off by digital upselling, and the culture of “always-on” is under the microscope as bad for productivity and happiness. Also, marketing channels are increasingly full of competing voices. Making your brand heard, your service understood, and your product desirable is a real challenge. 

Good recruitment, then, could be the difference between success and failure. In fact, in smaller companies, the main reasons for businesses shuttering are a lack of appropriate leadership members and a bad business model. Both facets are determined by your leadership and company culture and who you bring into the fold.

Quality vs. Quantity hiring

Modern recruitment values quality candidate outreach above all else. Why make 100 calls to disinterested parties trying to find 1 hire when you could make 1 call, targeting the right person, and get the same result? It’s no different when considering your corporate and strategic goals - you have to make them targeted, and you have to know why you’re doing them and to what end.

As we mentioned above, hiring takes time and money. So what are your hiring options? What sort of marketing plan do you want to put in place, and who do you need to realize it? What sort of result are you looking for? How does your marketing team add to your company vision?

Many companies, short of talent or looking for a new direction, turn to third-party marketing consultants to fill that void. These ready-made professionals are willing to do the work immediately; they’re able to strategize and formulate marketing plans and can be, where required, visionaries in building your company's marketing culture. 

There are, however, many workplaces, monetary and cultural differences inherent in the consultant market that you need to be aware of. 

What do you really need?

Before you even move into the marketing talent or consultant market, you need to really analyze your requirements. Consider the following:

• What is it you’re bringing this person on to do?

• What roles and responsibilities will they have? 

• Who will they be working with or under? 

• What data protection do you need to put in place? 

• Are there any health and safety considerations you need to take into account? 

• What budget have you set aside? 

• What are your goals?

Generally speaking, consultants are ready to set for short to medium-term projects, pivoting strategy, auditing current approaches, marketing business management, and training. If you need an instant, immediate impact from an objective voice, flush with experience and market knowledge, grab a consultant. If you want a long-term, brand-focused, in-house champion, reach into the talent market and take your time hiring someone for an in-house role.

How quickly do you need staff?

If speed is of the essence, your consultant market may be the better choice. They’re competitively placed and able to make an impact immediately. However, you will find that speed can be at the detriment of brand ownership. Your customers or stakeholders may find a change of approach jarring, so the speed must balance existing marketing outreach.

Cost

Although hiring can be prohibitively expensive for some, you have to spend money to make money. Consultants provide objective input, but their proximity to company goals and culture is distant. Your company hire will be much more deeply involved with the company from a cultural standpoint and will, in time, be the DNA of your brand. The “cost,” therefore, is relative.

Consultants do, however, cost more money than hiring in salary terms. They’ll generally charge a day rate and work for set project periods or on a rolling basis. You have to be prepared to see the rewards of their work but spend more to get it from a consultant. The trade-off then is speed = more cost.

The difference between a marketing consultant and a MarTech professional is all down to understanding your end goals and the cost to achieve them.