Marketing Consultant, Agency or Freelancer? How to Choose the Right Help for Your Small Business

At some point most small business owners decide they need help with their marketing. Then comes the harder question: help from whom? A consultant, an agency and a freelancer can all sound like they do the same thing, they all charge differently, and most of the advice online is written by one of them telling you why you should pick them.

I'm a consultant, so I have an interest too. I'll be straight about where each option fits, including the situations where I'm not the right choice, and the ones where you don't need to hire anyone yet.

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The short answer

• Hire a consultant when you need direction: someone to work out what's worth doing, in what order, and to explain why. Good for businesses that are doing lots of marketing without clear results, or not sure where to start.
• Hire a freelancer when you already know what needs doing and want a skilled pair of hands for one job, such as a logo, a website or a month of social posts.
• Hire an agency when you need several specialists working at once, on a steady monthly basis, and have the budget for a team.
• Hire no one yet if you haven't decided what you want your marketing to do. Sort that out first, or any money you spend will be guesswork.

The rest of this guide explains how to tell which of these fits you.

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What each one actually is

The labels get used loosely, so here's how I'd describe them.

A marketing consultant advises. They look at your business, your customers and what you're doing now, and tell you what to change. A good consultant leaves you with a plan you understand and can carry out. Many, including me, will also do some of the work, but the advice is what you're paying for.

A freelancer does. They're usually a specialist in one area, such as design, copywriting, social media or web development, and they're hired to deliver a specific piece of work. The best freelancers are excellent at their craft, but working out your overall direction usually isn't part of the job.

An agency is a team. A typical agency has an account manager plus specialists in different areas, so it can run several things at once: ads, social media, content, design and reporting. You pay for the team and the coordination.

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How they compare

Consultant

• Best for: getting clear on what to do and why, and avoiding wasted spend.
• Usually charges: by the hour, by the day, or a fixed price for a defined piece of work such as an audit or a strategy.
• Watch out for: advice that's too general to act on, or a plan that needs more time than you actually have.

Freelancer

• Best for: one well-defined job done well.
• Usually charges: by the project or by the hour.
• Watch out for: briefing them without a clear direction. A freelancer will build what you ask for, so if the brief is wrong, the result will be too.

Agency

• Best for: steady, multi-channel work at a volume one person couldn't handle.
• Usually charges: a monthly retainer, often with a minimum term.
• Watch out for: being a small client on a big roster, long contracts, and retainers that keep running after the results have stopped.

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First, work out what you actually need

Before you contact anyone, answer these four questions. They'll narrow the choice faster than any comparison table.

1. Do you need direction or hands? If you're not sure what to do, you need advice first. If you know exactly what you want built or made, you need someone to make it.
2. How much time can you give it each week? Be honest. If you have two hours a week, a plan that assumes ten won't happen, however good it is. The person you hire should design around your time, not the other way round.
3. Is it one thing or several? A new website is one job. Running ads, social media, email and a website at the same time is several.
4. What can you spend, every month, for the next year? A one-off project and an ongoing commitment are different decisions. Don't sign up for a monthly retainer you'd struggle to keep paying.

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When you don't need to hire anyone yet

Sometimes the right answer is to wait, and an honest adviser will say so.

If you haven't yet decided who your best customers are, or what you want your marketing to achieve, hiring someone to "do marketing" will mostly buy activity. Spend a little time on the basics first:

• Write down, in one sentence, what you want your marketing to do for the next six months.
• Make sure your Google Business Profile is complete and accurate. It's free, and for local businesses it's often the first thing a customer sees.
• Run a simple self-check on what you're doing now. My one-hour marketing self-check walks you through it.
• Talk to your Local Enterprise Office. Most offices run mentoring and training for small businesses, and it's a low-cost way to get an outside view.

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How they charge, and what to check

Whoever you hire, you'll usually come across one of three pricing models:

• Hourly or daily rates. Flexible, and you only pay for what you use. Ask for an estimate of hours before work starts, and agree what happens if it runs over.
• Fixed-price projects. You know the cost upfront. Make sure the scope is written down, including what's not included and how many rounds of changes you get.
• Monthly retainers. Predictable for both sides. Check the minimum term, the notice period, and exactly what you get each month for the money.

There's no right model. What matters is that you know what you're paying for and can stop if it isn't working.

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Questions to ask before you hire anyone

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1. What would you do first for a business like mine, and why?
2. Can I see work you've done for businesses of a similar size?
3. Who will actually do the work? Will I deal with the same person throughout?
4. How will we know if it's working? What will you report, and how often?
5. How much of my time will you need, and when?
6. What's included in the price, and what would cost extra?
7. Is there a minimum term or notice period?
8. Who owns the work, accounts and logins at the end?
9. Have you ever told a client they didn't need something? What happened?

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That last question is a useful one. Someone who has never advised a client to spend less is unlikely to start with you.

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Red flags

• Guaranteed results. No one can promise page one of Google, or a number of new customers, by a date.
• Recommendations before questions. If someone pitches a package before asking about your business, the package came first.
• Long contracts for new relationships. A minimum term can be reasonable, but twelve months with someone you've never worked with is a big commitment.
• Vague reporting. "Impressions" and "reach" are not the same as enquiries and sales.
• You don't own your accounts. Your website, domain, social media accounts and ad accounts should be in your name.

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Where I fit, and where I don't

Three Bridges Marketing is me: one consultant, based in Waterford, working with small businesses across Ireland. I'm a good fit if you want honest direction, explained plainly, that fits the time and budget you actually have. That might be a one-off Marketing Health Check for €249, a full Marketing Strategy, or ongoing help as your Marketing Partner at €50 an hour with no minimum hours.

I'm not the right fit if you need a large team running several channels at high volume every week. For that, an agency makes more sense, and I'd tell you so.

If you're not sure which you need, book a free consultation and we can work it out together.

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Frequently asked questions

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What's the difference between a marketing consultant and a marketing agency?

A consultant mainly advises: they work out what you should do and why. An agency is a team that mainly carries out the work, often across several channels at once. Some consultants also do hands-on work, and some agencies offer strategy, so ask each one exactly what they'll deliver.

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Is a marketing consultant worth it for a small business?

It's worth it when you're unsure what to focus on or suspect money is being wasted. A good consultant should save you more than they cost by stopping activity that isn't working and pointing your time at what is.

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Should I hire a freelancer or an agency?

Hire a freelancer for a single, well-defined job. Consider an agency when you need several specialists working at the same time on an ongoing basis and have the budget for a monthly retainer.

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How much does a marketing consultant cost in Ireland?

It varies widely with experience and the type of work. Consultants commonly charge by the hour or day, or a fixed price for a defined project. Ask for a written quote and a clear scope before you commit.

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Do I need a marketing strategy before I hire anyone?

You don't need a formal document, but you do need to know what you want marketing to achieve. Without that, it's hard to brief anyone well or judge whether they're doing a good job.