Choosing a Marketing Consultant for a New Campaign
Choosing a Marketing Consultant for a New Campaign
Choosing a marketing consultant for promoting a product that is in the research and development stage is an important activity that needs to the considered by many businesses. The marketing consultant plays a vital role of taking the product out onto the market in the most efficient and cost-effective way. Therefore the business and the product owners have to give equal importance to hiring a marketing specialist as they give to the research and development of the product. Both should go hand in hand.
There are certain steps to be followed when choosing a marketing consultant for promoting the business product. Members of the business should form a panel that screens marketing consultants. The first thing the panel should do is to have a face-to-face discussion with the prospective marketing consultants. During the discussion the group should find out about the past record of the marketing consultant and the marketing strategies they have framed in their earlier assignments.
The marketing consultants also need to explain the strategies that worked and the strategies that didn't work when promoting various ranges of products. This will check the genuineness of the marketing consultant. If the consulting organizations say that the all the strategies that have formed have always worked for the business, then it not the actual truth. Marketing strategies are fool-proof. Some strategies may work excellently for a product line, but may not fit a different product line. Hence, the marketing consultant should be open and able to share with the forum regarding the strategies that worked and that didn't work.
One more important factor that should be looked into by the panel is the area of specialization of the marketing consultant. If the consultant has specialized in marketing pharmacy products and the business is dealing with fast consumer goods, then it is better for the panel to consider specialized marketing consultants in that particular FMCG line of products. Because of the intricacies involved in arriving at the right marketing strategies for various products, it is always wise to go for marketing consultants who have a proven track record in that particular product line.
After the discussion with the various candidates, the panel should put their heads together and arrive at a consensus decision. While arriving at the decision, some consideration should certainly be given to the number of years of experience of the marketing consultant.