If you don’t have a solid digital marketing strategy in place, your business is in trouble.

That might sound like a dramatic, over-the-top statement, but it’s not. Consider this: adults in the US spend an average of 11 hours a day with digital media. Without an effective plan, your future customers are being wooed by other companies for half of the day.

In other words, you need a digital marketing consultant.

Having a consultant isn’t a luxury anymore; it’s a necessity for your business to compete in the 21st Century. Here are eight reasons why you need to hire one today!

1. Objectivity Matters

No one likes to admit that what they are doing isn’t working. This mentality is human nature and can be very bad for business.

“Because we’ve always done it this way,” is the worst sentence ever spoken in business. It’s complacency in its purest form.

A digital marketing consultant, however, hasn’t been working in your marketing department and therefore isn’t emotionally tied to old strategies. A team that has poured hundreds of hours into an idea isn’t as willing to walk away and start over.

The consultant can look at a problem from an objective point of view. This means that they will stop what hasn’t been working and create a new data-driven solution.

2. Digital Marketing Consultants are Specialist

For your every day 9-5 employees, being a jack of all trades is a good quality. You want someone that can fill many roles because it makes life easier. Some solutions need a little extra attention, however.

Consultants tend to focus on one thing, making it their life’s work. They know all the trends and how to take advantage of them.

Digital marketing is an all consuming animal that can distract your employees from other important tasks.

Bringing in someone from the outside allows them to focus in on the problem, fixing it using their extensive knowledge. Your regular employees don’t have to worry about their work getting behind!

3. It’s Cheaper to Hire Someone as a Consultant

Instead of paying someone for 40 hours of work, you can pay a consultant for 10! Digital marketing is hard, but for the specialist, it’s not as time-consuming. They tend to have a take no prisoners attitude, which is good news for your payroll.

Most consultants will charge more per hour than what you pay a regular employee but will work fewer hours and get more done.

4. You’ll Save Time and Money Elsewhere Too

Being a business owner or department head means you get calls from everybody with a service to sell. Taking these phone calls and the subsequent meetings take up a lot of precious time.

A digital marketing consultant can handle these things for you. They will know if a product or service fits into your marketing plans, and if a service helps you towards success or if it’s window dressing.

Consultants also allow your other employees to focus on customer engagement. They know tricks that make responding to customers easier and will save time implementing policies. These strategies leave your team with more time to retain the new customers you are getting.

5. There are No Ongoing Expenses

When you hire a regular employee, you aren’t just paying their salary. The benefits package you are offering has a real cost associated with it. Paid Time Off can be costly, especially for a small business, and is a benefit that many marketers demand when taking a job.

Training is also a business cost. American companies spend over 70 billion a year on training for their employees.

With a digital marketing consultant, you are getting someone that’s already trained and doesn’t require the benefits of regular employees.

6. They Are Focused On One Project at a Time

If your company decides to expand its social media outreach to push a particular product or service for a short time, there’s no reason to hire a full-time employee.

Employing a digital marketing consultant is the better option. The consultant knows the length of their service and will do what is required. You get better results without worrying about paying someone after the project is complete.

7. You Get a Better Return On Investment

Hiring an employee is an investment.

With any investment, the person putting the money down wants to know how long it will be until they see a return and what that return will be.

A study by Yahoo finance and the Harvard Business School has looked at ROI from an employee-employer position. A typical mid-level manager that fulfills the same duties as your digital marketing consultant has to be on the job over six months before your investment breaks even.

Most of this is due to training and an employee learning the job. With a consultant, you start to see a return right away. They have already performed similar services for companies like yours, so they can hit the ground running.

8. Your Competitors Are Already Doing It

Companies you compete against might have hired their own digital marketing consultant. You’re at a disadvantage that grows the longer you wait.

Maybe you’re lucky though. Perhaps your competitors haven’t hired a consultant and are attempting to do it on their own. Imagine how far ahead you could be if you make the first strike!

Let’s Connect!

You want someone that moves fast and isn’t afraid to cause a little ruckus. You need an experienced and passionate digital marketing consultant.

You also need someone that understands the industry well enough to teach it to others.

I have that experience and passion. So much so, in fact, that I teach it to others at the University of South Florida, where I’m the digital media instructor.

I know that I can help take your digital marketing to the next level. My dedication to the companies I work with and commitment to data-driven results separate me from others in the industry.

Don’t let your competitors pass you by! Get in touch with me today and let’s discuss ways that I can help your digital marketing!