For years I laughed quietly (sometimes not so) when a new task reared its head and it didn't immediately and clearly fit with any of the existing departments. There was always someone who would proclaim quietly (sometimes not so) that responsibility would fall with 'the marketing department', 'your one in marketing' and my absolute favourite.... 'the Morkeshing department', as a former colleague and many friends like to jest.
It was very often the case of 'Marketing, the first and last post for tasks that fall between departments' !
But I do understand this, because the list of marketing mechanisms or channels can seem endless and therefore to some, unclear (print, digital, inbound, content, influencer, direct mail, social, brand, B2B, B2C etc etc).
For smaller companies, without an army of marketers at their disposal, it can seem like a pretty big, at times uneven playing field.
Recently, I had a great chat with a former colleague and now fellow marketing consultant about this very thing. We laughed at how, as a marketing specialist, you can very easily fill your week with nothing but constant CPD and education to keep up with the curve, let alone be ahead of it.
Having said that, we both agreed that the key to being a great marketing consultant was being comfortable and confident with our own skillset and areas of expertise and focusing on them. We agreed that it was imperative that consultants are equally as comfortable being honest with their clients about this.
A great consultant, regardless of the sector, will have a little black book of experts who can pick up where we stop. People with whom we ourselves have a great working relationship, one that our clients will immediately benefit from. This is what makes a great marketing consultant. This is what you need to look for when you consider employing the services of a marketing consultant. This is what will make your marketing budget go further and be more successful.
You hire one marketing specialist and you get your own army of marketers. That is how you level the playing field.