MARKETING CONSULTING
Marketing decisions rarely exist in isolation. Business ambitions, customer needs, market opportunities, demand and internal capability all influence what marketing can achieve and how it needs to evolve.
Bringing these perspectives together can help businesses make informed decisions about where to focus, what to prioritise and what needs to happen next. It’s about seeing the bigger picture, understanding the choices available and determining the right way forward.
EXPERIENCED THINKING FOR BIGGER MARKETING QUESTIONS
The challenges we face in marketing aren’t always straightforward. Strategy may need greater clarity, the team may need direction, the business may have outgrown its marketing capability, or senior marketing leadership may be needed to connect business goals, customers, people and execution.
Marketing consulting brings experienced strategic thinking and perspective to complex marketing problems and helps put the right approach, plans and processes in place to drive results.
SOLVE THE BIGGER PROBLEMS
Identify the strategic issues holding marketing back and determine what needs to change.
TURN STRATEGY INTO ACTION
Translate business priorities into practical plans and activities the team can implement.
BUILD WHAT’S NEEDED NEXT
Strengthen leadership and capability so the business can move forward with purpose.
READY FOR A NEW PERSPECTIVE?
HOW CONSULTING TAKES SHAPE
When a business needs an external perspective, the right level of support depends on the challenge. It might involve focused sessions to work through a specific issue, a defined engagement to diagnose a problem and establish a path forward, or ongoing support that provides experienced thinking and direction as the business evolves.
STAGE 1
INITIAL CONSULTATION
Explore the business, its goals, challenges and priorities to establish where marketing can make the greatest difference.
STAGE 2
DISCOVERY
Review existing strategy, activity, processes, data and capability, alongside input from key people. Identify strengths, gaps, opportunities and underlying issues.
STAGE 3
RECOMMENDATIONS
Develop practical recommendations to address the issues identified, refine direction and prioritise opportunities to improve marketing performance.
STAGE 4
ACTION PLAN
Translate recommendations into a practical plan, defining priorities, actions, timing, resources and responsibilities. Depending on the engagement, this may include a marketing plan, project brief or implementation roadmap.
STAGE 5
IMPLEMENTATION
Put recommendations into action alongside your team or external partners, providing direction, managing projects or building the capability needed to deliver effectively.
STAGE 6
EVALUATE & EVOLVE
Review results, assess what’s working and identify what to adjust or prioritise next. Use these findings to inform ongoing improvements to marketing.
WHO IS MARKETING CONSULTING FOR?
Marketing consulting can add value at different stages of a business and for different reasons. A business might need to investigate a specific marketing problem, explore an opportunity, make an important decision or bring additional expertise into the team. It might also need help connecting the different elements of marketing or evolving its approach as the business grows.
Experienced thinking helps businesses understand what success looks like and what it will take to achieve it.
Marketing Needs To Connect With Business Priorities: Ensuring marketing activity contributes to what the business is trying to achieve.
The Business is Ready For Its Next Stage: Evolving the marketing approach to support growth, change or new opportunities.
Important Decisions Need Experience: Bringing senior marketing expertise to decisions about strategy, investment and priorities.
The Team Would Benefit From Additional Support: Providing guidance, expertise and direction to help capable people do their best work.
Agencies and Specialists Need Direction: Coordinating different capabilities and ensuring activity is aligned with marketing objectives.
Marketing Needs a Clearer Way Forward: Establishing the strategy, plans and priorities to turn business ambitions into action.
Experience & Perspective
MELISSA HOW
Clearer direction. Decisions translated into action.
Marketing consulting isn’t about handing over a report and leaving you to work out what happens next.
Depending on what the business needs, I can provide advice, develop and implement strategy, assist with a specific challenge or work alongside your team to provide direction, support decisions and turn recommendations into action. I can also work with existing agencies and external specialists where their expertise is needed.
Since 2003, my experience across strategy, digital, technology, customer experience and marketing leadership has shaped how I approach complex marketing challenges.
The answer isn’t always more marketing. As a Marketing Consultant, I draw on that experience to identify what will make the greatest difference to the business and help turn it into meaningful progress.
FROM STRATEGY TO CAPABILITY
Marketing’s different disciplines each play a distinct role, but need to work together to achieve business objectives — from setting strategy and priorities to providing the leadership, capability and performance focus needed to deliver and improve results.
MARKETING STRATEGY
How will marketing achieve its objectives?
LET’S DISCOVER WHAT'S POSSIBLE
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE
What does marketing consulting actually involve?
Marketing consulting can involve diagnosing problems, setting strategic direction, developing recommendations and plans, supporting implementation and strengthening marketing capability. The work is shaped around what the business needs.
When does a business need marketing consulting?
You don't need to have a clearly defined problem. Sometimes the issue is obvious; other times, marketing isn't performing as expected, but the reason isn't clear. An experienced external perspective can help identify what's happening and what needs to change.
Do you work with existing marketing teams?
Yes. I work alongside existing teams to provide strategic direction, support decisions and fill gaps in experience or capability.
Do you work with businesses that don't have an internal marketing team?
Yes. I can provide strategic marketing support directly or help establish the structure, resources and external expertise the business needs.
Is marketing consulting a one-off engagement or ongoing?
Either. Some businesses need help with a specific challenge, while others benefit from ongoing consulting and experienced external input. The scope is shaped around the business.
Do you implement the recommendations?
Depending on the engagement, I can help put recommendations into action by providing direction, managing projects, working with external partners or developing internal capability.
How do you start a consulting engagement?
We start with a conversation about your business, its goals and current marketing challenges. From there, I can recommend an approach suited to what the business needs.
How is marketing consulting different from using a marketing agency?
Agencies typically provide specialist services and execution. Marketing consulting looks across the business, strategy, people and capability to determine what's needed. That may mean guiding an existing agency, developing the strategy for an agency to implement or engaging specialist partners.