Having spent many years working with small and midsized B2B and B2C organizations on their marketing and marketing communications strategies and plans, I believe I’ve got a good sense of the issues facing them. Generally, at the top of the list, is the lack of a real marketing plan. How is it possible that something so basic is missing? My conclusion is that, despite possessing the skill sets that drive their organization’s success, founders and/or management simply do not have:

Time to think about marketing at all, because there is always something “more important or urgent” that needs their attention;
A real understanding of the power of marketing and how it can significantly improve profits and return on investment (ROI);
The resources, budgets and people available – marketing and marketing communications is “unfamiliar and scary”, and there are always other areas that need support first;
The knowledge of how to seek out and evaluate professional marketing help.
These are concerns regardless of the type of organization – start up, early stage or established companies, and even nonprofits for that matter. And, without real planning upfront, many brands are operating with a “Ready, Fire, Aim” reaction to the marketplace.

What Will Hiring A Marketing Or Marketing Communications Professional Do For You?

In order to accomplish short and long-term objectives you need to develop a meaningful marketing strategy and an integrated marketing communications plan and tactics. At its core, having a professional marketing program will improve a brand’s profitability and ROI. This task is often outsourced, frequently with a part-time Chief Marketing Officer.

The process starts with the outside consultant learning about the brand – its strengths and weaknesses, competition, distribution, business plan objectives, existing communication materials, employee involvement. During this learning period, the consultant also avails himself of any pertinent primary or secondary research. Most important, this period is also the time for establishing trust between the organization and the consultant.

While some tasks may be completed directly during this learning period, an outside professional would use this knowledge to prepare:

1. A marketing and marketing communications strategy, along with a positioning statement. The positioning statement is a succinct description of the core target audience to whom the brand is directed, and a compelling picture of how the marketer wants the audience to view the brand.

Sound simple? Take a minute and answer these four questions about your brand:

The target audience, in very specific detail?
The category in which the brand competes, and its relevance to customers?
The brand’s benefit and point of difference?
A reason for the customer to believe – the most compelling proof?
The positioning statement is the credo for the brand to live by. All marketing and marketing communications should flow from this positioning and be understood by all employees, agents, partners and management.

2. An integrated and holistic plan with tactical expressions – media programs; creative executions, including new and/or traditional advertising; public relations; content marketing (social media, articles, blogs, white papers, video); packaging; point of purchase; employee engagement; and, events.

The use of internal or external staff to create the above will be directed and evaluated by the consultant or, if necessary, specialists may be recommended.

3. Recommendations for primary or secondary research when clear cut answers don’t exist on specific subjects. Marketing depends on a complete understanding of the customers’ “wants and needs” as well as how they relate to your brand and competition. Not just what your staff thinks; rather, information. Facts beat opinion every time.

4. A procedure of measurement and evaluation of the objectives of the agreed upon plan, as well as the established objectives to be accomplished with each target audience and marketing communication task. Benchmarking and on-going analysis is key to successful marketing programs, allowing for change or refinement as you proceed.

5. A format for informing and discussing the reasoning behind the marketing planning, so that everyone in the organization understands why the specific strategies, plans and tactics were developed and implemented. The consultant becomes a “teacher” and the entire organization becomes brand advocates.

Marketing consultants have increasingly become members of the C-Suite because of today’s turbulent and rapidly changing environment.

What Talents Should A Marketing Consultant Have?

Look for a consultant, full or part-time, who is:

1. Willing to learn your business from the ground up and doesn’t have a “one size fits all” mentality;

2. An established professional, with extensive experience across industries and brands in B2B, B2C and nonprofit organizations, large and small. Expand your horizons and don’t settle for experience in only your niche or industry;

3. Media neutral and willing to embrace analytics to develop a variety of programs as well as to measure them. In today’s complicated marketplace, a consultant must understand new and traditional media, the difference between efficiency and effectiveness, “likes” vs. “sales”, the dangers of digital ad fraud, etc., etc.;

4. Apolitical and willing to tell it like it is, so candor will flourish in your relationship. Having your consultant free to demonstrate the discipline of marketing and marketing communications will build trust and a meaningful partnership;

5. Has an established network of marketing communications specialists who can be called in to provide solutions when necessary.

The marketing and marketing communications strategic and tactical challenges of today are growing exponentially. But, as with our uncertain economic and political environment, putting your head in the sand isn’t a viable response. As Will Rogers said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

Bringing an HR consultant into your organisation can often be the only way to get a particular objective achieved. It may be a project that needs to be delivered such as a recruitment campaign, a compensation & benefits review or the implementation of an HR information system. Another possibility may be the need to cover a maternity leave post. Whatever the company requirement, whether it be linked to strategic or operational HR there is a consultant to fit the bill, whether they be a generalist or specialist.

The advantages to bringing in an external professional can be buying in specific expertise just as and when it’s needed. Many HR consultants have many years solid practical experience before launching into the world of consultancy. They bring with them a fresh eye on the workings of your company and can often offer new problem-solving solutions to issues such as staff retention or absence. They can also offer tailored solutions, using the basics gained from experience with other companies.

They are used to “hitting the ground running”, which requires building key relationships, establishing credibility very quickly and just getting on with the job in hand whether this be as a change agent or a role caretaker.

Being an “outsider” they tend not to get involved with office politics, which can cloud many judgements of permanent members of staff. Their decisions can, therefore, be based on benefits to the organisation, not whether it will upset the opinions of certain individuals. This is particularly important in any change management and organisational design project.

Using an HR consultant can save an organisation time and money. Time is saved by, for example, outsourcing a project that existing HR professionals in an organisation can’t spare from the usual day to day tasks; this can include coaching or conducting 360 degree appraisal. A consultant can also be brought in on an ad hoc basis when no HR expertise exists at all within the organisation, for example, when an investigation surrounding gross misconduct needs to be conducted.

Other cost savings can include not having a permanent member of staff on the payroll and often by not having to provide daily office space if the work can be completed at home by the consultant, as with a project.

A disadvantage of using an HR consultant can, on the other hand, be the potential expense. Depending on the level of expertise required, consultant fees can vary from £200 to £1,000 per day so companies need to consider what they can afford and negotiate over the daily rate and number of days required. To avoid escalating costs consideration should be given to estimating a set number of days to define a project, such as management training, and build this into the contract drawn up.

To cover a maternity post, many companies use a fixed term contract, which gives the added bonus to the consultant of some employment protection such as paid holidays and sick leave, but which will be another cost to the organisation.

To avoid any confusion a clear agreement or contract needs to be drawn up at the start between the company and consultant establishing clear long and short term goals with regular meetings built in to check progress. Clear responsibilities should be allocated to avoid any confusion.

Fees and expenses need to be included as well as problem resolution such as delivery failures. With a fixed term contract the latter can be solved by using the disciplinary or capability procedure. Ideally a contingency plan should be put into place together with guidance on confidentiality issues such as data protection.

Before recruiting an HR consultant the company needs to have a clear idea of what they are trying to achieve and draw up a project plan and brief for discussion.

There should also be a job description and person specification. With the latter this provides assistance to recruit the right calibre of person. As the need for an HR consultant can often be at short notice, companies need to consider the best place to advertise or find the right candidate and consider a more streamlined recruitment process.

Once recruited the consultant should be provided with a structured induction to enable them to hit the ground running. This should include as much information about the organisation as possible including meetings with key stakeholders so that they can complete the task in hand as effectively and professionally as possible.

The surprising answer is “probably”. Most individuals don’t realize that a certified business coach or business consultant can add enormously to their home based or more traditional type business. Many individuals think a business coach or consultant will come into their business and tell them things that they don’t want to hear.

Nothing can be further from the truth. A business coach or consultant will try to use the resources/personnel already present in a business, and will implement strategies that will enhance the interaction and productivity of all concerned.

A business coach or consultant will “steer” the business into a clearer focus, better productivity, better management, and more powerful interactions. Business coaches and consultants can assist any and all types of businesses. Business owners who want faster results for their businesses, are committed to excellence in business, who want to develop their reputations, or who are experiencing problems within their current businesses are all prime candidates for business coaching and consultation.

Here is a small checklist of benefits that may occur with the use of a business coach or consultant:

1. Increase in Clarity: Your business will draw clearer distinctions regarding present conditions and situations and have a clearer picture of the future.

2. Increase in Focused Direction: The possibilities become clearer and the paths to each goal become more distinct.

3. Increase in Time: More time is expended productively, while eliminating the time wasting activities.

4. Increase in Follow Through: Completeness and timeliness of projects increases.

5. Increase in Commitment: A more thorough investment of all personnel in processes and goals.

6. Increase in Effective Communications: A more effective manner of communications is employed, for both clients and employees and the business owner.

7. Increase in Cooperation: Once all members of a business feel as if they are “understood” and valued, cooperation increases significantly.

8. Increase in Awareness of Existing Situations: Many situations may be exacerbated by expansion or additions, but can exist without awareness by the business owner for quite some time.

9. Increase in Stress Free Environments: Both the business owner and employees may indeed be much happier and stress free after a coaching or consultation session. Issues are cleared up and therefore the burdens are left behind, easing the stress.

10. Increase in Retention: The retention of both employees and clients may significantly increase.

Many business owners don’t recognize the need for a business coach or consultant until they run into problems, either with the expansion of a business, or with the addition of employees. Any expansion or addition of employees adds to the business chores, and shifts the focus and duties of employees. This is when problems more than likely become apparent, although these problems already probably existed to some degree before the expansion or addition.

An actual example follows:

Katherine R. had significant success with her marketing business right from the start. The business was popular with clients, and employees were added routinely over the years. In the beginning, the base clientele was small business owners, however, as time went on, mid-sized to larger businesses were added, and more employees were added. The new clientele, however, were “different” from the older clientele, and the “older” employees had more difficulty dealing with the new clientele. The new clientele were less friendly overall (they were much busier), and the older employees were not used to this new style of behavior and interaction.

A business coach/consultant was called in, and using his suggestions, i.e. role playing with the older employees, incentives and scripts, and other basic “reworking” of employee duties and interaction, the problems were solved.

Care does need to be given in the choice of a business coach/consultant, and the business owner should check into references, credentials, and the personality of the coach themselves. In order for success to occur, a business owner and all employees must feel trust when dealing with the coach/consultant, and therefore the choice of individual must be both careful and personal.

Overall, a good business coach or consultant can improve a business significantly, and clear up any problems either before or after they occur. If a business has the money for this type of service, it can be very beneficial for the “health” of the business.

When it comes to finding out who is the best Vastu consultant, we need to consider few points carefully.

First, he or she should be able to understand exactly what is the problem of the client or what goal the client wishes to achieve.

The second point to decide who is the best online Vastu consultant is that he or she should be able to relate the problem with the Vastu defects in the living space of the client. This is a very crucial point because until you don’t do so, you will not be able to conclude that the problem is due to Vastu defects.

Third, the consultant should not create any kind of fear in the mind of the client. Instead, the client should feel relaxed and upbeat after meeting with the consultant.

Fourth, the consultant should be able to describe clearly to the client that how he or she is going to solve the problem or pave the way for the client to achieve the goal.

The consultant should specifically tell the client what kind of Vastu defect in which zone of the building is responsible for creating a problem in the life of the client and how he is going to cure that Vastu defect.

This is also very important because Vastu creates its effect by affecting our subconscious mind. When a client knows the reason for the problem and also the logic behind the steps being taken to cure the same, we get desired results faster.

Fifth, he or she should make sure that the client has implemented all the instructions regarding Vastu correction measures. He or she should have a follow-up schedule to make sure that the client is following instructions correctly and timely.

Sixth, the consultant must have a good knowledge of the latest online tools to facilitate the smooth process of online Vastu consultancy. For example, he or she should be able to find out the degree of direction with the help of online maps without physically visiting the house, office or factory of the client.

The final point to decide who is the best online Vastu consultant must have an empathetic attitude towards the client. He or she should always keep in mind that the primary task of the Vastu consultant is to serve humanity. Earning money comes next to it. Money should not be given priority particularly when the client is facing issues such as health problems.

I Help people learn Vastu science by offering a comprehensive online Vastu Training Course. Through my Vastu Training Course, you can become a professional Vastu consultant and build your career in a field where you will be able to earn money and improve the quality of life of your clients by solving their problems. Click here to learn more.

As tax season draws near, mostly everyone (I hope) is getting ready and setting appointments to get their tax returns prepared and filed. Good for you. With the speed and convenience of retail franchises like HR Block and Liberty Tax or even online free software, most people don’t have to worry too much about where or how they will get their tax returns done before the filing deadline. But then, there are those that dread tax filing season because:

They have more than one source of making money like having a two income household;
They operate a business;
They make a lot of money;
They have more than one type of income like wages from a job, income from a side business, retirement income, or even income from investments;
They own either personal or business assets that they might have sold or gave away during the year
So… what do these people do? Better yet, what’s better: a tax preparer or tax consultant? Let’s discuss…
A Trusted Advisor
Though most preparers are trustworthy, they’re primarily available during tax season (January to April). For those that are working at retail tax franchises, they are working part-time hours and have limited accessibility beyond the time they are preparing taxes. Tax consultants are usually available all year because tax preparation and consulting is their full-time business. Another advantage of being available for the entire year is for you to consult with tax consultants on transactions that could cause you to pay too much or not enough in taxes.

Deep Knowledge of the Tax Code
It’s typically the norm for consultants to have a deep and thorough knowledge of the tax code. Most of them either have professional credentials such as Enrolled Agents (EA), Certified Public Accountants (CPA), or certifications obtained through accredited programs such as the National Tax Training School and other vocational institutions. Also, they have usually acquired many years of experience either working with clients or through past jobs related to tax prep or consulting. Why is this important? It’s not to sound like a tax nerd and talk in lingo that’s too hard for anyone to understand. Absolutely not. Unlike preparers (not all, but most), consultants rely on their knowledge of the code to offer strategic options for reducing your tax bill that’s legal and fair. Also, this saves you time because they are often able to locate the reference needed in the code to take a certain deduction or exclusion without much effort or research.

If you’re looking for speed, convenience, and the lowest pricing possible, then definitely go with a preparer at one of the retail franchises or maybe even complete your return online yourself. However, if you’re looking for a trusted advisor with a thorough understanding of the code that’s available all year, then choose a tax consultant. You won’t regret it.

Jericho Tax Consultants is a value added, client focused, results driven tax advisory firm that specializes in providing services to both individuals and small businesses in the areas of tax preparation, research, planning, and resolution.