What Is a Marketing Consultant? + How to Become One

A marketing consultant advises companies on how to reach consumers in a target market and convert them into paying customers. The marketing consultant role is similar to that of marketing coordinator and marketing manager in that professionals in all three roles will likely need a degree in marketing or a related field, relevant experience, and key marketing skills. However, a consultant is typically a third-party advisor as opposed to a company employer. 

The following are some important distinctions you might discover as you explore these roles and your marketing career potential:

• A marketing coordinator coordinates a company’s marketing efforts. In this role, you may also conduct market research, create content, and monitor ad campaigns. Coordinators may report to a marketing manager.  

• A marketing manager is often a leader within a marketing team, developing marketing plans and overseeing their implementation.   

• A marketing consultant is often an outside party hired by a company to advise on next steps. 

What does a marketing consultant do? 

Depending on a company’s needs, marketing consultants may take on the following responsibilities: 

• Gather information and key metrics, including target market insights, website traffic, social media engagement, and more, to evaluate the effectiveness of a company’s marketing efforts

• Train a company’s marketing team to carry out a new strategy  

• Monitor the results of a marketing strategy once it’s implemented and recommend ways to optimise it for better results

• Recommend new methods for reaching customers

How to become a marketing consultant

Becoming a marketing consultant may be a good career for you if you are ready to build marketing expertise and advise businesses and individuals on how to market their brands effectively. Follow these steps to streamline your efforts:

1. Reflect on different employment scenarios.

Depending on your passions, interests, and career objectives, you may pursue several employment scenarios. Reflect on the following examples to clarify what you want to achieve: 

Staff employment

• Find a position with a marketing consulting agency, a company that actually offers marketing services to startups, small businesses, and large enterprises. In this scenario, you’ll be one of the consultants on staff, working independently or on a team, to develop and execute marketing strategies for the agency’s clients. 

• Find a position with a company that offers products and services unrelated to marketing. As the consultant or one of several hired by a company, you would likely deliver marketing solutions for your employer or its external customers.  

Freelancing or building your own business  

• Help startups, small businesses, and large enterprises on a temporary basis to achieve their marketing needs. In this scenario, project size, contract duration, and tasks can vary, and you may take on multiple clients at once. 

2. Consider earning a degree.

Earning a marketing degree can be a great asset on job applications or when gaining freelance clients. Common majors for marketing consultants include digital marketing and marketing management. As a marketing student, you’ll likely learn the theory and practice of this field, as well as foundational skills like conducting market research, analysing consumer behaviour, and developing marketing plans. 

3. Gain marketing experience.

Before getting a marketing consultant job or launching your own consulting brand, it’s important to gain experience solving real-world marketing challenges. With experience comes authority that will be an asset in a consulting role, as companies and individuals look to you for guidance. Some ways to gain experience include the following: 

• Find an entry-level marketing job or internship and practise foundational skills.  

• Find an advanced role in marketing, such as marketing coordinator, and build leadership and advisory skills. 

• Look for freelancing opportunities and take on increasingly challenging projects.  

3. Build marketing skills in key areas.

At the same time as you acquire real-world experience, be sure to build marketing skills that are in demand. Some key marketing skills include verbal and written communication, social media management, search engine optimisation (SEO), email marketing, digital marketing, data analysis, and project management. 

You might find it useful to specialise in a particular area of marketing. For example, you could present yourself as any of the following and potentially get the attention of employers or freelance clients who are looking for someone who can perform specific tasks: 

• Digital marketing consultant 

• Small business marketing consultant 

• Email marketing consultant 

• SEO marketing consultant 

• Inbound marketing consultant 

• Facebook marketing consultant

• Social media marketing consultant 

4. Update your resume and online presence.  

As you add more qualifications to your repertoire, update your resume and online presence to represent your qualifications. Outlined next are some approaches you can take:

• Post marketing projects you’ve completed to an online portfolio or website, especially projects in which you advised other businesses and entrepreneurs. Include a description of each project and the results you delivered. 

• Post relevant content to your social media account, including testimonials from satisfied clients, to showcase your ability to provide marketing advice. 

• List all marketing experience on your resume, using action verbs to describe tasks and projects you completed and quantifying the results of your work. 

5. Explore the marketing consultant career landscape. 

When you’re ready to take on a marketing consulting role, explore the career landscape to find opportunities that may be available to you, from job openings at different organisations to freelance gigs. Industries include finance, education, health and medicine, media, insurance, sports, and more. 

Narrow down the opportunities you want to pursue based on your goals, the industries that you find most interesting, and the marketing campaigns you’d most like to help companies launch. Then, begin applying to positions or pitching potential freelance clients using your updated resume, portfolio, and other materials. 

Improve your marketing skills with Coursera

A marketing consultant is an external advisor who works with businesses to create and implement effective marketing strategies. Taking online courses can be a great way to explore your potential as a marketing consultant. Sharpen your skills in social media strategy, building online stores, measuring marketing performance, and more in Professional Certificate programmes on Coursera, offered by industry leaders such as Google and Meta.