Marketing consulting

When marketing consulting is the right tool

Marketing consulting makes sense when you have a specific decision in front of you and need an experienced opinion, not a whole project. Should we switch agencies? Is this SEO proposal worth $1,500 a month? Do we run Google Ads or Facebook ads for the new location? These questions can usually be answered in an hour or two, with your accounts open and real numbers on the screen.

It's also the cheapest way to check whether you need more. Sometimes one session shows that the problem is bigger than one question, and a full marketing audit and strategy is the better investment. Sometimes it shows that you're doing fine and only need two small changes. Both outcomes save money.

What makes a session useful

The best sessions start with a clear question and the right material. A good example: "Our Google Ads cost $1,800 a month, we get about 20 calls, and I'm not sure if that's good. Here's viewer access." In an hour we can look at what the money buys, whether the calls are real enquiries, and what to change. A vaguer question, like "how do we do marketing?", is better served by a strategy.

Before each session I look at your website, your Google Business Profile and anything you've sent. That way the hour goes to answers. After the call you get a short written summary: what we decided, what to do next and who should do it.

Advice from someone who does the work

I'm not a theorist. Over 12+ years I've built websites, run ads for about 50 businesses, set up 20+ CRMs and worked with 100+ clients, from a personal trainer in Żywiec to Boreal Kitchens in Edmonton. That means my advice is practical: what it costs, how long it takes, what usually goes wrong, and whether it's worth doing yourself.

It also means I can look at an ad account, an analytics setup or a CRM and see quickly whether it's set up properly, which is often the real question behind "is my agency doing a good job?".

Common topics

• Reviewing a provider's report or proposal before you sign or renew.
• Choosing between channels for a new service, location or season.
• Setting a monthly budget and the few numbers to watch.
• Planning a website project: what you need, what to skip, what a fair price looks like.
• CRM choice: ready-made like HubSpot, Pipedrive or Zoho, or a custom system.
• Quebec rules in plain terms: where French is required (your own team or translator handles that, not me) and what Law 25 means for tracking.
• CASL basics for email and text marketing.

Consulting vs a full strategy

A simple way to choose: if you can write your question in one sentence and it concerns one channel or one decision, book an hour. If the question is closer to "what should our marketing look like this year?", or if several things seem wrong at once, a consultation will only scratch the surface. In that case the audit and strategy covers the whole picture, including customers, competitors, channels, budget and targets, and leaves you with a written plan rather than notes from a call. Many clients start with one hour and decide afterwards; there's no pressure either way.

Regular sessions

Some owners prefer to run their marketing in-house with a regular outside check. An hour a month or a quarter, with the numbers in front of us, keeps the budget honest and catches problems early. There's no package or commitment; each hour is booked and billed separately. If your team needs hands-on training rather than advice, see team training.

Price and booking

Marketing consulting costs $70 CAD per hour, final. The first 30 minutes are free. Calls are on Zoom at a time that suits your time zone, and I reply to booking requests within one business day. For a full, written plan rather than answers to specific questions, see the marketing strategy at $2,400 or book directly on the consultations page.