Pricing
What does a marketing consultant cost?
A fair question that most consultants dodge. Here are my starting prices, what changes the number, and how to work out what you actually need before you spend anything.
You get a number before you commit.
How marketing consultants charge
There are three common models. Fixed fee for a defined piece of work, such as an audit or a strategy, where you know the price and the deliverable before it starts. Day rate for ongoing or fractional work, bought a few days a month. Retainer for a set bundle of activity every month, which is how most agencies prefer to sell.
I use the first two. Audits and strategy are quoted as a fixed piece of work, so there is no meter running. Ongoing and fractional support is charged by the day, on a rolling arrangement you can scale up around a launch and back down when things settle.
I do not sell retainers that buy activity before anyone has agreed what the activity should be. If the plan does not justify the days, I will say so.
What it costs
Starting prices, so you can work out roughly what you are looking at before we speak. Every number is a from, because scope genuinely does change the figure.
- Marketing audit
From £950
Around one to two days of research, with the written report delivered about a week later.
- Marketing strategy or plan
From £1,250
Priced on the depth you need, the size of the business and the size of the budget it has to direct.
- Social media audit
From £495
Depends on how many channels, how much activity there is to review and how many competitors you want benchmarked.
- Day rate
From £300 per day
For tactical delivery days, in house or online. The rate reflects the activity and the deliverables for that day.
- Mentoring and coaching
From £500 per day
Built for less experienced teams who need a lead. Priced on how many people I am mentoring, in house or online.
- Fractional CMO or marketing director
From £500 per day
Strategic lead days, priced on business size. Commitment runs from one day a month to around five, with three being typical.
There is no minimum engagement. If you need something smaller or shaped differently, tell me and we will work out what fits. Travel expenses are charged separately.
Not sure which one you need? Start with a marketing audit, or read about fractional marketing director and mentoring support.
What changes the number
Two businesses asking for the same thing rarely pay the same, and these are the reasons why.
Scope
One product line and one audience is a smaller job than five, in every sector.
Research needed
If customer, competitor and data insight already exist, we start further forward.
State of your data
Clean analytics and a working CRM save days. Missing tracking adds them.
Who delivers it
Handing the plan to your team costs less than me running it alongside you.
Pace
A compressed timeline concentrates the work into fewer weeks and more days.
How long we work together
Ongoing arrangements are priced by the month, not per task, so nothing is double counted.
Common questions
Want a real number for your situation?
Tell me what you are trying to fix and I will come back with a scope and a price, not a proposal you need a decoder for.