Valuable services of a brand consultant

Valuable Services of a Brand Consultant Brand Consulting as a space today in the world, which is fairly understood by marketers. They know what we offer (and what we do not!), and they know enough about how we have helped shape the future of other brands in the market (that's what ‘credentials' presentations are for!).

However, what they may not be very clear about is when and why should they pick up the phone (or drop an email, or holler, whichever does the trick!) and bring a brand consultant onboard.

The main motto of this article is to bridge the gap by highlighting the top occasions when it might be useful to hire the services of a brand consultant.

1. Business or marketing problem or opportunity Brands operating in high growth economies frequently encounter possible inflection points, where one critical decision can put you on a different trajectory. While there will always be enough in-house category knowledge to bank upon, it is often useful to bring in an outside perspective in order to achieve a balanced viewpoint. Brand consultants - with their varied experiences across geographies, categories, target consumers and brands - bring that counterpoint to the table to assist you in making a more informed decision.

2. Accelerating growth Today's each and every country offers an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really make it big. No wonder that brands and businesses find themselves caught in a mad rush to continuously deliver on both top-line and bottom-line growth. Brand consultants bring in learnings from other categories which can benefit your brand and business to adapt and grow faster than competition.

3. Process enhancement & skill building Too often, brand teams are caught up in the need to act, and are not left with enough time to think. There is always the impending sub-brand re-launch, a board presentation, an R&D update, mall activation or a school sampling activity crying for their attention. As a result, there is always too little time for long term initiatives like skill building or process improvement. Brand consultant - not burdened with everyday operational tasks - can help here by imparting the functional skills to keep the team up-to-date with what is happening in the marketing world and by driving process improvements.

4. Bandwidth Issues Building and nurturing a brand takes a lot out of a brand team. At times, there is simply too much work to be done, and too little time at hand to do justice to it. Brand consultants can be your outsourced marketing team, taking on critical initiatives in line with their competencies, leaving you free to focus on your everyday tasks.

So, if you believe that your brand is at the crossroads and staring at a potentially life-changing opportunity, or you think that your team requires help in terms of skill development or functional support, do check if a Brand consultant can help you out. However, prior to hiring the consultant check his work records to evaluate the level of potential benefits he/she can add to your organization.