Agency Vs. Consultant: Which One Should Your Law Firm Hire?

Marketing is a crucial part of any business, as it often contributes to the success of a venture. Likewise, you can benefit greatly from efficient marketing as a lawyer or a law firm owner. It can help you develop brand awareness, keep your current clients, and attract and gain the right ones. When done correctly, you can stay ahead of your competitors, increase your revenue, and experience more growth.

As a lawyer or law firm owner, you should consider delegating marketing duties to an expert. This allows you to focus on other crucial parts of your business. Rather than employing in-house talent, you could outsource to a marketing agency or consultant.

Employing an in-house talent means hiring someone or a team full-time. Hence, you’re required to provide training, salary, and other employee benefits. On the other hand, if you prefer to outsource a marketing expert, you only pay for the services rendered as they’re expected to be trained in that field.

If you aim to outsource marketing experts for your business, deciding whether you should work with an agency or a consultant can be challenging. Fortunately, this article will help you identify the best choice to consider. Read on to find out more:

 Difference Between A Marketing Agency And A Consultant

The terms ‘agency’ and ‘consultant’ may seem similar, but they aren’t. Basically, an agency like On The Map Marketing is a group of consultants who provide their expertise in a specific marketing area or task. On the other hand, consultants offer advice to lawyers and law firm owners on how to create, implement, and manage marketing strategies. Usually, they guide clients in a wide range of marketing areas, and in most cases, they work independently.

Factors To Consider When Choosing One

After understanding the difference between a law firm marketing agency and a consultant, you may be better positioned to choose one for your needs. Below are four factors you should further consider before selecting any of the two:

1. Affordability

Lawyers or law firm owners have to assess their expenses to ensure that these are maximized and provide value to the business. This is also considered when choosing a marketing expert.

if you have a considerable budget, then you may hire a marketing agency for law firms. An agency is a team of consultants. Although this may cost more than a consultant, you can expect value for money since the entire team will assess your business’ status, and develop and execute a strategy.

For example, an agency might focus on digital law firm marketing. They’ll create content, develop lead generation strategies, take care of pay-per-click advertisements, and design or redo websites. Generally, they’ll handle tasks that help their clients develop and boost their online presence.

However, if you’re on a tight budget and need to outsource marketing affordably, you may consider hiring a consultant. Most of them work as one individual, which, in some cases, causes rates to be negotiable. Moreover, consultants are professionals who offer assistance in several areas. Usually, they guide in planning and executing marketing strategies, and help if other implemented marketing strategies aren’t fruitful.

2. Need To Access Your Systems

It’s risky for you as a lawyer or law firm owner to allow unauthorized access to your systems. In some cases, this leads to data breaches or loss of information. Marketing agencies need to access some of your systems and processes. This way, they can conduct an efficient analysis before developing or implementing new strategies. If an agency has limited access, it can’t operate independently. You must work with them to provide the insight they require. This leads to downtime on your end.

A consultant might not need to access your systems. You’ll present a problem to them, and then they’ll evaluate your current methods and offer guidance on the steps you should take to improve your marketing efforts. In some cases, they can help you execute the right strategies.

3. Scalability

As a lawyer or law firm owner, you’ll experience growth in your clientele, size, revenue, and other aspects. In this case, you’ll need to work with someone up-to-date with the ever-changing marketing field. They should develop excellent methods to help you stay ahead.

Agencies offer their employees training opportunities that help them learn the latest developments in the ever-evolving marketing world. Therefore, they can develop excellent marketing methods to help you stay ahead.

Consultants, on the other hand, operate alone. They have limited working hours and sometimes have more clients. This may prevent them from accessing advanced training on the developments in the marketing field. Therefore, as you grow, they may not add value to you as a lawyer or law firm owner.

4. Availability

Availability is also essential when choosing whether to hire a marketing agency or consultant. The former consists of a team of experts. Therefore, if a certain professional isn’t available, they’ll have someone else handle your requests or tasks

On the other hand, the latter works alone, have limited working hours and may have several clients. Also, they need to go on vacations, sick offs, or leave. Therefore, it can be challenging for them to guarantee availability whenever you need them.

Final Thoughts

Choosing whether to hire an agency or consultant may be challenging. However, this article aims to make decision-making easier for you. In this piece, you’ve learned what sets the two apart. Besides that, you’ve also seen the factors you should consider before hiring either. If you still are unsure about the option to go for, consult a peer with experience in outsourcing marketing services. Alternatively, talk to your mentor.