Growth marketing consultant for owner-led businesses
A growth marketing consultant works out which marketing brings a business new customers, what each one costs to win and whether they come back.
At Firefly the consultant is Saad Afsar. He sets the plan and directs the work, and your staff or an agency carry out the campaigns.
You can ask for a free audit before you decide on an engagement.
The table shows how a growth marketing consultant differs from a growth agency, and which business each one fits.
Growth marketing consultant vs growth agency
| Question | Growth marketing consultant | Growth agency |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | You get a marketing plan, and a senior person who directs the work. | You get the campaigns themselves, planned and run by the agency’s staff. |
| Daily work | Your staff or an agency carry out the campaigns. | The agency’s own staff carry out the campaigns. |
| Published fee | MarketerHire gives $2,000 to $5,000 a month for marketing consultants. | MarketerHire gives $5,000 to $25,000 a month for agencies. |
| Best fit | It fits a business whose sales have stopped growing for reasons nobody can name. | It fits a business that knows which channels bring its customers and needs more work done in them. |
What a growth marketing consultant covers
The work covers the whole path from a customer’s first visit to a repeat purchase. Saad puts a figure on each stage before he decides where the budget goes.
- What each channel costs and returns
- Saad works out what the business pays to win a customer through each channel, such as paid advertising, search or email. He then decides where the next dollar of the budget goes.
- The path to a purchase
- Saad follows the steps a customer takes between first hearing of the business and buying from it. He finds the steps where customers drop out.
- Repeat customers
- Saad reviews the email list, the loyalty offer and how often customers return. A customer who returns does not have to be won a second time.
- Tests of the offer and the wording
- Saad changes one thing at a time in the offer or in the wording, and measures whether more people buy.
- Measurement
- Saad sets up a record of which channel each sale came from, using the figures in your own systems. The record has to be reliable enough to decide where the budget goes next.
Saad plans and directs this work. Your staff or an agency carry out the campaigns, and the business pays them separately.
What a business growth consultant does when growth has stalled
Some owners look for a business growth consultant when sales have stopped growing. Firefly works on the marketing side of that problem. We look at how customers find the business, what it costs to win each one and whether they come back.
The work starts with the free audit. A senior marketer reviews how customers reach the business and which channels bring them, and sends back the three largest gaps within two business days.
A marketing consultant cannot remove a limit that lies outside marketing, such as too few staff or too little capacity. In that case it is too early to hire a marketer, and our page Too early for a fractional CMO? lists five free things to do first.
When a growth agency is the better choice
A growth agency carries out the campaigns that bring customers, such as paid advertising, search and email. Each row gives a situation and the option that fits it.
- The business knows which channels work
- A growth agency is the better choice. The business already knows which channels bring its customers, and it needs more work carried out in them. An agency has the specialists and the capacity to run the campaigns.
- One specialist skill is missing
- An agency that specialises in the skill is the better choice. Paid advertising and search are two examples.
- Nobody can say which channels work
- A growth marketing consultant is the better choice. Sales have stopped growing, or each new customer costs more to win than before, and nobody in the business can name the cause. The consultant looks for the cause before more is spent on campaigns.
- The business wants both
- A business can also engage the two together. In that arrangement the consultant sets the plan and the agency carries out the campaigns.
Our comparison of a fractional CMO and a marketing agency covers this choice in more detail, with published prices for both.
Our guide to in-house marketing vs an agency adds the option of hiring an employee.
How an engagement with Firefly runs
The rows show what happens once an engagement begins, in the order the work is done.
- In the first month
- Saad maps which channels bring customers and what the data shows. He then writes a 90-day plan in order of priority, and each item in it has a target and an owner.
- Each week
- Saad leads the marketing as a fractional CMO. He directs your staff and your agencies as they carry out the plan, and you receive a report that measures the marketing against revenue.
- Each quarter
- At the end of the quarter Saad resets the plan against the revenue figures.
Our page on marketing strategy consulting describes the planning work in more detail.
The terms of the engagement
A growth marketing engagement with Firefly runs on the same terms as a fractional CMO engagement.
The fractional CMO at Firefly is Saad Afsar. He has 15 years of marketing experience, has led marketing for 40+ brands, and has enterprise experience at Unilever and Samsung.
Firefly works with owner-led businesses in Toronto and New York: hospitality groups, professional firms and independent brands.
Our page on what a fractional CMO costs compares these terms with published market rates.
- Rate
- $100 an hour
- Standard engagement
- $2,000 a month
- Time
- About five hours a week
- Minimum term
- Three months
Results from fractional CMO engagements
Each result is measured in the client’s own system, over the period shown.
- Two Boots New York pizza, since 1987 +12% same-store net salesyear over year · Toast POS
- YYZ Law Aviation and travel law, Toronto 4.3× organic search clicksover three years · Google Search Console
- Boqueria Spanish tapas, multi-city US +73% private-events revenueyear over year · Tripleseat
- Paperchase Accounting and CFO advisory, NYC and London +69% website visitsyear over year · Google Analytics
Questions and answers
What does a growth marketing consultant do?
A growth marketing consultant works out which marketing brings a business new customers, what each one costs to win and whether they come back. The consultant then plans where the marketing budget goes and measures the result against revenue.
How is growth marketing different from regular marketing?
Growth marketing is a name for marketing that is planned and measured against new customers and revenue. It covers the whole path from a customer’s first visit to a repeat purchase. It uses the same channels as other marketing, such as advertising, search and email.
How much does a growth marketing consultant cost?
Two published guides give figures for marketing consultants. MarkCMO lists $150 to $500 an hour, and MarketerHire lists $2,000 to $5,000 a month. Firefly charges $100 an hour, and its standard engagement is about five hours a week for $2,000 a month with a three-month minimum.
Do I need a growth consultant or a growth agency?
The answer depends on whether the business knows which channels bring its customers. A business that knows, and needs more work carried out in those channels, should engage a growth agency. A business whose sales have stopped growing for reasons nobody can name should start with a consultant.
When is a growth marketing consultant worth it?
A consultant is worth engaging when sales have stopped growing, or each new customer costs more to win than before, and nobody in the business can name the cause. The business also needs a marketing budget and people to carry out the plan.
Is a growth marketing consultant the same as a business growth consultant?
The two overlap. A business growth consultant may also advise on operations, finance or sales. Firefly works on the marketing side of growth, which covers how customers find the business, what it costs to win each one and whether they come back.
What does Firefly do when an owner says growth has stalled?
The work starts with the free audit. A senior marketer reviews how customers reach the business and which channels bring them, and sends back the three largest gaps within two business days. A marketing consultant cannot remove a limit that lies outside marketing, such as too few staff or too little capacity.
Does Firefly run the campaigns, or only advise?
Saad sets the plan, decides how the budget is divided and directs the work. Your staff or your agencies run the campaigns, and Saad judges their work by its results.
Book a call, or write first
You can book a discovery call on Saad Afsar’s calendar.
If you prefer to write first, send a few details in the form and Saad will reply within 24 hours.