A marketing consultant who tells you what to do next, and why.
Most owners don't need more marketing ideas. They need someone experienced to say which three things to do, which ten to stop, and how to tell if it's working. I'm a marketing consultant and marketing advisor for small and mid-size businesses, with forty years of judgment and the digital and AI tools of today.
What does a marketing consultant do?
A marketing consultant is an independent expert who diagnoses a business's marketing and tells it what to change: who to target, what to say, which channels to use, how much to spend and how to measure the result. A digital marketing consultant focuses that advice on online channels such as the website, search, AI answers, social media, email and paid ads. Unlike an agency, a consultant is paid mainly for judgment and direction rather than for doing all of the work.
An experienced outsider who looks at your marketing, tells you the truth about it and gives you a plan you can act on.
Busy marketing is not the same as marketing that works.
These are the four situations small business owners describe to me most often.
“I don't know which marketing is working”
Money goes to ads, posts, tools and an agency, and nobody can say which of it brought in a customer.
“I need an advisor, not another vendor”
Every company that calls you is selling one channel. You want someone with no stake in which one you pick.
“We're everywhere and nothing connects”
A website, social accounts, ads and email, each done separately, with no strategy tying them together.
“Customers now ask ChatGPT who to hire”
Search has changed. If AI assistants don't know your business, you're missing from the answer.
The S.C.A.L.E. Framework™
The same five steps in the same order, whether the job is one strategy hour or a year of advising.
Scan
Your numbers, market, competitors and what AI says about you.
Clarify
Who you serve and why they should choose you.
Amplify
The few channels that reach those customers.
Leverage
Automation and AI that make what works cheaper.
Evaluate
A revenue-first scorecard, every month.
Marketing consulting, deliverable by deliverable
Advice you can act on and hold me to, not a deck that gets filed.
Marketing strategy
Where your growth will come from and what to stop spending on.
Positioning & message
Why a customer should pick you, in words they'd actually use.
Digital marketing plan
The right mix of website, search, social, email and paid, in priority order.
Website & conversion
More of your existing visitors turned into calls, bookings and sales.
Search & AI visibility
Being found in Google and recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews.
Agency & vendor review
A second opinion on the people you already pay.
Marketing consultant, agency, fractional CMO or an in-house hire?
Each is the right answer for someone. Here's the honest comparison.
| Marketing consultant | Marketing agency | Fractional CMO | In-house marketer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You get | Senior advice and a plan | People who execute the work | Senior leadership, part-time and ongoing | A person on your team every day |
| Typical cost | Hourly or per project | A monthly retainer | A monthly fee | A salary plus benefits |
| Best when | You need to decide what to do | The plan is clear and you need hands | You need someone in charge of all of it | Marketing is big enough for a full-time role |
| Main risk | You still need someone to do the work | Activity without strategy | Senior time is limited, so focus matters | One person can't be expert in everything |
Small first step, then only what's worth doing
Free 30-minute call
Your goals, numbers and what you've tried. You leave with an honest view of where to start, even if that isn't me.
Strategy hour or diagnostic
One paid hour for a focused question, or a diagnostic of your marketing from first contact to sale.
Your plan
A one-page strategy, the channel plan and the scorecard, agreed with you.
Do it your way
Your team does the work with my advice, my done-for-you agency does it at a fixed price, or I lead it as your fractional CMO.
Monthly review
What moved revenue, what to stop and what comes next.
A good fit, and not a fit
I'd rather tell you now than six months into an engagement.
✓Good fit
- Owner-led and small businesses spending on marketing without clear results
- Owners who want an independent marketing advisor with no channel to sell
- Businesses with an agency or freelancers who need a second opinion
- Established firms that need their marketing updated for AI search
✕Not a fit
- Anyone who only wants posts written or ads run, with no strategy
- Businesses looking for a guaranteed ranking or overnight results
- Owners who won't share their numbers; strategy without them is guesswork
- Companies that need a full-time employee in the office
Marketing that compounded
Blue Moon Fabrics
A single LA Fashion District store engineered into a national textile leader: the 100× build.
View →300+ storesAisleBird
A voice-first shopping app scaled to 300+ stores across 11 retail chains, with AI categorization.
View →SaaSS.C.A.L.E.
My growth method turned into software: it reads a website the way AI systems do and ranks what to fix.
View →40 yearsMarket experience
Legal, medical, e-commerce, hospitality and finance, from before the internet to the age of AI answers.
View →Marketing Consultant: frequently asked questions
What does a digital marketing consultant do?
A digital marketing consultant reviews a business's online marketing, including the website, Google and AI search, social media, email and paid ads, and tells it what to change and in what order. The result is a plan with priorities, a budget and a way to measure it, which your team, an agency or the consultant then carries out.
How much does a marketing consultant cost?
My first 30-minute call is free. A paid strategy hour is $350, and hourly consulting is $350 to $450 with no minimum. Larger projects and retainers are quoted after a diagnostic. Every price is on the pricing page, and you can book a paid hour online.
Should I hire a marketing consultant or a marketing agency?
Hire a consultant when you need to decide what to do, and an agency when you already know and need people to do it. Many small businesses get the best result from both: a consultant sets the strategy and holds the agency to it. If you want one firm for both, my done-for-you packages pair my strategy with the execution.
What is a marketing advisor for a small business?
A marketing advisor is a senior marketer a small business can call on for decisions, without hiring one full-time. The advisor reviews plans and spending, answers questions as they come up and keeps the marketing pointed at revenue. I work this way by the hour, or monthly as a fractional CMO.
What does a marketing strategy consultant deliver?
A clear written strategy: who your best customers are, why they should choose you, which channels will reach them, what to spend and how you'll know it's working. Mine comes as a one-page strategy and a 90-day plan built on the S.C.A.L.E. Framework™.
Can you review the agency I already have?
Yes, and it's one of the most common reasons owners book a paid hour. I read the proposal, contract and reports and tell you in plain English what you're getting and what to ask for. See How do I know if my marketing agency is working?
Do you only work with businesses in Los Angeles?
No. I'm based in Los Angeles, and most of my consulting runs online by video call, so I work with businesses across the United States and beyond. See online consulting.
Get an honest read on your marketing
Book a free 30-minute call. Bring your numbers and your frustrations; you'll leave with a clear next step either way.