How to Hire a Marketing Contractor or Consultant

​So, with IR35 law updates across the last couple of years, it’s vital for recruiters to get familiar with how to hire within off-payroll legislation. This of course applies to marketing contract jobs, including marketing consultant roles. 

This is because IR35 has had a significant impact on how contracting roles are viewed by HMRC. Get it wrong, and your company risks penalties, some of them financial. Beyond IR35 however, it’s important to understand what exactly is in a marketing contractor’s remit, just so expectations can be met on both sides. In this article, we’ll cover the benefits and risks of hiring a marketing consultant. We’ll also give advice on best practices for hiring marketing contractors, to make the onboarding process as smooth and seamless as possible. We’ll discuss what recruiters can expect, what to be aware of, and how this all affects the hiring process.

What Does a Contracted Marketer Do?

So first things first - what does a contracted marketer actually do? There’s no fast and short answer to this, seeing as marketing encompasses such a broad range of activities. Think of it more as what does a marketing consultant specialising in X do?

However, from a topline level, here’s what you can expect from a marketing contractor:

• They’ll offer different companies a range of professional services that relate and support their marketing activities. This can vary significantly, but is usually focused on broadening their reach to new customers. 

• They’ll provide different types of activities depending on how developed the client’s marketing strategy already is, what size the company is, the amount of resources at their disposal and within budget, and so on.

• They’ll also offer activities that are not only dependent on the needs of the company, but also the types of services they specialise in as an independent marketing contractor. Not every marketing consultant provides the same services. Some are more general in their approach, others niche down.

Here’s an example of the above in action. Your company may hire a marketing consultant to oversee and manage a specific marketing campaign. This may include idea generation, strategising, project proposals, implementation and execution, reports and data analysis, content creation and writing. 

Ahead of this type of project kicking off, you’ll discuss your organisation’s needs with the contractor, they’ll discuss whether their wheelhouse of services meets your requirements, you’ll both agree and sign on a contract, and jointly decide on deliverables.

What are the Use Cases for a Marketing Contractor?

So why would you want to hire a marketing consultant? There are a number of use cases where getting external help with a marketing project can benefit not only your marketing team, but your business as a whole. These include:

• Your marketing team doesn’t yet have the experience, skillset, or specific market knowledge to undertake certain activities.

• Your marketing team is at full capacity, and needs additional help.

• Your marketing team is experiencing resource constraints that a contractor can provide.

What are the Benefits of Hiring a Marketing Contractor?

As you’d imagine, there are a wide range of benefits that come with hiring a marketing contractor. These include:

• Hiring an expert who’ll focus on a specific project or activities, meaning you can hand over responsibility as you and your team focus on other value-driving activities.

• Hiring a temporary contractor is more budget-friendly than hiring a permanent member of staff.

• Offering new, valuable viewpoints from an outside perspective that could transform your business. 

• Being adaptable to your business needs. A marketing consultant can just ‘get on with it’ and get the job done!

As you can see, marketing contractors can make a big difference to all types of businesses in need of marketing support.

What are the Risks of Hiring a Marketing Contractor?

On the other hand, there are also some risks that come with hiring a marketing consultant. Some of the most common risks include:

• Having limited availability and capacity, meaning start times and project scope can be a little up in the air.

• Needing to vet marketing consultants to ensure they are the right fit for your organisation.

• Not fully understanding the ins and outs of your business, which can result in communication issues and other hurdles. All this, however, can be circumvented by robust onboarding processes and open communication channels.

• Presenting IR35 concerns.

Although marketing consultants do present a certain level of risk, preparing, planning, and hiring the right contractor for what your business needs mitigates many of these factors.

What are the Best Practices for Hiring a Marketing Contractor?

So what can recruiters do to reduce any risks associated with hiring marketing contractors? Here’s a selection of best practises to keep in mind when going through the recruitment process for external consultants:

• Define your goals. Understand exactly what it is you need help with, and know how to communicate this effectively with potential consultants. Even if you don’t know what the strategy is, or don’t know about a certain area of marketing, setting out expectations and objectives will only benefit you and the contractor.

• Have a robust vetting process. We recommend taking a close look at references, experience, and portfolio examples. Don’t be afraid to arrange a couple of casual chats as well. These don’t have to be as formal as interviews, but it’s good to get to know who may be supporting your team.

• Consider a trial run. This way you can see if both of you are compatible with each other without committing to a bigger project.

• Get IR35 right when onboarding the consultant.

• Work with specialist recruiters, like us at TalentHub, who can do the heavy lifting for you when looking for the right marketing consultant for your business.

How We Help Businesses Hire For Marketing Contract Jobs

At Talent Hub, we work with the fabulous Lawspeed, and our contacts for temporary, contract, and permanent recruitment are constantly updated in line with HMRC legislation. We have been talking to our clients, updating them on best practices, and working with our job-seeking marketers to advise and support them.

Are you a Sussex-based brand needing extra support for that new product launch or marketing campaign? Give us a call or email us, and let's talk about how we can help you.