When considering digital marketing services for your business, one decision you will have to make on the way is choosing between a digital marketing agency and consultant (in fact, you most likely clicked on this article to help with that exact decision!).
While both agencies and consultants aim to grow your website’s traffic and revenue, their approach, structure, and relationship with clients differ significantly.
- Digital marketing agencies typically consist of multiple people skilled in different aspects of digital marketing, account managers, developers, admin staff and directors.
- Digital marketing consultants on the other hand are just the person skilled in digital marketing, covering admin duties themselves.
To help you decide between the two, I’ll compare both against seven key factors that are important to businesses deciding between choosing an agency or a consultant:
- Variety of Skills
- Cost-Effectiveness
- Resources
- Adaptability
- Communication
- Personalised Service
- Quality of Work
1. Variety of Skills
Winner: Agency
Typically, digital marketing agencies are staffed by a mix of specialists, including digital marketing specialists, developers, account managers and writers.
This breadth enables them to tackle large or multifaceted campaigns that benefit from multiple perspectives.
For businesses that require an end-to-end solution, working with an agency can be highly efficient.
Still, in cases where only one or two skill sets are required, such as SEO or PPC, this approach may be more than is necessary.
2. Cost-Effectiveness
Winner: Consultant
Whilst agencies can pitch competitive prices, those numbers often include the expense of physical offices, administrative staff, and middle management.
Consultants tend to operate independently. That means your money goes directly towards their expertise, not business overheads.
For many, this makes digital marketing consultants the more cost-effective solution.
3. Resources
Winner: Agency
When it comes to large-scale digital marketing work, agencies often shine due to having a wider team available.
They can deploy several people to manage different parts of your campaign simultaneously.
If your business needs that kind of capacity, choosing an agency may be the best move.
4. Adaptability
Winner: Consultant
By design, agencies often depend on structured systems and standardised ways of working to coordinate their teams.
Although individual team members might be flexible, updates to your account setup or approach can be slower to roll out.
A consultant, in contrast, can personalise their service and shift direction rapidly when your priorities change.
That responsiveness can be a real asset in the constantly evolving digital space.
For instance, if a new opportunity arises mid-campaign, a consultant can usually respond immediately, while agencies may be delayed by processes and multiple layers of sign-off.
5. Communication
Winner: Consultant
One of the most significant benefits of working with a consultant is having a single, consistent point of contact.
This eliminates the frustration of being passed between account managers or dealing with staff turnover, which can be common in agencies.
With a consultant, communication is often more straightforward, efficient, and personal as you will be talking to the person actually doing the work, not an account manager or new member of the team.
Clear communication not only saves time but also helps to build a stronger working relationship.
6. Personal Service
Winner: Consultant
With digital marketing consultants, you often get a deeper level of commitment – their business thrives on results and happy clients.
Agencies, by contrast, typically work within larger structures where client focus can be diluted by internal priorities.
Consultants, working independently, are driven to deliver great outcomes.
For them, your success directly reflects on their own – which often leads to a more dedicated partnership.
7. Quality of Work
Winner: Equal
Both agencies and consultants are capable of delivering strong digital marketing results.
Agencies often bring in a broader team of specialists, but this can sometimes mean tasks are passed to junior staff for training purposes.
In contrast, consultants usually manage every part of your digital marketing strategy personally, which helps ensure consistency and quality throughout.
Final Score
- Agency: 3
- Consultant: 5
Conclusion
Both Charity digital marketing agencies and consultants have their strengths.
While agencies bring extensive resources and a variety of skills, consultants may offer a more cost-effective, adaptable, and personalised approach.
If you’re ready to experience the benefits of working with a Charity digital marketing consultant…read more