Marketing Consultant FAQs

Marketing questions, answered without the jargon...

 

Marketing can feel like a lot of moving parts.

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SEO. Websites. Social media. Email. Content. Google. AI search. Messaging.

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Referrals. And then someone tells you that you need to be doing something else too.

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You probably don't need to do everything.

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At Spiral Orange, I help service-based business owners look at their marketing through their customers' eyes, so you can understand what's working, what's getting in the way and where to focus your time and money.

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Here are some of the questions I'm asked most often.

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What does a marketing consultant do?

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A marketing consultant helps you understand what your business needs from its marketing and where your opportunities are.

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Rather than simply producing more content or telling you to post more often, I look at the bigger picture.

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That can include your website, messaging, SEO, Google visibility, content, email marketing, social media, customer journey, calls to action and the different ways potential customers discover and research your business.

The aim is to make your business easier to find, understand, trust and choose.

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Who do you work with?

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I primarily work with UK service-based businesses.

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That includes consultants, coaches, therapists, accountants, trainers, professional service providers and other businesses where people need to understand and trust you before they decide to enquire.

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You don't have to be based in Norfolk. I work remotely with businesses across Norfolk and the wider UK.

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Do I need to be posting on social media all the time?

 

No.

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Social media can be useful, but it isn't the whole of your marketing.

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Depending on your business and your customers, your marketing might also need to include your website, Google search, SEO, email marketing, blogging, referrals, networking, partnerships, podcasts, directories or other ways of getting in front of the right people.

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I look at where your customers are actually looking for you rather than assuming the answer is "post more".

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Can you help if my website isn't getting enquiries?

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Yes.

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A website can look professional and still fail to turn visitors into enquiries.

I can look at things such as:

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• What your business offers and how clearly it is explained

• Whether visitors can quickly understand who you help

• Whether your messaging speaks to your customers' problems and needs

• How easy your website is to navigate

• Whether your calls to action are clear

• Whether your content builds trust

• How easily people can find you through search

• Whether there are obvious gaps in the customer journey

• ​The question isn't simply "Does my website look good?" It's "Does it make sense to the person I'm trying to reach?"

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Can you help me improve my Google visibility?

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Yes.

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SEO, or search engine optimisation, is about helping the right people find your business when they're searching for the products or services you offer.

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That can involve your website structure, page content, headings, keywords, internal links, local SEO, Google Business Profile, helpful content and other signals that help search engines understand your business.

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I also look at visibility beyond traditional Google results.

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People are increasingly using tools such as Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT to research businesses, services and solutions.

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The fundamentals still matter: clear information, useful content, relevant expertise and a website that clearly explains what you do and who you help.

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What is GEO and how is it different from SEO?

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GEO usually means Generative Engine Optimisation.

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It's the practice of making your business and its information easier for generative AI systems to understand and potentially surface when people ask questions.

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There isn't a magic "GEO button", and nobody can guarantee that an AI tool will recommend your business.

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Instead, I look at the foundations that help both search engines and AI systems understand your business.

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That includes clear website content, consistent information about your services, useful answers to customer questions, relevant expertise, structured information and a strong overall online presence.

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In other words, don't create a website for robots. Create a really useful website for humans that machines can understand too.

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What if I don't know what's wrong with my marketing?

 

That's exactly where a marketing review can help.

You might be getting website visitors but very few enquiries.

You might be relying almost entirely on referrals.

You might be creating content but not seeing any obvious results.

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Or you might simply have no idea which part of your marketing deserves your attention first.

 

Rather than adding another dozen things to your to-do list, I'll help you identify the gaps and prioritise what is most useful to work on.

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What is the Customer Connection Map?

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The Customer Connection Map is the way I look at your marketing through your customers' eyes.

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I look at six key questions:

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Can they find you?

Can they understand what you do?

Can they recognise that it's for them?

Do they trust you?

Do they understand why they should choose you?

Is the next step obvious?

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When those connections are working together, your marketing becomes much easier for potential customers to navigate.

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What is a Marketing Visibility Audit?

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A Marketing Visibility Audit is a practical look at your current marketing.

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I'll look at areas such as your website, messaging, online visibility, SEO, content and customer journey to identify where you're being seen, where you're losing potential customers and where there are opportunities to improve.

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You don't get a huge list of things you "should" be doing.

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You get a clearer picture of what's happening and what I'd prioritise next.

[Find out about the Marketing Visibility Audit]

 

Do you provide ongoing marketing support?

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Yes.

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If you know what needs doing but don't have the time, skills or inclination to do it all yourself, I can provide ongoing marketing support.

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That might include content, email marketing, website updates, SEO-focused content, research, marketing planning, systems or other practical tasks.

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The support is shaped around what your business actually needs rather than putting you into a fixed package of activities you don't need.

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Do you still offer VA and business support?

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Yes, although marketing consultancy is now the main focus of Spiral Orange.

I still provide practical business and marketing support for clients who need an extra pair of hands.

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This can include CRM organisation, systems, processes, research, website updates, content administration and other behind-the-scenes work that helps keep things moving.

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Do you work with businesses in Norfolk?

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Yes.

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Spiral Orange is based in North Norfolk and works with businesses across Norfolk and throughout the UK.

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Much of my work is delivered remotely, so you don't need to be local for us to work together.

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How does working with you start?

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Usually with a conversation about your business, what's happening with your marketing and where you're feeling stuck.

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From there, we can work out whether you need a focused audit, help with a particular part of your marketing or ongoing support.

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There is no point in recommending a giant marketing strategy if what you actually need is to fix the five things currently getting in the way of enquiries.

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How much does marketing consultancy cost?

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It depends on what you need.

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I offer different ways to work together, from focused marketing reviews and audits through to more comprehensive consultancy and ongoing support.

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[See how I can help]

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If you're not sure what you need, get in touch and we can talk through it.

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Do I need a big marketing budget?

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Not necessarily.

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For many small service-based businesses, there are opportunities to improve what you're already doing before spending more money.

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That might mean making your website clearer, improving your existing content, fixing gaps in your customer journey, making better use of email, improving your search visibility or simply stopping spending time on things that aren't helping.

Good marketing isn't necessarily about doing more.

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Sometimes it's about doing the right things more deliberately.

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Still have a question?

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If you're wondering whether Spiral Orange could help with your marketing, just get in touch.

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You don't need to arrive with a perfect marketing plan.

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You just need to know that something isn't quite connecting.

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