Marketing consultants for small and mid-sized businesses typically charge somewhere between $150 and $300 an hour for experienced strategic work, or $1,500 to $5,000 a month for an ongoing retainer with a small business. Rates run lower, sometimes $50 to $100 an hour, for tactical or execution-adjacent help, and higher, $300 to $500 or more an hour, for senior strategy work tied directly to revenue or growth decisions.
Those are wide ranges, and the actual number depends on a few specific factors.
Hourly versus retainer
Hourly billing tends to fit situations where the scope is uncertain or you only need occasional input, a review of a campaign, a second opinion before a big decision. A monthly retainer fits better when you want ongoing access and regular strategy sessions built into the relationship. Retainer pricing usually reflects a set number of hours or a defined scope of recurring work, not unlimited access.
What moves the price
Experience and specialization. A generalist consultant costs less than someone with deep expertise in your specific industry or a particular channel. For B2B service businesses, industry-specific experience is usually worth paying for, since the sales cycle and buyer psychology are different from consumer or ecommerce marketing.
Scope of involvement. A consultant reviewing strategy once a month costs less than one running weekly sessions and staying closely involved in execution decisions.
Seniority of the decisions involved. Rates climb when the consultant is effectively operating as an outside decision-maker on budget, positioning, or growth strategy, closer to a fractional CMO role, rather than offering tactical suggestions.
Company size and complexity. A five-person service firm and a fifty-person firm with multiple locations or service lines require different levels of depth, even at the same hourly rate.
What you’re actually paying for
The fee covers the consultant’s time in strategy sessions, but also the thinking that happens between calls, reviewing your team’s work, adjusting the plan based on results, and staying current on what’s actually happening in your business. A consultant who only shows up for the call and disappears afterward isn’t delivering the full value of the engagement, regardless of the rate.
Is it worth it?
Consulting is worth the cost when it either prevents an expensive mistake, a wrong platform choice, a misaligned campaign, a repositioning that misses the market, or when it accelerates a result your team couldn’t have reached as fast alone. It’s a harder sell when a business isn’t yet ready to act on the advice, no team to execute, no budget to test recommendations. Being honest about that readiness before signing saves both sides time.
Questions worth asking before you commit
- Is this hourly or retainer, and what exactly is included in that rate?
- How many hours of direct access do I get per month?
- What happens between scheduled calls if something urgent comes up?
- Is there a minimum commitment, and what does ending the engagement look like?
Farm 6 Media builds consulting engagements around your business and your budget, with flexible scheduling and a single call available if that’s all you need. Book a free consult to talk through what fits, or explore consulting.
