One thing we’ve noticed at Create Engage is that most marketers are truly fantastic at making their firm stand out in the consulting industry. Whilst this is great, and crucial for their businesses, it’s also important to think about how we, as marketers, stand out.

Developing a personal brand was once seen as the forte of celebrities and influencers, but over the past few years, the importance of being visible within your industry has been more widely recognised. 

Often in marketing we talk about creating traction for consultancies using podcasts, webinars and whitepapers. Although these are all brilliant to generate leads and display your consultancies’ expertise, there are other skills, tools and experiences to leverage that can elevate your personal marketing, and your business. 

Enhancing your marketing skills doesn’t have to involve huge amounts of time or investment. There are lots of things you can do, both large and small, to help you differentiate yourself and generate ROI for your consultancy.

Our picks for this week all feature valuable insights and practical advice that made us want strive to stand out in the creative crowd, and hopefully they’ll prove useful for you too!

1. Read: How to Develop Basic Design Skills as a Marketer (Quickly!) – READ NOW

The LinkedIn 2023 B2B Marketing Benchmark revealed that four out of the five fastest-growing creative skills in B2B marketing today are all related to design. This doesn’t mean that we all need to become design experts, but this article provides a great guide on how to improve your design skills and where best to start. 

Whatever the reason, upskilling ourselves and improving our creative capabilities can never be a bad thing! This article looks at the reasons behind this shift, and explores a range of tools, resources and courses to help you quickly brush up on your skills.

2. Read: Once Upon a Brand: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing – Marketing Insider Group – READ NOW

Storytelling plays a huge role in the way we communicate and has done since the dawn of time. Stories create emotion and build trust, so it’s hardly surprising that storytelling  can have real impact when it comes to building meaningful relationships with customers.

This enlightening article explores how ‘we can use the power of storytelling to truly get what we want in life and in business.’ 

There are some brilliant examples of B2C campaigns here that became hugely successful through storytelling, and at first glance these aren’t directly comparable to the B2B work we do in the consulting industry. However, when marketing in the consulting industry our target audience are people that are trying to find the experts they trust the most to help their business. 

We can all use storytelling in our marketing, not only to build strong relationships but gain tangible ROI, and this article explains why and how to start.

3. Listen: From Consulting Success to Tech Trailblazer, with Simon Clarke – READ NOW

In our latest episode of the Climb in Consulting podcast, Nick caught up with Simon Clarke, Founder of CVL and Metis, for an in-depth chat about his career, and how his different life experiences have helped to mould his professional life and perspective. 

It was a great interview, which resonated for many different reasons, but one particular insight stood out. 

Simon explained how he’d benefited from an extended travel adventure early in his career, that involved living alongside locals in Lima and even doing an internship in a media startup. Once Simon returned to UK shores, he founded Metis, and the rest is history.

Nick asks all his guests what advice they’d offer to people at different stages of their consultancy career. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Simon recommended ‘taking time out to travel early in life, to gain experiences that will benefit you throughout your career.’ What better way to stand out in your marketplace than to have incomparable life experiences that have shaped you as a professional.

To find out more about Simon’s fascinating journey, listen to the full podcast episode here.

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