With so many marketers now spending their days working from home, the role of marketing consultant services has been significantly changed.

When a company chooses to engage a marketing agency or marketing consultant to run their marketing campaigns, it's important to ask a few marketing questions that will help you make a better decision on who is the right choice for marketing your company.

The way technology and software companies are approaching the 'new marketing' era is evolving rapidly with nimble companies flexing their stronghold in delivering customers and prospects with communications that reinforce why they should be chosen over their competitors.

Interestingly enough, technology companies are still marketing, while many of their other discipline counterparts have pressed pause. The reason for this is the reliance on technology to power through any uncertainty and secure companies with better efficiencies, long-term cost savings and outcomes.

In truth, I have no risk management solution in place. My glass is half full, I am the eternal optimist and there is this underlying belief that 'everything will be alright'. 

So, when COVID hit, I thought it would pass. A few weeks of hysteria and then we would be back to normal. A small bump in the road.

We're almost six months into the year and from all accounts, it's been the most challenging, disruptive year in many of our lives. For business owners, it's been a time that has led to much reflection; cutting costs, closing doors, pivoting. Who would have thought that we would all be in this position together?

The day I landed in Aspen at the start of March I realized that something was different. It was eerie. The streets were quieter than they normally are that time of year, and there was this sense of not getting too close to anyone or else something terrible might happen.

In the past 2 months I have spoken to more than 100 entrepreneurs in the technology, professional services, manufacturing and logistics industries. There has been a common thread to many of these calls, mostly that their website needs a revamp and they want to up their digital marketing efforts. It's not rocket science I know, but many companies didn't get on the digital bandwagon fast enough and have left it to the last minute. Better late than never, and there will always be those of whom think they can wait a little longer, which means ultimately, they will be the one's with less clients at the end of the day.

A level playing field has been much of the discussion amongst SMB's who are benefitting from consumers pushing back on their larger counterparts. With the current economic climate bringing to the forefront how much large corporations benefit from global pandemics, consumers are becoming more conscious.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going - or at least so they say.

It's been a difficult few months for businesses who are navigating a new way of doing business, or forced closure. To say that it has been tough is an understatement. Like many entrepreneurs, I have been feeling the pressure and at times it is unsurmountable.