Which digital marketing consultancy offers the best ROI for small businesses?

If you run a small business, you don’t have spare budget to “test and hope.” Every pound needs to come back with friends. So when you ask, “Which digital marketing consultancy offers the best ROI?” you’re really asking: who will help me turn marketing into measurable growth (without burning months and money).

Here’s how to work with the right partner, what ROI should actually look like, and a simple framework to choose a consultancy that pays for itself.

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What “best ROI” really means Best ROI isn’t the cheapest retainer or the flashiest proposal. It’s the consultancy that:

• Aligns with your commercial goals (leads, sales, footfall, bookings) rather than vanity metrics

• Plans across the full buyer journey, not just one channel

• Measures what matters and reports it clearly

• Optimises weekly to improve results, not just “set and forget”

It’s working with an Agency like Optimise Your Marketing that uses the platforms and tools available to get you the results, not sells you a service of the tools and platform, for example: you can pay a social media agency to run posts or you can pay a DIgital Marketing Agency to use the socials to find leads, same fees different result!

So the trap to avoid is to use single-channel specialists Plenty of agencies are brilliant at one thing: SEO, ads, or social. (That can work, until it doesn’t). Real ROI comes from stitching channels together so your brand is visible where customers actually decide. For small businesses, that usually means:

• Brand foundations and messaging that convert

• Local and organic search that capture intent

• Paid campaigns that amplify what already works

• A website that turns traffic into enquiries and sales

• Simple CRM and follow-up so leads don’t leak

It’s the foundations that get built whilst finding a way to pay for the investment, it’s the Chicken and Egg scenario, if you don’t get leads you can’t afford to pay for help and if you don’t get help you can’t get the leads. Using agencies like Optimise Your Marketing will give you a working partner that is focused on helping your online challenges but also focused on covering our own fees and getting you more leads (Win/Win).

How to evaluate ROI before you sign anything Ask these five questions in your discovery call:

Optimise would expect any potential client to ask the following 5 questions and hint, you should too: -

1. What’s your plan to generate revenue in 90 days? You want a clear, phased roadmap: quick wins (weeks), core improvements (months), and scalable growth (ongoing).

2. How will you measure success beyond impressions? Look for KPIs like cost per lead, lead quality, conversion rate, revenue influenced, and payback period.

3. How will you reduce my acquisition cost over time? A good consultancy gets more efficient month after month via better targeting, creative, and funnel optimisation.

4. What will you stop doing if it’s not working? ROI-driven partners make decisions with data, not ego.

5. How will you keep me informed, without drowning me in data? Expect concise dashboards and a monthly review that translates numbers into actions.

On top of that do they have any go-to tools, platforms they use, what about using AI? the discovery call is a great time to really understand what you need and if the agency can help you achieve that. Normally you are at Step A and want to get to Step B, but lack the time, skills etc. The agency needs to be able to remove that barrier to help you achieve the goal, often that means using part of their services for smaller projects and full services for larger projects.

What an ROI-first plan looks like for a small business

Here is a quick roadmap of what an example company could expect: -

• Weeks 1–2: Quick diagnosis and fixes

  • Clarify your offer and proof (social proof, guarantees, pricing clarity)

  • Fix the leaks: site speed, CTAs, forms, tracking, local listings

• Weeks 3–6: Capture existing demand

  • Local SEO tune-up, high-intent landing pages, Google Business Profile optimisation

  • Basic retargeting to recover lost visitors

• Weeks 6–12: Expand reach and nurture

  • Paid search or social (tight targeting, test-and-measure)

  • Email sequences for leads and past customers

  • Content that answers buying questions (not just “tips”)

• Monthly: Review, optimise, and scale what works

  • Double down on winners; cut what doesn’t

  • Add simple CRM for lead scoring and follow-up

You can of course mix and speed it up, for most clients, they want a solid framework that they can rely on over a quick fix campaign, the choice is always yours depending on your needs and your budgets.

Real-world ROI signals to look for!

I mentioned the inputs earlier and it’s essential to use them. Inputs are the repeatable metrics that are used to get a successful ROI. If you imagine a line from A to Z and then in their lead funnels, each one of these has the ability to be optimised for better results. For example Spend on Ads, Social Clicks, Email Opens (the list goes on) by improving any of those by even 1% will change the end revenue figure. So you should be thinking about: -

• Shorter ‘time to first sale’ campaigns

• Falling ‘cost per lead’ and ‘rising lead quality’

• Higher ‘conversion rates’ from website and landing pages

• Improved ‘retention and repeat purchases’

• Clear ‘attribution to channels and campaigns’

The list goes on based purely on the project you wish to run, that’s why it’s confusing for a business when hiring an agency, they don’t always need a full service, often it’s a staged approach to get to open up more projects, knowing this can help you keep the costs controllable and you can work towards the bigger packages later.

Why small businesses often miss out on ROI

Any business should protect their cashflow and investment, but smaller businesses often need every penny to really work hard for them more than most. Investing in an agency can be scary, it can feel like a make or break scenario. But it shouldn’t, The right Agencies are an extension of your business, they are an outsider looking in, they have a wealth of experience that saves you the mistake money, they should be a partner to you. So look to clarify: -

• A clear offer or proof (customers don’t know why choose you)

• Why you are chasing trends (new platform, new tool) without a strategy

• That your not paying for activity, but the outcomes

• That you don’t have a lack of measurement (if you can’t see it, you can’t improve it)

Being clear here, you will have a more open approach to paying the agency and will understand it’s an investment over a cost, the agency needs to help you achieve something you weren’t able to achieve before, not take your money and you be in the same position.

What makes an ROI-focused consultancy different

Optimise believes that to get a true ROI you should build a campaign that incorporates all the tools and platforms in one place, this avoids paying multiple fees to various agencies and let’s you have one key focus. The goal is the result but the win is the inputs that make the goal, like lifting weights at a gym is the input and the way you look is the goal (it’s no different here). You should look to work with an agency that: -

• Proposes strategies before you spend: they run diagnostics before proposing media budgets

• Have a full-funnel view: brand, search, website, CRM, follow up, not just one channel

• Are transparent with pricing and timeframes

• Use weekly optimisation and monthly commercial reviews

• Have a variety of playbooks proven across industries, adapted to your niche

What “good” looks like

Every business is different and therefore every campaign is bespoke. Optimise would build your own individual project using the BIG12 framework that has been so successful for us. For example: -

• Local service (plumber): Rebuilt Google Business Profile, added proof and pricing ranges, created one high-intent landing page, light retargeting. Result: more qualified calls at a lower cost within 30 days.

• Farm shop: Content around seasonal events + local SEO + email reminders to past buyers. Result: measurable footfall spikes and higher basket size during key weekends.

• Business coach: LinkedIn lead gen with clarity on niche and offer. Result: fewer leads, higher quality, better close rates and less time wasted.

What will it cost and what should you expect back?

• DIY guidance and tools: from £20/month. Best for very small budgets with time to implement.

• “Work with us” retainers: from £1,000/month. Collaborative; you execute some tasks, they own strategy and optimisation.

• “Done for you” retainers: from £2,000/month. Hands-off for you, accountable delivery from them.

• Direct senior consultancy: from £5,000/month. For accelerated growth or complex setups.

A sensible target: aim for a 3–5x return on marketing spend over 3–6 months, with early wins in the first 30–60 days. The right partner will show you exactly how they’ll get there and report progress every month (and yes Optimise can deliver all of that).

Checklist: choose the best ROI consultancy

So what should a good Digital Marketing Consultancy look like, simple they will…

• Ask about revenue, margins, sales cycle, and capacity

• Audit your current funnel and highlight the biggest leaks

• Propose phased work with clear milestones

• Show past results in similar industries or buying journeys

• They’re comfortable being measured against outcomes

The bottom line The best ROI comes from a consultancy that’s obsessed with outcomes, not outputs. They’ll fix the foundations, capture intent, then scale what works, while keeping you in the loop with numbers you actually care about.

If you want that approach without the fluff, Optimise Your Marketing uses a BIG12 framework covering brand, SEO, Google, local, AI, algorithms, test and measure, CRM, website, lead generation, social, and influencer marketing, so every piece works together. Choose DIY, collaborate with us, or hand it off entirely. Either way, the goal is the same: make marketing pay for itself.

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Everything above is what Optimise Your Marketing believes a good ROI looks like for a business and what we can deliver for you.

Want a 20-minute diagnostic to see where ROI is leaking and how to fix it in 30 days? Then simply Book a free discovery call below, We’ll map a 90-day plan you can run with whether you hire us or not.