Direct marketing specialist vs marketing consultant

The differences between direct marketing specialists and marketing consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a direct marketing specialist and a marketing consultant. Additionally, a marketing consultant has an average salary of $70,593, which is higher than the $59,907 average annual salary of a direct marketing specialist.

The top three skills for a direct marketing specialist include marketing campaigns, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for a marketing consultant are customer service, web content, and media sales.

Direct marketing specialist vs marketing consultant overview

	Direct Marketing Specialist	Marketing Consultant
Yearly salary	$59,907	$70,593
Hourly rate	$28.80	$33.94
Growth rate	19%	19%
Number of jobs	125,958	88,935
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	6	6

What does a direct marketing specialist do?

A direct marketing specialist develops marketing strategies and promotes products or services directly to customers, aiming to secure sales and raise brand awareness. Their responsibilities usually include conducting market research and analyses, studying the consumer trends and competitors, identifying business and client opportunities, establishing objectives, and creating marketing materials for different programs and platforms. Moreover, there are times when a direct marketing specialist collaborates with external parties such as vendors and distributors, analyze client feedback, and assist clients by answering inquiries, processing sales, and solving issues and concerns.

What does a marketing consultant do?

A marketing consultant is responsible for utilizing their extensive retail expertise to develop strategies on how to strengthen client base and achieve better sales. Furthermore, a marketing consultant must perform research and analysis to determine opportunities for financial gains, devise plans to improve client satisfaction, assess the competition, look out for any risks, and develop its brand and image. They should also ensure that all steps taken adhere to the policies and regulations of the organization.

Direct marketing specialist vs marketing consultant salary

Direct marketing specialists and marketing consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Direct Marketing Specialist	Marketing Consultant
Average salary	$59,907	$70,593
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $80,000	Between $44,000 And $112,000
Highest paying City	-	Wilmington, DE
Highest paying state	-	Delaware
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between direct marketing specialist and marketing consultant education

There are a few differences between a direct marketing specialist and a marketing consultant in terms of educational background:

	Direct Marketing Specialist	Marketing Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Georgia	University of Georgia

Direct marketing specialist vs marketing consultant demographics

Here are the differences between direct marketing specialists' and marketing consultants' demographics:

	Direct Marketing Specialist	Marketing Consultant
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1%	Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 10.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between direct marketing specialist and marketing consultant duties and responsibilities

Direct marketing specialist example responsibilities.

Execute worldwide eMarketing strategies to drive leads and revenue for assign products.
Manage relationships with print, mail, e-mail, creative and copywriting vendors.
Manage B2C direct marketing tactics including e-mail and direct mail to drive revenue for the remarketing efforts.
Manage the creation and deployment of mobile-optimize e-blast HTML templates to use for company's online marketing efforts.
Develop, manage and implement special events for MWR programs and facilities with to focus on the customer.
Manage all benefits and payroll administration, including analyzing plans and making recommendations for plan design changes.

Marketing consultant example responsibilities.

Contact inbound leads using HubSpot.
Design, deploy and manage end-to-end marketing automate solutions (Pardot and Hubspot).
Work with a B2C transportation provider to manage the day-to-day tasks for web advertising campaigns.
Set and achieve target sales goals by utilizing sales strategies and CRM tools such as cold calling and Pardot.
Lead an international team of marketing professionals and graphic designers in a complete rebranding of client's website and marketing materials.
Manage online affiliate marketing tactics utilizing blogs and PPC campaigns

Direct marketing specialist vs marketing consultant skills

Common direct marketing specialist skills

Marketing Campaigns, 13%
Customer Service, 11%
Data Entry, 10%
Email Marketing, 7%
Print Production, 7%
Email Campaigns, 6%

Common marketing consultant skills

Customer Service, 12%
Web Content, 10%
Media Sales, 10%
Digital Marketing, 8%
Marketing Campaigns, 6%
Salesforce Marketing Cloud, 4%

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Direct Marketing Specialist
Direct Marketing Specialist vs Marketing Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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