Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between public relations consultants and marketing consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a public relations consultant, becoming a marketing consultant takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a marketing consultant has an average salary of $70,593, which is higher than the $50,333 average annual salary of a public relations consultant.
The top three skills for a public relations consultant include press releases, web content and strategic communications. The most important skills for a marketing consultant are customer service, web content, and media sales.
| Public Relations Consultant | Marketing Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $50,333 | $70,593 |
| Hourly rate | $24.20 | $33.94 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 27,882 | 88,935 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A public relations consultant represents an organization and is the company's way to communicate to the public their plans, decisions, and motivations. They both advertise and show the company's personality and create familiarity and trust. The public relations consultant's role is to create all the PR materials needed to accomplish these goals. It means writing press releases, online content, speeches, and also working with the marketing and advertising team to create copy that will evoke the interest of the public. The ultimate goal is to gain customers and thus increase sales.
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.
Public relations consultants and marketing consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Relations Consultant | Marketing Consultant | |
| Average salary | $50,333 | $70,593 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $85,000 | Between $44,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Wilmington, DE |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Delaware |
| Best paying company | AbbVie | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Media | Technology |
There are a few differences between a public relations consultant and a marketing consultant in terms of educational background:
| Public Relations Consultant | Marketing Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Communication | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between public relations consultants' and marketing consultants' demographics:
| Public Relations Consultant | Marketing Consultant | |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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 | 12% | 10% |