19 June 2025
And why strategic consultants who mentor and build capability are becoming highly valued
By Justin Wearne
Principal Consultant – JWPM, Industrial Strength Marketing
For decades, industrial businesses and B2B organizations have relied on external marketing agencies to handle everything from branding and lead generation to content production and digital campaigns. But the tide is turning.
A growing number of companies—particularly those with technical products or engineered services—are seeking to build internal marketing capability, reduce reliance on agencies, and take greater control of their growth strategy.
This shift is more than a cost-saving measure. It's a strategic reorientation toward capability-building, agility, and long-term marketing maturity.
The rise of the self-sufficient B2B marketing team
Major research bodies like Gartner, Forrester, and LinkedIn’s B2B Institute all point to a growing trend, and one which has reshaped the JWPM business model. The trend is evident here in Australia.
Companies want to own their marketing process, not rent it.
In fact, Gartner’s 2024 CMO Survey revealed a 15% increase in companies insourcing core marketing activities in the past year alone.
Why?
- Speed and control: Internal teams can respond faster with less back-and-forth.
- Tool accessibility: AI-powered platforms like HubSpot, Jasper, and ChatGPT allow lean in-house teams to punch above their weight.
- Data sensitivity: Many industrial firms are rightly cautious about sharing IP or competitive positioning with too many third parties.
- Smarter investments: Businesses want to invest in durable capability, not just deliverables.
There are cost barriers to insourcing: additional salaries and wages, finding good people, more staff to manage, and small firms may not have the capacity to hire a CMO to develop strategy and guide and mentor the team.
Hence, they see value in hiring at least one person who can do the heavy lifting on the routine day-to-day promotional activities that keep the message in front of the market. Many start by hiring an in-house digital marketer.
From Execution to Capability Building: The consultant's evolving role
In this new model, the role of the marketing consultant is not to “do the work,” but to:
- Define the strategy
- Build the frameworks
- Mentor internal talent
- Recommend and implement the right tools
Think of it as moving from outsourced agency to embedded advisor.
As a B2B marketing consultant, I frequently work with industrial and technology businesses that are ready to scale—but don’t want to become overly reliant on external hands to do it. These clients value someone who can understand complex product ecosystems, help them articulate a compelling value proposition, and then guide their team in executing against it.
What companies still need help with — and what they don't
Shifting In-House
- Email marketing & social posts
- Blog publishing with AI
- CRM management & reporting
- Campaign execution
Still Seeking External Expertise
- Strategic planning & brand architecture
- Go-to-market frameworks
- Mentoring & team coaching
- AI tool consulting & integration
The shift is clear: companies want to own their execution, but they still need a trusted guide to set the course.
The AI Factor: Why consulting is more strategic than ever
The explosion of AI tools has accelerated this trend dramatically. In-house teams can now use platforms like:
- ChatGPT or Jasper for content ideation and first drafts
- HubSpot or ActiveCampaign for marketing automation
- Zoho, Salesforce, or Pipedrive for AI-powered sales enablement
But here’s the catch: tools don’t create strategy. They amplify it.
Without a clear framework and defined goals, AI just adds noise.
And without a clearly defined and systematized selling model, building AI driven processes, workflows, and integrations is impossible - "Automate my sales processes." ... "OK I can do that for you. Please upload your sales process."
That’s where the modern B2B marketing consultant adds enormous value: helping companies integrate these tools seamlessly—based on a sound commercial and brand strategy but also with guidance from a senior marketing practitioner.
Strategy, Frameworks, Mentoring: The future of marketing support
The most forward-thinking businesses no longer ask, “Can you run our marketing for us?”
Instead, they ask:
- "Can you help us identify/prioritize our product and market opportunities?"
- "Can you help us build a strong brand and defensible market position?"
- “Can you help our internal team build a strategy and own it?”
- “Can you mentor our people so they’re confident using modern tools?”
- “Can you bring structure, insight, and commercial acumen to our technical products?”
- "Our growth has flat lined. What do we do?"
This is precisely where I focus my work: high-value consulting engagements designed to build internal capability, create clarity, and reduce long-term dependency on outside providers.
Final Thought: Capability is the new currency
In a world where products evolve fast and buyer journeys are increasingly digital, marketing agility is critical. The businesses that succeed are the ones that can embed strategic marketing thinking into their team, not just outsource it.
If you're building an internal team and want to ensure they have the frameworks, tools, and guidance to deliver meaningful results—let’s talk.
Let’s build a marketing capability that grows with you.
