Small business marketing consultants face a paradox: They need data to make decisions but are expected to make decisions before they have enough data.
Small businesses’ narrow data and user bases make waiting for primary sources like surveys impractical. A faster way is to leverage secondary sources, such as real-time market insights. However, manually gathering this data is slow and inconsistent.
Pline’s Automated Data Extraction Process solves this by enabling consultants to instantly extract data upon receiving an RFP(Request for Proposal) and deliver valuable, real-time industry insights.
The Challenging Questions Consultants Face Everyday
Small business clients often have specified budgets, leading to doubts about ROI. They constantly ask:
- What’s working in my industry?
- What are my competitors doing?
- How should I price my services?
As a consultant, you’re expected to be the expert, but every business is different, so you can’t afford to guess and must walk the talk with data. And these aren’t just businesses. They are people’s dreams, their passion, their livelihood.
The good news?
While data from primary sources is being collected, you can communicate with clients using data from the following secondary sources.
- Real-time market insights
- Competitor analysis
- Customer Reviews
But doing it manually? That’s a quick way to burn out, as your client’s business may be small, but the competition isn’t.
The Recurring Problems of Manually Extracting Data
Although secondary data sources are valuable, the vast amount of information and sources can become overwhelming, with recurring problems including:
- Websites constantly change their structures.
- Data isn’t always in the same language or format.
- Deals and promotions launch at unpredictable hours, forcing you to work around the clock.
The list goes on. Manually extracting data for clients with these challenges is time-consuming and unscalable for your consulting business. Therefore, You need a reliable, automated tool like Pline.
Scale Your Consulting, Not Your Workload
Powered by browser-based automation, Pline is a no-code, easy-to-use browser extension tool designed for consultants who need quick data extraction without manual effort.
And because consultants need more than just data, Pline comes packed with powerful features to boost productivity and efficiency:
- Market Research in Minutes: Extract 1,000 + of product information in a few minutes with Automated Data Extraction Mode.
- Adaptive Workflows for Changing Websites: Modify workflows in a few clicks to adjust to website updates.
- Your Process, Your Control: Gain complete control over data extraction, scheduling, and collaboration.
- Enterprise-Level Features: Team collaboration, scheduling, and centralized data management keep your consulting workflow seamless.
- Borderless Insights: Gather real-time data in any language, anywhere.
Like the challenges with manual data extraction from secondary sources, the list of Pline’s benefits as a reliable automated data extraction tool continues.
But as said earlier, like consultants, we also need to walk the talk to be considered reliable, so let’s see how Pline can increase your reputation as a reliable consultant with a real-life use case.
Real Life Use Case
A family-owned boutique is launching a unique line of women’s handbags. They turn to you, a reliable small business marketing consultant, to craft an effective marketing strategy. The RFP requirements are clear:
Pricing: What’s the right price point?
Promotion: How do we reach the right buyers?
Placement: Where should we sell for maximum impact?
It looks straightforward. You draft a plan.
“Let’s send out email surveys to existing customers.”
However, as most of your client customers don’t even check their email often, collecting data from surveys will take at least a week.
Panic? Or Pline?
You pivot and look for alternative sources of information on Google. Suddenly, you encounter another issue: There are 30+ handbag variants.
For most consultants, this is where the panic sets in. But not you.
Because you have Pline.
Rapid Market Research With Pline
Instead of wasting hours clicking through retailer websites and copying data into spreadsheets, you create and run Pline’s Automated Data Extraction Mode.
In a few minutes, you extract 1,000+ handbag descriptions from major retailers and start to see the real-time market situation.
- Which handbag styles dominate
- What pricing trends stand out
- Which brands control the market
One Week Later: The Surveys Arrive
Most consultants would be starting from scratch. But you’ve already validated survey insights with real-time market data.
Currently, for your client, you aren’t just another consultant; you are a trusted partner who has provided
- A clear pricing strategy
- A competitive positioning roadmap
- A complete,data-driven Statement of Work (SOW)
And, most significantly, delivered value from Day One.
With Pline, you walk the talk backed by the confidence of data.
Conclusion
Small business marketing consultants are expected to know the market inside out. However, delivering swift, data-backed strategies seems impossible with narrow datasets and time-consuming research.
With Pline, you extract insights in minutes, adapt instantly, and provide clients with real-time market intelligence without repetitive manual efforts.
Be a reliable consultant who delivers from Day One. Get Started with Pline Today.
