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Summer, the perfect time to sit outside the rural café and enjoy a hearty brunch and strong coffee.

You’re not the only one with that idea: the garden is packed with contented weekenders, enjoying some respite from the city.

Then there’s the little girl, climbing the small oak tree in her red sandals. Up the tree she goes! So much fun. Back down the tree; back up the tree; back down the tree; back up the tree. The parents enjoy reading the weekend papers and are glad their young daughter is amusing herself in such a wholesome way.

Stuck in the tree

Uh-oh: it had to happen

at some point…

“Mummmmm! Heeeeeelp! I’m stuck!”

“Pleeeeeaaaase, help meeeee!”

“Heeeeeeelp!”

Mum calmly wanders over. But the little girl’s crying doesn’t cease.

“Shhhh, now calm down,” instructs mum. The little girl complies.

Now, we’re all expecting mum to swoop in and rescue her distraught daughter before she falls, right?

Wrong. (And this is a true story, as it happens.)

“Now, just take a moment,” says mum.

“Have a deep breath and look around you. See where your legs are? Now, just think about where you could put your legs to get yourself free.”

Sure enough, the little girl calms down and looks around her. She wriggles a bit, and soon she’s found her footing, and is climbing down the tree, confidence restored.

Mum returns to the weekend papers.

So what’s that got to do with marketing?

As business owners, we’re sometimes the little girl stuck in the tree. We can’t see our way ahead, and we panic.

Even worse, we could make a false move and topple out of the proverbial tree.

That’s where an outside opinion from a marketing consultant helps. A consultant can be that calm mum, with the clear head and outside viewpoint.

They can spot what you need to do, even when you can’t, when you’re caught up with sheer terror and panic.

And a it’s also the consultant’s role to ensure that the little oak tree (your business) develops into a fine, sturdy tree that flourishes and grows.