Coaching can be the secret weapon to accelerate your business growth.
But not all coaching is the same, and choosing the right type is essential. Business coaching and marketing coaching are often confused, yet they support growth in very different ways. Understanding the difference can help you focus on what truly matters for your business right now.
In this article, you will discover:
- What business coaching and marketing coaching focus on.
- The key differences between the two.
- How to decide which type of coach you need.
Let’s explore which coaching style is right for you.
What is Coaching?
At its core, coaching is about helping you reach your goals faster. A coach guides you towards better decisions, keeps you accountable, and helps you break through mental barriers. It’s like having someone in your corner who sharpens your skills and challenges your thinking.
The main focus of coaching is on self-discovery and progress. Rather than telling you what to do, a coach helps you figure out your own solutions. This process often leads to greater clarity and confidence, as you learn to approach challenges with a more strategic mindset.
For example, a coach might not directly solve your time management issues, but they will guide you in exploring why it’s a problem and how you can resolve it. The result? You’re more likely to make lasting changes because you've figured out the solution yourself.
Remember, coaching isn’t the same as teaching. A coach won’t just give you tactics or information—they help you apply what you already know in the most effective way.
Business Coaching: The Big Picture
Business coaching helps you run your company more effectively. It’s about looking at the big picture, focusing on your leadership, business operations, and team performance. A business coach acts like a strategic partner, helping you identify key areas for improvement and making sure you're working on what truly matters.
Take Steve Jobs, for example. Even he had a business coach. Bill Campbell, his coach, played a crucial role in helping Jobs refine his leadership style and transform Apple’s culture. The result? Massive growth. Jobs had the vision, but Campbell helped him unlock his full potential.
A business coach can help you with:
- Leadership development: Strengthening your ability to lead and inspire your team.
- Improving communication: Sharpening how you interact with employees and stakeholders.
- Scaling operations: Structuring your business for growth without losing efficiency.
- Boosting team performance: Ensuring your team is aligned and productive.
Business coaching focuses on making your entire business stronger, from top to bottom. It’s perfect if you need to scale up, streamline your processes, or become a better leader. You’ll focus on the most important areas for growth and ensure you’re not stuck in the day-to-day grind.
Marketing Coaching: Targeting Customers
Marketing coaching focuses on helping you connect with your customers. Unlike business coaching, which looks at your company as a whole, marketing coaching zeroes in on how you reach and attract the right people. The goal is to improve your marketing strategy, sharpen your messaging, and boost your visibility.
Consider a small clothing startup struggling to gain traction. A marketing coach might help them refine their social media presence, build a recognisable brand, and engage with their ideal customers. While the brand’s team knows how to make great clothes, the coach helps them get noticed and stand out in a crowded market.
Marketing coaching typically covers:
- Identifying target customers: Knowing exactly who you’re speaking to and what they need.
- Crafting the right message: Communicating your brand’s value in a way that resonates.
- Optimising social media efforts: Using platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn to boost your reach.
- Improving conversion rates: Turning leads into customers through better campaigns.
Marketing is not the same as sales, though they work hand-in-hand. Even the best marketing won’t fix a broken sales process. But a marketing coach ensures that your promotional efforts bring in the right audience and set you up for success.
With marketing coaching, the focus is on tactical execution—finding the right methods to engage your customers and grow your brand.
Key Differences Between Business and Marketing Coaching
While both business and marketing coaching support growth, their focus is entirely different. A business coach looks at the overall structure and health of your business, guiding you in leadership, operations, and team management. On the other hand, a marketing coach is laser-focused on helping you connect with customers and grow your brand.
Let’s look at some key distinctions:
- Scope: Business coaching works on the whole company, addressing long-term strategies. Marketing coaching is more tactical, concentrating on improving how you reach and engage your audience.
- Focus: A business coach helps you develop leadership skills, manage teams, and scale your operations. A marketing coach focuses on your customer-facing efforts, from messaging to campaigns.
- Approach: Business coaching strengthens the internal workings of your company. It’s about building resilience in leadership and ensuring your business is running smoothly. Marketing coaching, however, helps you refine how you present yourself to the world and how to increase visibility.
If you run a growing consultancy, a business coach might work with you on hiring strategies, streamlining operations, and improving team communication. Meanwhile, a marketing coach would help you identify your ideal client base, refine your messaging, and optimise your website for lead generation.
These two types of coaching work together, but they address completely different needs. Understanding this difference helps you choose the right support at the right time.
Which Coaching is Right for You?
Choosing between a business coach and a marketing coach depends on where your biggest challenges lie. Both can significantly improve your business, but each tackles a different aspect of growth.
If you’re struggling to lead your team, scale your operations, or focus on long-term goals, a business coach is what you need. They’ll help you improve your leadership, streamline your processes, and make sure your business is built to last.
Imagine a tech startup that’s growing quickly but struggling with internal communication. A business coach would help the founder create clearer structures and improve team collaboration, allowing them to scale without chaos.
On the other hand, if your primary issue is getting more customers, improving your brand visibility, or refining your marketing efforts, a marketing coach would be the best fit. They’ll guide you on how to attract the right audience and convert leads into customers.
A local café might have excellent products but few customers. A marketing coach could help them create engaging social media content, refine their branding, and run effective local ads, bringing in foot traffic.
Remember, it’s not about choosing one over the other for life. Many business owners use both types of coaching at different stages of their journey, depending on where the most pressing issues arise. What’s crucial is identifying where you need the most support right now.
Common Confusion: Business Coaching vs. Marketing Coaching
It’s easy to confuse business coaching with marketing coaching, especially since both focus on helping you grow. However, not understanding the difference can lead to disappointment. Many people unknowingly hire a marketing coach thinking they’ll get help with their entire business, only to find the coach is focused purely on tactics like social media and branding.
I once hired a coach who specialised in online businesses. They were brilliant at Instagram strategies but couldn’t help me structure my business goals or hold me accountable. It became clear that they were a marketing coach, not a business coach. They understood promotion, but lacked the skills to address the bigger picture, like leadership or business planning.
This confusion happens because many coaches blur the lines between teaching and coaching. A coach guides you to find your own answers, while a teacher gives you specific instructions or tactics. The difference is important, especially when deciding what kind of support you need.
Remember, it’s vital to clarify the coach’s expertise before you hire them. A true business coach will help you with leadership, team management, and scaling. A marketing coach will work on brand visibility, customer outreach, and lead generation. Be clear on what you’re seeking help with to avoid getting the wrong type of support.
Business vs. Marketing Coaching – Which Should You Choose?
Both business and marketing coaching offer unique value, but the right choice depends on your needs. If you're looking to improve leadership, scale your operations, or optimise team performance, a business coach is the way to go. They'll focus on the long-term health and structure of your company, helping you build a solid foundation for growth.
A founder struggling to manage a rapidly growing team will benefit from business coaching. The coach can guide them on leadership development and improving team dynamics, ensuring the business scales effectively.
If your challenge is attracting more customers, building a brand, or refining your promotional strategies, then a marketing coach is the better fit. Their expertise lies in crafting effective marketing strategies, increasing visibility, and improving customer engagement.
A restaurant owner needing help with attracting more diners would find a marketing coach invaluable. They could develop campaigns that drive footfall and refine the restaurant’s online presence.
Remember, it’s not about choosing one over the other forever. You may find yourself needing both types of coaching at different stages of your business journey. Just be sure to understand what support you need now and pick the right coach accordingly.
If you’re still uncertain, consider speaking with potential coaches to better understand their approach and how they can help you.
So where do you stand on the coaching divide?
Leave your answers in a comment
Sarah x
This is an excellent and insightful article, Sarah! It’s been quite some time since I recognized this crucial difference myself. However, I’ve still seen many people invest in coaching only to end up disappointed because their expectations around ROI were unrealistic or misaligned.
You’ve really hit the nail on the head here by clarifying this difference. So many need to hear this message, and your approach sheds light on it. It helps people understand the true value of marketing and business coaching and how to set realistic expectations for their journey. Great job!
It’s true that both types of coaching help us grow our businesses and we probably need both at various times. I pretty much think of marketing as a branch on the tree of my business. And… while this may not be the best approach, I like to focus on education and allow that to be the focus of my marketing posts. Now, if I’d just remember to add the good business process of a call to action and some links to services/more info in my educational marketing posts I’d be improving communication and guiding people to purchasing my services leading to more business growth 🙂