Crisis consulting · SME · Turnaround · 9 min read
In a crisis, no business needs more theory. It needs someone who quickly understands the situation, sets clear priorities, and acts immediately. The single most effective move is to diagnose the real problem before spending a single euro on solutions. Here is what that looks like in practice.
+74%
Revenue growth in crisis
16 Mo.
Turnaround timeframe
7/10
Crises are a marketing problem
90 days
Diagnostic period
A crisis is not an abstract concept for Simon Förstemann. As an interim marketing manager, Simon worked with a company caught in serious growth stagnation. The marketing budget had been cut. Expectations were high. The situation was difficult.
The result after 16 months:
Case study · Interim Marketing Manager
+74%
Revenue growth in 16 months. Less budget. Clear strategy.
No special market conditions. No luck. No one-off effects. Strategic realignment of marketing, sharp channel prioritisation, consistent execution. That is what separates crisis consulting from crisis commentary.
Key Takeaways
Most crises in small and medium-sized businesses share a common root: the company did not notice how its market had shifted. Or it noticed, but reacted too late. Or it reacted in the wrong direction.
There are four crisis types that Simon Förstemann encounters regularly in practice:
That might sound self-serving coming from a marketing consultant. But look at the data: the most common cause of revenue decline in small businesses is not a bad product. It is an outdated market position or a mismatch between what is offered and how it is communicated.
The product works. But it reaches the wrong audience. Or it communicates the wrong value. Or it is visible on a channel the target group no longer uses. These errors are correctable — but they require someone without internal blind spots to identify them.
The approach is straightforward: understand first, then act. That sounds obvious. In practice it rarely happens. During a crisis, the instinct is to act immediately and understand later. This produces measures that consume resources without solving the actual problem.
Agencies deliver outputs: content, ads, design. In a crisis, you do not need outputs — you need diagnosis and decisions. Only once the problem is clearly defined and the solution direction is set does hiring an agency make sense.
Engaging an agency before the strategy is in place wastes budget on actions that may not address the actual problem. Sometimes the agency is part of the problem: it has been running the wrong channel for years without ever questioning the results.
A crisis has two phases that must be kept clearly separate:
Stabilisation: Stop the bleeding. Not every cost needs to be cut, but the wrong spending must stop. Focus only on the channels and actions that demonstrably generate revenue. Everything else pauses.
Growth: Only once stabilised does a growth strategy make sense. Attempting to stabilise and grow simultaneously means doing both badly. Keeping these phases separate was a decisive element in the +74% mandate.
What can a consultant actually do during a business crisis?
An experienced crisis consultant brings three things above all: diagnostic speed (spotting the real problem quickly, without the blind spots insiders develop), external credibility (the ability to say uncomfortable truths that no one internally dares to voice), and strategic clarity (prioritising in a situation where panic leads to a watering-can approach — spreading resources thin instead of concentrating on what matters).
When should an SME bring in external help during a crisis?
As early as possible. The biggest mistake is waiting. External crisis consulting is most effective when there is still room to manoeuvre — at the first sign of revenue decline, the first team crisis, or the first signals of market disruption. Companies that wait until a cash-flow crunch becomes acute have far fewer options.
How much does crisis consulting for small businesses cost?
Crisis consulting is more intensive than regular strategy work. Day rates range from EUR 1,800 to EUR 3,500. A 90-day crisis mandate typically costs EUR 30,000 to EUR 70,000. That sounds like a lot. Compared to a 20–30% revenue loss sustained over 12 months, it is a clearly positive investment.
Why is a crisis often a marketing problem?
In 7 out of 10 SME crises Simon Förstemann has worked through, the root cause was a marketing question — even when it presented as a sales, cost, or people problem. The product works. But it reaches the wrong audience, communicates the wrong value, or appears on a channel the target group has abandoned. These errors are correctable with the right outside perspective.
Why does a crisis need a strategist, not an agency?
Agencies deliver outputs: content, ads, design. In a crisis you need diagnosis and decisions first. Engaging an agency before the strategy is defined wastes budget on actions that may not address the actual problem. Sometimes the agency has been running the wrong channel for years — it cannot diagnose itself.
What is the difference between crisis stabilisation and growth?
Stabilisation means stopping the bleeding: cutting wrong spending and concentrating only on what demonstrably generates revenue. Growth only begins once stable ground is established. Attempting both at once means doing both badly. Keeping these phases clearly separate was a key element in achieving +74% revenue growth in 16 months.
Ready to take the next step?
30 minutes. No pitch. Just an honest assessment of your situation.
Schedule a call →About the author
Simon Förstemann
Growth strategist & marketing advisor with 14 years of experience. 6 ventures founded, 3 exits, Red Dot Award and German Design Award winner. Works 1:1 with decision-makers — no agency, no workshops that lead nowhere.
LinkedIn →