The Power of Consultancy
A New Perspective and A Range of Options...
An outside perspective is a great way to provide new insights into your business and help you break through barriers that have been holding you back.
When a highly qualified and well experienced consultant bring their decades of knowledge and practical experience to the table to help solve your most pressing problems, a shift in thinking or new approach can produce rapid results!
Small business owners often focus on their most pressing problems from their own perspective, rather than their customer's or potential customer's perspective. An experienced strategically focused consultant can help bridge that gap and 'join the dots' that may have been alluding you for far too long.
However, small business owners also see consultants and business advisors as an expense they cannot afford! But the reality is that a short burst of highly targeted advice can save you weeks, months, or even years of frustration and lost opportunity - not to mention the potential lost profit that could transform your bottom line and your business!
Measuring the cost by the daily or hourly rate quoted in a proposal or during a face-to-face chat, not the value they can bring to your business, is a huge mistake far too many small business owners are guilty of! You should consider the value not the expense as consultancy is an investment in your business - just like any other investment.
A consultant's role is simple - to help you solve a specific problem - or set of problems - that will move your business forward quickly, easily, and as painlessly as possible - and much faster than you could do on your own. Used wisely and strategically, consultants can accelerate your business' growth well beyond your initial investment.
A consultant's role is simple - to help you solve a specific problem - or set of problems - that will move your business forward quickly, easily, and as painlessly as possible - and much faster than you could do on your own. Used wisely and strategically, consultants can accelerate your business' growth well beyond your initial investment.
But how do you know if you really need a consultant and where to you start?
There are several types of consultancy related services we offer here at The 21st Century Marketing Academy, starting with the short sharp focus on what is - and is not - working in terms of your marketing. If you're looking for 'Quick Wins' with a minimal investment then a Marketing Audit is a great place to start...
The Marketing Audit
Successful marketing is all about getting the right message in front of the right audience at the right time using the right tools. The Marketing Audit focuses on these four critical components to determine whether your business and marketing strategy and tactics are aligned with what your prospects and customers expect – and actually want and are willing to pay for.
It is a fast way to determine what needs to change in your marketing function and identify where you can make the biggest impact – quickly!
It starts with gaining an understanding of what you are trying to achieve in your business, followed by an examination of your marketing activities and marketing assets from your potential customer’s perspective. That way, we gain a great insight into how it feels to be the recipient of your marketing messages.
We often find there is a significant gap between what you are saying, and what the recipient of your marketing messages actually hears – and needs to hear. This is one typical key reason why your marketing is not working for you! We’ll then put our professional marketer’s hat on and perform a full high level marketing audit before we tell you exactly what you need to do to fix the problem(s) and turn things around.
The Marketing Audit is designed to give you a quick ‘heads up’ of how effect your marketing is right now, and what you need to do to improve it. Its a fast and cost effective way to start ramping up the return on your marketing investment with minimal risk. Learn More…
Strategic Business Review
The Strategic Business Review starts with a more comprehensive business and marketing audit, but here we dig a lot deeper. We’ll examine other parts of your business to really find out what’s going on and pinpoint what is – and what is not – working in your business.
We often identify problems are inter-related and the knock on effect of one issue creates problems in other areas – all of which need to be addressed to solve the underlying cause.
The focus of the Strategic Business Review is identifying – and treating – the root cause not just the effect. It therefore takes longer and requires at least two sessions working you. The initial session is the ‘big one’ with the aim of really definig the problem and drafting a strategy to address it.
This session is intense and you’ll be going away with plenty to think about. You’ll need time to ‘mull it over’ and make some decisions before you come back for the second session where we refine your strategy and fill in some of the details.
The key benefit of the Strategic Business Review is to give you a clear destination with a bullet-proof strategy to help you achieve your goals, supplemented by a step-by-step guide on precisely how to get there. This intense and highly focused review will transform your business and is one of the best investments you can make in yourseld and your business. It starts with an initial telephone consultation to ensure this is the right solution for you.
Solution Specific Consultancy
You may know the problem but you’re not quite sure what to do about it. You may have an idea about what the solution could be and need someone to bounce your ideas off and give pragmatic feedback and advice. But then again you may be struggling to find a solution and cannot see ‘the wood for the trees’.
This is when a consultant or advisor with a wealth of knowledge, expertise and experience can bring a fresh and innovative insight into the mix.
An intensive half-day session focusing on a very specific area of your business may be all you need to break through whatever’s holding you back.
This could be the best investment you’ve made in your business in a long while, and starts with an initial discovery call to help articulate the problem and get the ball rolling.
Advisor to the Board / Non-Executive Director
When one day is not enough and you’re looking to turbo-charge your business for the long term, a consistent and constant level of strategic input can make the difference between surviving, doing OK, and really taking off! Adding a ‘heavy-weight’ strategically focused marketer / director / leader to your ‘top table’ could take your business to new heights you never even thought possible.
Rather than hiring a consultant on either an ad-hoc, or short term basis that focuses on just one part of your business, an Advisor to the Board (or Non-executive Director) is well suited to the needs of an ambitious and growing business. They can provide that all important ongoing strategic support that focuses on your entire business – but at a fraction of the cost!
A bespoke solution requires a personal discussion, so click here to book your FREE initial consultation and discover how having an experienced marketing strategist can help take your business to the next level.
Which is the best option for you?
Marketing Audit
Strategy Review
Solution Specific
Advisor / NED