Marketing for Marketing

We have a blog that we have almost forgotten about. Like many other things, our enthusiasm wavers almost as soon as something loses its novelty. This character is so true to me and also, I guess, to the people who make up QC. We forget we have a blog that must be updated. We also forget that the blog (someone told us) is a great way to reach the customers and create a “brand recall”.

“Brand recall” reminds me of the so called “marketing” discussions we have been having internally. We realize that the “word of mouth” process of marketing is slow and works only when we actively ask clients to give us a reference (which we find as difficult as making cold calls). The process of marketing (from the numerous discussions we have had with magazines, peers, clients and our “not so happy” PR experience) seems a little awkward because the marketing is all paid. If everything can be “purchased”, what relevance does marketing hold? I don’t have the knowledge to comment on how marketing should be done, but as a “new user” of marketing, the process seems mechanical- “you can get what you can buy”. Today, most things can be bought – from advertising space, to article space, to speaker space and even invitations to conferences. There seem to be power centres everywhere (people or money) that dictate what will be marketed or who will be given opportunity. In this whole space of “marketing”, so far, I have not experienced any platform that evaluates us or gives us an opportunity for our credibility (against the quality and richness of our work or experience). I have also not found a platform that allows me to network with potential clients. The usual networking forums seem dominated by the “regulars” who have close personal associations with each other. In the sea of the “regulars” and the hordes of “consultants”, I am just a visiting card. There is no space to have a conversation (unless you know a “regular” or “powerful” someone) or to hear an interesting conversation. There is no fun in the process, unless, of course, I am happy being a “visiting card”.

Where does a small, niche consulting company like us get opportunities from? Meeting requests from emails don’t work (99.99% no response is received); neither does phone calls (no one picks up extensions, no secretaries/receptionists help to connect). I don’t believe adverts work- I need meetings- an opportunity to personally meet and share our insights/service range.

It sounds unreal, but getting a meeting, through a cold call is a 1: 50 chance and the conversion time (from request to meeting) could be 6-12 months (this is true if we want to meet a key decision maker – like the Head of HR or a sub-function leader). How will we get an opportunity to be evaluated, if we are not even met with? Why does a meeting request take forever to generate a positive response? Are people so busy? Or do they need a “powerful other reference” or “dire need” to give emerging players an opportunity? I don’t have the answer but I know this frustration will be shared by several other peers.

I don’t know why it is considered acceptable to have unresponded emails/meeting requests or why a receptionist or secretary is not allowed to help schedule a meeting. I am wondering if it is “we” or “our email formats” that don’t work? I would be happy to have someone teach us the trick.

Today I have 100% repeat business and we have added real value to our client’s assignments, maybe the answer is to seek references. From a personal meeting to conversion (depending on how clear the customer need is), the conversion is 1:2 and the time frame is 1:3 or 1:6.

The challenge is to generate meetings. Does anyone have ideas?

Being QC

They say it is good to begin a blog with something positive to share with readers. Since the very intent of a blog is to share honest views/thoughts with a larger audience, I would rather write what my mind dictates than be preoccupied with churning out “positive or motivational” gyan in the hope to catching some readers!

Today has been a day of reflection. For the millionth time in the 10 years that QC (Our favorite “short form” for Quadrangle Consulting) has been in existence, our identity was questioned. Our identity comes from the services we provide our clients. It comes from the long term client engagements we have been able to successfully drive and also from the fact that we are a set of very bright and passionate consultants. We love what we do and have great pride in our work.

But in today’s corporate world there is little value for passionate and dedicated consultants. Today’s world values a brand. The brand covers up for everything – from the attitude of the consultant, the limp service that is sometimes provided, the high price for something that is a day’s work and also for mistakes made during the assignment. This is not to say that great brands don’t do great work. Great brands became great because they do (or did) great work. But the great brand does not mean all its consultants are as great as the brand. And the great brand’s follies are accepted while our strengths are questioned. That’s the most painful part of being a “so called” small consulting firm.

Just because the world does not consider us a “brand” or just because we operate with a small team in a residential office, it is assumed we are not worthy of respect. It is assumed that we will be happy to send a proposal, even if it is a mere formality of purchase rules. It is assumed we can be called on a Saturday and asked to go to office, it is also assumed that we are so “desperate” for business, that we can be spoken to rudely, made to wait at the reception endlessly and also be questioned on our man-day rate in a tone that reeks of sarcasm. Strangely it is also assumed our time is for FREE and that we would do stuff FREE just to gain “entry” into a company. Yes, we would do stuff FREE, but not to get entry…. But to work on a challenging task that pushes our intellectual boundaries!

It is a feeling of pride to pitch for business and get it basis the strengths and passion you bring to the table. We are usually kept deprived of this feeling, because we are remembered only when budgets are low and a “cheaper” vendor is needed. I would rather lose the bid than get it because it was the lowest quote. Yes, our quotes are lower but not because we give shoddy work, not because our consultants lack intelligence or expertise, but because we have lesser overheads!

In these 10 years, through these severely “humiliating “experience, we have learned to value our pride more. We have met the good side of the corporate world, in the shape of excellent clients. Clients who choose us because they had faith in our capabilities, client with whom we have 100% repeat business, clients who forever try and give us suggestions to enhance our marketing and after having given up on us…just refer us to others. These clients are a part of the same corporate world but they stand apart. They stand apart because their corporate values teach them to treat consultants as partners, not vendors. Because they believe in fair evaluations and in dignity in interactions. These clients have nourished our identities, pushed us to challenger ourselves, and in return we have delivered value to their processes and people. It’s been a relationship of mutual respect and admiration.

We would rather invest in these client and work for them than invest in new relationships that signals a journey of humiliation right from the 1st meeting.

Being a “small consultant” gives us the power to say “no” to assignments and clients that question our identity. We don’t have a south eastern office to report to and neither do we have high overheads! We need business to keep our small salaries going, to fund our annual historical international trips and to (most importantly) nourish our minds. We have our regular clients who love our work (and we love working with them!) and once in a while we stumble upon a nice client who hires us for expertise. That works for us. And hey! We are small, because we choose to be small, choose to create our own identity and face the corporate world armed with our expertise. We are small because we felt we did not need the cover of a “brand” to create our sense of accomplishment. We are a brand for the clients we work for and we are a brand for ourselves.