Consulting services are intangible. Fees are high. And you'll want to charge at least of some of them up-front.
This means you need to build a lot of trust before you even get into a sales conversation. And that is the job of marketing!
Without building trust beforehand, there won't even be a sales conversation. This is why referrals are so important as you get to inherit trust from the referrer.
But few firms are able to grow on referrals alone. And even referrals can benefit from a helping hand - a good website with engaging content that demonstrates your expertise.
Of course, nothing builds trust more than having a face-to-face conversation with someone. This is why you can't limit your marketing to being digital-only. You need to deploy both digital and traditional marketing channels.
And you need to utilise both inbound and outbound methods.
I never said this would be easy!
That said, there are some simple rules to marketing - which I like to see as a game. Your (marketing) job is to beat your opponents - other potential providers. And let's not forget that the greatest opponent is inaction. When the client simply decides to do nothing, often through fear caused by a lack of understanding.
So, before you look further into how we can help, it would be helpful to explain the simple rules of the game...
The Game of Marketing
The game of marketing is simple. In order to win there are 5 rules that must be followed.
Rules:
- Embrace failure: Marketing is all about trying things out, not all of which will work. If you're not prepared to fail, ironically you will lose.
- Stop talking about yourself: Problems and opportunities are marketed, services are sold. Don't make your marketing all about you and your firm - no-one cares. Market the problems you help people to overcome and the opportunities you help them to realise.
- Build trust: Marketing a consulting business is all about building trust, not funnels.
- Go omnichannel: A single marketing channel is not enough. You must deploy multiple channels that work in harmony.
- Every marketing channel can work: However, none will work if you are not consistent, persistent and patient.
What we do
Now you know the rules of the game (which puts you ahead of the vast majority of your competition!) let's look at how we help to support you.
We do this in two ways:
Strategic Marketing Support
Managed Marketing
Working with your team (who are the experts at what you do!), we turn that expertise into core marketing content. That content is used to support both digital and traditional marketing channels.
We implement all of the supporting technology to drive engagement with your content, to build trust in your prospects, and to both achieve inbound calls as well as to increase the success of your outbound calls.
Tactical Marketing Support
Marketing Strategy
Depending on budget and your own resources, rather than outsourcing the whole thing, you may simply want pointing in the right direction.
From there you can utilise your own team or other providers to implement a successful strategy.
This is what our standalone service is all about. utilising our expertise in consulting firms to design a strategy that works!
Case Study Creation
Case studies are great to demonstrate to potential clients that you have experience of successfully getting clients results.
They're also great earlier in the marketing process to help your prospects understand how they can overcome their challenges.
We produce case studies focused on client outcomes, rather than what activities you performed!
Managed Linkedin
Social media is an essential marketing channel for every business. And if you're in the B2B space, there's currently no better channel than Linkedin.
However, like every marketing channel, it takes consistent time and effort to make it work well.
If you haven't the time nor inclination, let us step into the driving seat for you.
Website Design
Core to marketing any consulting firm is your website. It's your marketing hub.
If you don't have a current website, or want something better, we can create you a website that is focused on turning strangers into clients through building trust. Not simply being a great bit of web development code or graphic design.