Today, I wanted to share a story with you.<\/p>\n
One of my developer friends has a reasonably successful web start-up, especially for a new site.\u00a0 An unnamed company that sells internet marketing software (bundled with consultation hours) recently pitched him on marketing consulting services\/their software bundle.\u00a0 He agreed, as he was curious of their capabilities and what they could offer beyond his understanding.\u00a0 Unfortunately for that company my friend is versed in digital marketing.\u00a0 It\u2019s unfortunate because that company has a great name in the industry, but after hearing about my friend\u2019s experience it ruined their name in my mind.<\/p>\n
A good consultancy can\u2019t scale quicker than it can find talent.\u00a0 You can\u2019t slap a label and a process on people, hire just anyone and maintain a premium brand.\u00a0 Maybe in the internet marketing space if you\u2019re talking with those who are clueless you could maintain a facade for awhile \u2013 but long term the education gap will bridge.\u00a0 This company will ruin their own\u00a0reputation\u00a0eventually if they continue down this path.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not going to divulge the name of either party, but from what my friend explained to me from the pitch\/initial consultation, essentially they:<\/p>\n
His reaction was \u201cthat\u2019s it, really?\u201d\u00a0 It left him scratching his head who would pay for such a thing.<\/p>\n
Further, they made him feel part of an inhuman process.\u00a0 He felt rushed by the experience, felt like there was a lack of personalization and their representative didn\u2019t really grasp the intricacies of SEO, social media or even their brand.<\/p>\n
He explained to me the person he spoke with had the title of consultant, however after hearing the whole story it was clear to me this was just someone doing sales\/demos, not a true consultant.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen enough companies get stuck with consultancies who hand off projects down the line to inexperienced marketers.\u00a0 The fact that this company is handing off their sales process to individuals with a lack of understanding should bother you even more if you\u2019re a marketing consultant.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 They are exploiting the\u00a0digital divide\u00a0for profit and trying to say you can package and automate the parts of internet marketing\u00a0you should never automate.<\/p>\n
This company has thought leaders working for them and yet clearly it doesn\u2019t move down the line.\u00a0 Good marketing consulting is something special, and doesn\u2019t scale just because you hire more people.\u00a0 After working with a few firms, doing recruiting in the space, going to events and being connected with quite a few industry professionals \u2013 I know it\u2019s hard to find talent.\u00a0 Clearly this company is finding it no different.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today, I wanted to share a story with you. One of my developer friends has a reasonably successful web start-up, … <\/p>\n