1. What is the difference between professional services marketing and traditional types of marketing?

There are a number of factors. Such firms cannot make the same claims as other organization due to the often fungible nature of such services. One cannot say ‘we do better audits’. Hence achieving differentiation requires a different way of thinking. Additionally, traditional promotion is problematic as building credibility with advertising or other similar tools has been shown to be ineffective from a client point of view. Moreover, due to the very nature of such services (complex and intangible), the interaction between client and provider becomes the primary marketing tool and even more so than for traditional organizations, marketing must be woven into the very fabric of the firm as part of its culture. Traditional branding and marketing will not work here.

2. How does marketing differ for SME’s, especially when considering gaining access to overseas markets?

The primary difference for SME’s is the resource constraints they often face (time and money). Building a market profile, developing a strong brand, and achieving sales success is a substantial challenge under resource disadvantages and traditional strategy approaches need modification. When considering internationalization, a low risk, low cost approach to market identification and access is absolutely crucial for an SME owner/manager who cannot afford to lose large amounts of money in exploring new markets. It is here that we have developed a worldwide office network to help SME’s explore overseas markets more cost effectively (visit our sister firm at www.sme-is.com).

3. Do the consultants who sell us the work also complete the engagement or do you pass off the work to subordinates?

Absolutely not. Unlike other consultancies, we do not hire freshly graduated MBA's with little or no industry experience. We believe that a fundamental tenet of completing a client engagement is to put the people who sell you the assignment right at the core of all the subsequent processes. All of our consultants have a minimum of 10 years working/consulting experience and a relevant master's degree.

4. What if you are not familiar with our industry?

That is our comparative advantage. Too often organizations are constrained by the assumptions of an industry. Our solutions are driven by innovation and critical thinking that spans industries. We do not believe in sacred cows that cannot be put out to pasture.

5. How can you help us?

Our objective is to come into your organization and ask the right sorts of questions. Critical thinking and questioning is where the process begins, and we are committed to helping you clarify the problem and sharpen your thinking. Following this we will be able to get an understanding of the scope of the work and your objectives and needs and how best they can be met.

6. Do you find a conflict of interest in serving clients from the same industry?

Generally not, our project details are completely confidential and we do not, under any circumstances, divulge our client names or details. If we find that we are doing work for two clients in the same industry that is very similar, we would then withdraw from the situation.

7. How do you charge?

Initially, we will see you as many times as necessary or you wish to discuss the issues before we make any proposal, including price. These initial consultations are completely free of obligation. Once we have a clear idea of the objectives and scope of the work we will then be able to give a firm price indication. We do not charge hourly fees and base our price on the value delivered and received.

8. How are our issues addressed/solved?

We believe that you must be at the heart of any process. Working closely with your team, our people will impart all the knowledge and skills they can as we solve the issues together. In this way we create a sense of ownership for your team which considerably enhances the ability to implement. Our job is to work ourselves into relative unemployment.