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WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT IS A DANCE. Both the client and the consultant must coordinate their actions carefully to achieve their mutual goal. And, it helps to avoid “stepping on feet” in the process. Here are a few points on how to avoid trip-ups.. |
THE INVITATION TO THE DANCE
The relationship (“dance”) between a company and consulting firm begins when a company realizes that they might benefit from having an outside perspective about how to solve a particular problem. Or, sometimes it starts when a company's internal resources are simply overloaded and they need some extra specialized help. Frequently, a company asks a consultant to help with some kind of business transition. Examples include mergers, acquisitions, "turnarounds" and installations of new CRM systems. In all cases, the company needs stop-gap short-term help. The dance that follows is a professional relationship focused upon resolving a specific problem or situation.
The best way to find a consulting firm is through someone who has worked with the consulting firm and has experience with them. There are many kinds of consultants. Some are much more specialized than others. Database marketing consultants, for example, are very narrowly focused. So, impersonal solicitations such as broadly-advertised RFP's rarely attract many qualified specialists. Many database marketing consultants will not even attempt to respond to a broadly-distributed RFP.
Another good way to develop a "short list" of possible consultant specialists is by informally chatting with specialists within your own firm and in other firms like yours. It often helps if the other firms are out of town and do not compete directly with your company, of course.
Internet searches can be very good for developing a "short list", as can professional associations, regional and national conferences.
Call each possible candidate firm and chat with them briefly on the phone. Get a feel for how they work with their clients and whether they have the kind of experience you are looking for. See if they are willing to share what they know with you. After all, the purpose of a consultant is to help your company learn how to do things by yourself if you want to.
After selecting a half-dozen or so candidates for more serious consideration, develop a "case study" that describes a specific real-life problem that you are facing. It's better if the "sample problem" is real but not too complex. It does not have to be the specific problem that you are trying to resolve at the moment. Most consulting firms are quite willing to discuss their problem-solving approach in some detail.
Most c onsultants will be happy to chat with you at no charge. Howver, they will expect to be paid for any significant "up front" work. After all, all they sell is their time and they have to manage their customer acquisition costs as aggressively as you do!
THE DANCE BEGINS
Based upon the "look and feel" of the short-list candidates, the "dance" begins in earnest with a formal proposal or contract. It is crucial that this document clearly state the goal(s) to be achieved in strategic terms rather than tactical terms. For example, a strategic objective is, “We want to improve profits by keeping our profitable customers longer.” This statement does not restrict the method(s) to achieve this goal.
When the goal has been defined, the next step of the dance is to establish realistic expectations of what actions will be taken and what resources are available. This is the step that deals with budgets, timeframes and project milestones. All of these should be spelled out in simple language in some kind of proposed agreement document. It can be a purchase order, a proposal document or a formal contract and quote, depending upon the size of the project and your company's purchasing policies. (Things will move ahead much more quickly if you avoid documents that require legal review, however.)
These two steps comprise the "beginning of the dance." During these steps the consultant and the client are still deciding whether to proceed with the other. Nearly everything about the relationship and the project is negotiable at this stage. Don't be afraid to ask for any kind of special arrangement that would make it easier for you -- and don't be surprised if the consultant does the same.
THE DANCE CONTINUES
If the negotiations are successful, the work begins. The first secret to a successful consultant engagement (for both parties!) is good communications. The consultant and the client should each identify a single person to be the “authorized representative” for the project. This person should have the responsibility for managing the project for their respective parties. Each needs the authority to make day-to-day decisions quickly. Each must communicate regularly with the other and make resources of various kinds available to the other.
A “successful project” is one that fully meets everyone's expectations. So, managing expectations throughout the project is the second secret to success. Remember that every project uncovers hidden facts and situations. Both parties must be prepared to adjust their expectations accordingly as the new facts present themselves. Be aware that as new facts are discovered, the initial agreements may need to be revisited and adjusted accordingly.
THE DANCE STEPS
A database marketing project obviously depends upon data. Usually, these data are highly sensitive and may even be the primary intangible asset of the firm. In every case, the data represent trade secrets and must be respected and protected as such. Experienced database consultants have information technology specialists who are familiar with using the latest data security practices and techniques to protect the privacy and integrity of the client’s data.
For example, it is usually the consultant’s responsibility to review the client’s data structures and identify the data items that will be useful for the project. For smaller firms, the consultant may do this directly. For larger firms, the consultant will work with the client's information technology staff to do this.
It is then the client’s responsibility to actually extract the needed data from their systems. The client and consultant then work together to define the identity hiding, data encryption and data transport procedures appropriate for the project. The choice of which tools and techniques are most appropriate depends upon the specifics of each project.
When the database marketing consultant receives the data, the next steps vary depending upon specifics of the situation. You can get a good overview of the "natural progression" of the database marketing analysis process in What Goes Into a management analytics database.
THE DANCE CONCLUDES
The goal of data-driven analysis is simply to “let the numbers tell their story”. Experienced database marketing consultants then translate these statistical results into “plain English” that clients can understand and use. Clients then use this knowledge to make good strategic marketing decisions – decisions based upon facts, not suppositions, hunches or opinions.
Database marketing is not “rocket science” -- but it does require experience and expertise. And, as with dancing, the best way to learn database marketing is by choosing an experienced partner who already knows how to do it well. Please consider Management Analytics Group as a potential partner!
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