Management Consultants
Professional Services
All professional services firms struggle with the same basic problem - how to attract and retain customers when their services are diverse and intangible.
It is often difficult to decide which is your key customer segment and to effectively convey how your services will benefit these customers. VC Consulting's services will help you to package what you do to appeal to a particular audience. Customers of professional services tend to see themselves as buying a person's time, rather than a distinct product or service. We aim to turn you into experts in your chosen field, where customers keep coming back for ongoing support and advice.
Nearly all professional service roles are very demanding on people's time, as they are based upon the skills and expertise of the company's people.
As a result of this, the key issue for many professional service firms is time. The problem of how to allocate time, especially towards creating new business, is a key element of VC Consulting's service offering. We look to offer you support during times when your capacity is stretched and you need to bring in external skills.
One of the key consultancy services that can help a professional services firm is the independent view that consultants bring to the business.
Developing the most effective strategy for the business can be difficult when internal pressures can take precedent over making the most rational decision. Our impartial view, combined with detailed understanding of your business and wider market, will help you to identify your best options, such as which new market to enter. A key service is helping you to measure and evaluate the performance of different parts of your organisation, rooting out inefficiencies and driving profitability.
Case Study -
A major accountancy firm based in the West Midlands, who had not undertaken active marketing for a number of years. Whilst been very effective at retaining clients, the company wanted to expand by gaining new clients, especially pushing new products and services. Previous marketing campaigns had been ineffective due to untargeted approach, so the company wanted an ongoing, targeted marketing solution.
We worked with the company to evaluate their marketing needs and determine a clear marketing strategy. We determined that a marketing intern would provide a low cost, easy to manage option to ensure that targeted marketing is delivered on a weekly basis. We then performed a full ‘Search and Select’ service on behalf of the client including:
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Creating a full internship job specification detailing the role and key skills required.
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Advertising the job on various online portals and at University graduate fairs.
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Initial sift of CVs to identify potentially effective marketing intern candidates.
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Telephone interview to determine suitability.
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Initial face to face interview including verbal and numerical reasoning test to further assess core competencies.
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Presenting remaining candidates to the clients for final interview and selection
The company selected a graduate marketing intern on an initial 3 month placement. We then worked with the intern to provide the resources and support necessary to implement the marketing strategy. Due to the success of the marketing candidate in generating new enquiries and sales for the business, the intern was retained for a further 9 months with a view to making the position permanent. The marketing programme directly led to new business for the client, especially gaining customers for their new cloud based accounting offering.