What are the attributes of a marketing consultant that will result in a successful engagement? Consider the following:
- Objectivity - Will they come to the engagement with predisposed ideas or will the be open to investigating whatever is necessary to form the appropriate conclusions and make the right recommendations?
- Thoroughness - Will they dig in and do the analysis necessary to uncover new opportunities?
- Intuition - Yours and theirs! Are they intuitive. Will they follow threads to see where they lead based on their knowledge of your industry, past experience and evolving trends?
- Experience - Have they worked with others in your industry, of your size, in your geography?
- Independent Thinking - Will they be just playing back what you tell them or will they be developing their own framework for analyzing information?
- Systematic Approach - Do they have the systems and processes in place that they will bring to the engagement?
- Strategic Thinking - Can they see the big picture relating to your industry and will they be able to provide new ideas that are not on your current radar screen
- Tools - Are there tools up to date and will they be useful in gathering the information you and they need to arrive at the appropriate conclusions?
- Attention to Detail - How will they ensure you that all bases are being covered and that the conclusions and recommendations are fact based?
- Research Methodology - How will they conduct internal and external research to discover opportunities and how will they support their findings?
- People - Ask to talk with people at several levels of the organization and make an independent of their abilities, experience and commitment to the project.
- References - Talk to others the consultant has worked with. Are they active clients? Would they engage the consultant again? What were the 3 key recommendations they made and were they implemented?
Palomar Marketing welcomes the opportunity to discuss your project.
Contact us at (442) 777-3226.