As a group, management consultants know a lot about streamlining process, achieving efficiency, accommodating regulation and other industry-changing ideas. They would be well served if they applied some expertise inward. 

That’s one of the conclusions of How Buyers Buy, an original research study from the Hinge Research Institute of 274 buyers and sellers of professional services that identified themselves as being part of management consulting companies. I found that although 27% of buyers used online search to find a management consulting firm, the sellers of those services had different ideas about their approach to marketing.

Among the disconnects:

  • Knowing the competition.  75% of competitors identified by buyers were not considered as such by the sellers
  • Traditional Marketing.  50% of sellers believe event networking is where they will find buyers, but only 18% of buyers agree
  • Cost.  53% of sellers believe cost is a primary selection criteria; only 28% of buyers felt the same
  • Expertise.  Buyers (23%) are most concerned about a lack of industry knowledge by the management consulting firms
  • Key Deciding Factor.  Better expertise/specialization is a top consideration for both buyers and sellers, but again the differences are notable (49% among sellers, 21% among buyers).

 

Download the full report and you’ll find many more nuggets that you can consider and use to shape your marketing efforts around management consulting.  And the best part is the report is free, so if you’re not satisfied just say so and we’ll give you a full refund!