By Michael W. McLaughlin
In the 1950s, the entertainment world coined the term “Cattle Call” for those mass auditions for stage plays, movies, commercials, and the like. The term immediately evokes the image of a stampede of eager, aspiring performers vying for the attention of a harried producer.
Among the sea of faces auditioning for one small part, someone eventually stood out and got the job–assuming the casting director stayed awake for the auditions. Have a look at most consultants’ marketing, especially during this recession, and you’ll see all of the elements of a cattle call. As usual, most firms offer the same marketing messages as one another, delivered in the same way.
Lost in the Crowd
Check any news show, web site, magazine, or newspaper (assuming your local paper hasn’t already folded), and you’ll see and hear the worrisome economic news, sliced and diced until you’re ready to stuff your hard-earned cash into a mattress and bolt the doors.
Consultants have joined the fray by marketing themselves as remedies to the ills clients face in a troubled economy. Granted, times are tough. But if you want to win in this market (or any market) it won’t pay to simply follow the crowd.
Here’s a sample of how some of the larger firms are approaching the market:
Booz & Company’s web site highlights its study reporting that “40 percent of senior managers question the credibility of their company’s plans to navigate the crisis–including many who presumably wrote the plans themselves.” The firm offers its insights on the perils managers face in a crisis economy with a complimentary report on “Recession Response: Why Some Companies Are Making the Wrong Moves.”
On its home page, Marakon tells us what we already know: “During the past 15 months, the economic landscape has been through a sea change. Managing a company in the next decade will be materially different than managing during the past decade.” Marakon provides a complimentary report titled “Responding to the New Economic Reality.”
Accenture weighs in with: “Although this is a period of considerable economic turbulence, research shows that the greatest opportunities for competitive repositioning occur at just such times. Swift and insightful decision making, supported by the collective commitment of the entire management team, can position an organization for high performance.” Readers can learn more by downloading a report called “Managing in Extraordinary Times: New Choices for New Challenges.”
IBM resorts to a question: “The global financial crisis has reverberated across all industries. Everyone is affected by this crisis–some businesses will diminish and others will gain strength and enhance their competitiveness. Which will you be?” Of course, if you want to be one of the winners, you can download IBM’s report, “Weathering the storm: IT challenges and opportunities amidst economic uncertainty.”
The HR consultancy, Hewitt, blames the economic crisis on poor leadership and provides its own solution. The firm’s version of the medicine clients need to restore growth is a report called “Leading in an Economic Downturn.”
Follow the Leader and You’ll Always Be Behind
The marketing messages of these firms (and others) follow a familiar pattern: The messages echo one another, and some border on being cliché instead of insightful. And, you can download their messages in easy-to-read PDF reports. Consulting firms are famous for copying each other’s marketing messages and methods, and these latest ones prove the point.
I am not suggesting that you ignore the current business climate; obviously that would be foolish. But when there’s this much similarity in marketing messages, it’s time to look for another strategy.
Think about it. Do you really believe your clients want–or need–any more bleak reports on the state of the economy, their industries, or businesses? If they don’t get that point by now, they are beyond anyone’s help. And if they need a reminder, there’s always the media. Plus, these messages are serving to blur the distinctions between firms, instead of helping any of them stand out.
Also, it’s unwise to copy marketing messages like the ones above because their intent is likely different than those of smaller practices. All of the firms above have large numbers of existing clients they work with on a regular basis.
Of course, there’s client turnover and the firms are always in the market for new business. But the market messages are targeted at existing clients as much as any other audience, and that makes imitation a dangerous marketing strategy. If your primary goal is to attract new clients, you’ll want to emphasize your own perspectives on the issues. And that means being specific about the value you provide, not simply offering more of the same.
If you rely on the generic marketing communications many firms fall back on, you won’t give prospective clients a reason to switch from another consultant to your practice. To clients, you’ll just be another unmemorable face in the cattle call.
Insight Leads the Way
Before you retool your marketing message to align with today’s economic realities, resist the urge, at least initially, to study what all the others are doing; that will just cloud your judgment and sap the power of your own perspective. Instead, begin with your clients: What, specifically, is truly challenging them right now and for the future?
For one consultant who undertook this exercise, the answer was surprising. He figured out that, while his clients knew exactly what they wanted to achieve, they were uncertain how to get it done. That simple insight led the consultant to recast his marketing message to address how his firm’s experience in complex project management helps his clients prioritize initiatives and execute projects for a successful outcome. Some consultants shy away from talking about the “how” of client engagements; but for this consultant, it led to more work.
Next, with your clients’ current challenges in mind, make an objective assessment of all your marketing communications. Assume you are a client, and read through every page on your web site; grab a stack of recent proposals and read those too. As you look through these communications, ask yourself two questions: Are you addressing your clients’ current (and future) concerns, or is your focus generic? If your business was facing the kinds of challenges your client has right now, would you hire your own firm to help? If they are honest, for many consultants, the answer is a resounding “maybe.”
Of course, the key to this evaluation is objectivity. After all, you wouldn’t publish marketing material if you didn’t think clients would respond. So ask others to have a look too. You can ask clients and colleagues to help. But choose your reviewers carefully. You want honest opinions, not gratuitous comments.
Finally, you might create a clearer path of communication to clients if you try lesser-used channels. When everyone is delivering mini-reports as PDFs, consider a podcast or a webcast, for example. If clients seem adverse to email, try a blog. You get the idea. Sometimes, the message can break through if you change the medium.
Avoiding the Herd Mentality
What’s most important is that you break away from the cattle call mentality. A crowd may be lining up to woo clients. But if all they hear is a cacophony of mooing, how does that help anyone?
That doesn’t mean you should try to create artificial differences between your practice and others. Your best choice is to ignore what you see in other firms’ marketing and find your own path. With so many firms stampeding in the same direction, surely you can find another way to communicate your value to the market besides mooing on cue.
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