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The consulting profession has evolved quite a bit over the past 40 to 50 years. And with the 21st century, comes the unearthing of ethical contexts and situations not relevant in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Though the basic principles have been around— integrity, intent to represent the client, and interactions with people of varying background—these principles look different in 2017 than they did in 1973.

Greed, white collar theft, intellectual property concerns, and corporate espionage can be applied in a whole new way with the dawn of the digital age and technological advancements completely alter the product and method of consulting services. As a consultant, or member of consulting firm, understanding practical, yet ethical ways to market yourself is critical.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MESSAGING

At the heart of any growth management, or commonly referred to business development, process is marketing. There are multiple steps involved in creating a marketing strategy for your consulting services.

Though the role of marketing changes as prospects move through the pipeline to clients, the importance of branding and communication does not change. Developing a marketing strategy involves key steps by identifying your target markets, identifying your value to each market, and using messaging when communicating the value.

A FRAMEWORK FOR MESSAGING

The critical ethical moment in the process is developing the messaging that will be used across all marketing efforts during the growth management process.

List your target markets along with client profiles.

Consider your historical trends, current situation, and
future long-term and short-term consulting goals. Use
this knowledge to create client profiles for each tar-
get market. Note that, client profiles vary from type of
organization, age of the organization, number of em-
ployees, and legal structure, and consulting firms may
specialize in a specific type of organization.

Each client profile is distinct and speaks to a specific target market. For each target market and client profile, identify your value. To do this, note your capabilities and differentiators along with the access and experience you offer clients. Brainstorm about the following benefits you afford clients. Consider that the value you, as a consultant, offer must also take into account not only the benefits of your services, but also the costs of your services. This is how you derive the value: