Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

To paraphase Shakespeare (Although killing all the lawyers might be a good idea too, based on the recent silliness over at Google. Dudes, lighten up!)

No, I don’t have a death wish - but some (many?) consultants cost a lot of money and don’t deliver much, if any, value. As one of my clients put it so well (if bluntly): “I don’t need someone to charge to tell me crap I already know.” (I told him I’d do my best to tell him crap he doesn’t know.)

So, why this sudden murderous impulse? I was reading The Must-Have Customer: 7 Steps to Winning the Customer You Haven’t Got, in which Robert Gordman recounts K-Mart’s dismal efforts with its garden centers. Sales were falling and the first reaction was to cut service staff and go with cheaper plants. Oh, and they put in a line of expensive garden tools. (Does the typical K-Mart shopper care if Martha Stewart’s name is on the hose? A length of hose is a length of hose.) The CEO hired consultants who said the key to success was to counter Home Depot’s advertising campaign with one of his own. Well, you can guess - the people that did come in found dying and dead plants, with nary an employee in sight. The experts didn’t bother to talk to customers or look at anything other than external in-your-face data.

Here are just two of my personal experiences:

1. Consultants brought in to advise the CEO on how to take the multi-million dollar service business to the next level. They never talked to any of the customers or field service employees. They did, however, produce reams of spreadsheets and Powerpoint presentations (telling me stuff - yep - I already knew, since I gave them the data they put on the spreadsheets and slides.)

2. A team building expert that conducted “strictly confidential” interviews about problems with the boss - which she promptly turned over to the boss. But, she also did a great job advising the boss about what size earrings to wear, which did wonders for the team morale! (Having worked with a truly wonderful team building expert, Don Schmincke, - I do know the difference. I still call on “Father Don” for perspective from time to time.)

Of course, consultants can be of great value - bringing dispassionate outside viewpoints, working with you to “know what you don’t know” and rolling up their sleeves to help you implement, quickly and effectively. But, just because they’re “experts” doesn’t mean you should stop listening to your own gut, talking to your customers, and using your brain. None of us consultants have the be-all end-all magic answer (If we did, we likely wouldn’t work for a living and we surely wouldn’t fly commercial!) That money you were going to pay a big-time consultant? Consider investing it in some customer programs and employee incentives (within a plan with measurements, of course. Don’t just throw money at it.)

Related Posts:
Experts don’t know everything.
Mergers That Don’t Merge. (Sears and K-Mart)
Home Depot’s Real Problem

Tags: business development, customer service, consultants, marketing, marketing troubleshooting, K-Mart