Product Positioning by Business Consulting Firms Assignment Answers

 

Assignment Detail:-

• Number of Words: 2000

 

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In recent years, the competition among business consulting firm offering their services to the business community has intensified, as more firms entered the industry and business customers have tried to hold down the amounts they pay outside consultants. Although many consulting firms had double digit revenue growth between 2005 and 2010, since 2010, the rate of growth slipped dramatically at a number of these firms.

As a result, various prominent consulting firms have begun implementing such marketing oriented activities as public relations firms, sponsoring conferences, and developing television advertisements. Some firms have begun to ask clients for approval list their names in the consultants’ brochures. Prior to 2005, consultants rarely even acknowledged client’s identity in public.

Other firms have done rarely little to react to this new environment. A study by the European federation of management consulting organizations found that 60% of north American management consulting firms still rely on personal relationships or networks, while only 3% advertise, 3% use marketing agents, and 3% use public relations companies. Several firms have reacted to increase competition by taking on smaller projects.

These are the approaches that several “marketing oriented” firms have undertaken to develop or reinforce favorable product positioning for themselves relative to competitors.

Brain & Co., which until recently sold services on the basis of the company’s overall reputation, has repositioned itself in terms of specific areas of expertise. Brain is organized into such specific realty areas as healthcare, services and information technology, marketing, banking, and manufacturing. Prior to its new product positioning strategy, the firm had been losing “competitive bake-off (judgment for competitive edge)” because of its generalist image.

A.T. Kearney, which traditionally focused on logistics consulting, has branched out into such different specialties as marketing and information technology. The firm has developed a new product called “Stages of Development”. This product visually depicts “where it should be”. The new product can be tailored to each client’s needs, yet it enables Kearney to sell a service that is partially developed. In the past, the firm was forced to start from scratch with each client.

Booz-Allen, Hamilton has a new “Strategy Driven Systems” computer system design group. To position the design group properly, Booz-Allen, Hamilton had a splashy brochure printed. The brochure presents the key aspect of the system and dramatizes the system’s flexibility. “It has to say something to senior management” to Booz-Allen, Hamilton’s current and prospective list of clients.

Boston Consulting Group Inc. (BCG) is proud of its reputation among clients. The firm’s president stresses that associates “really [make] sure clients check our references.” BCG also considers bringing in its senior officials and executives based at different offices to help close contacts for key projects.

Anderson consulting, which specializes in information technology and computer systems consulting has budget $10 million for advertising as part of its positioning campaign. However, one of its ads –

depicting a computer mouse being maneuvered by a live mouse – generated a lot of industry discussion, many consultants questioned its appropriateness. In response, Anderson says that it is less conservative than many other consulting firms due to its roots as a CPA firm, and that the ad showed its proper image. Anderson also recently hired its first national public relations director to supervise in-house personnel and two outside public relation firms.

QUESTIONS

1. Is product positioning easier or harder for a business consulting firm than for a manufacturer of heavy machinery? Explain your answer.
2. State several attributes that a business consulting firms could use in positioning itself against competitors.
3. Evaluate the positioning approaches taken by the five business consulting firms highlighted in this case.
4. Comment on this statement (made by the chief executive of a large and very successful consulting We don’t make cold calls. “We don’t send flyers. We don’t send letters. We don’t need to do it. We have all the works we can handle.”