Marketing

By Edward Haigh

Corporate communications can be pretty dull at the best of times.

The controls that firms put in place around external communications are predicated on the need to stop something terrible happening, rather than on the need to start something wonderful happening. They’re about being safe, and the price of safety is usually the removal of anything remotely interesting. And so we get lots of “we’re focused on delivering the best outcomes to our customers”, and that sort of thing. Safe. Predictable. Laudable, of course. But dull.

By Fiona Czerniawska

Last year, when we asked clients about the most important factors which influence their opinion about a given consulting firm, they told us it was the quality of people they encountered (no surprise there: consulting, as we keep saying, is the quintessential people business) and the results delivered (this was more of a surprise to some firms, though it really shouldn’t have been).

The same two factors top the list when we look at this year’s data. But then we realised we’d been missing something obvious.

Consultants looking for fashion tips are in the wrong place here. Just keep it simple: well-cut suit, crisp white shirt, smart shoes. Ditch the novelty tie. You’ll be fine. Consultants interested in branding, on the other hand, should stick around. And judging by the conversations we’ve been having with people in consulting firms recently, many of you will.