The increasing competition for market of the management consultancy services industry has reduced the playing field of many management consultants in the last few years.
This is true even with the increase in demand for consultancy services due to the presence of large international players that take the main stage.
If you are a small company or a start-up firm, the difficulty getting into the mainstream may be impossible.
In a recent study, the consultancy industry is one of the major contributors to the economy at about 62 billion USD with an annual increase ranging from 10 to 30%.
However, the bigger companies are eating 50% of that income leaving the smaller ones with lesser. If you are a consulting firm, it is imperative that you enhance your services and your marketing strategy to be able to compete with the rest.
How do you go about offering your services?
Develop your website
If you have the technical know-how on web development, then develop your website, if not have someone do it for you. A website is one of the best marketing tools as proven by many businesses.
In creating your website, you need to be definite on your objective and purpose of why you are developing the site. With your purpose in mind, you have to decide which software to use.
There are plenty of software apps you can choose from. Make sure that your website contents are interesting and important to readers. It must convey clearly the message you want to impart to your readers and compelling enough to engage them.
After you have created the content, you have to select your host depending on the software, the speed you require and the number of visits you plan to have. The choices can be from a cheaper hosting, but lesser performance, or an expensive one with more power.
Then you consider putting in templates. Finally, you have to decide how you would want your site to look.
Offer your services on your website
Make your readers understand what is it that you do and are capable to offer. These are:
- Determination of the exact problem of the organization;
- Research and data gathering to understand the current condition of the company through interviews and focus group discussions;
- Analysis of data gathered to arrive at an informed findings and recommendations;
- Formulation of recommendations based on findings;
- Communication of findings and recommendations to clients; and
- Other management consultancy services
Hire Live Chat Agents
After developing your website, you employ or outsource Live Chat Agents to do the frontline services for you. There are several important things that your Live Chat Agents can do to promote your site and your services:
- Answer simple queries of clients about your services
- Walk through visitors on your website for them to appreciate it
- Address simple concerns of clients
- Convert visitors to customers and retain them
- Create leads
Hiring Live Chat Agents can be difficult if you have no inkling of what you are looking for, but an easy task if you do. Here are what to look for when hiring Live Chat Agents:
#1 – Has expertise on your services
Live Chat Agents must have an extensive and intensive knowledge of your services, policies, processes and the business to be able to communicate well with clients. Expertise on the business is essential so that your agents can respond completely and accurately the questions raised by your visitors.
#2 – Capability to multi task efficiently and effectively
Multi-tasking is crucial in Live Chats as it save on time and effort for your company. An Agent must be able to chat with several people online at a time without sacrificing the quality of service she renders.
They must be able to shift from one management software or program to another as they are needed during the chat. Being able to use more tools during the chat ensure probability of sales. They must have the ability to determine the time they should spend for each client.
#3 – Ability to professionally deal and communicate with varied personalities
They must possess the ability to handle different types of personalities. It can be difficult to manage a person who cannot be easily pleased with one who is more amiable. The Live Chat Agent must have personal skill to be able to engage the visitor in a conversation and have her queries attended to.
They should have communication skills such as the use of correct grammar, use of proper terminologies, and others. They should be courteous and avoid rudeness and language that are offending.
They must be able to establish trust and confidence of the clients with the firm. They must have the ability to use an appropriate mood and voice into the conversation. They must know how to listen and act. Listening is useless without action.
#4 – Experienced and in-depth knowledge of social media
Hire people who have a good experience on Live Chats and social media. A person with less experience and exposure on social media may have difficulty in accomplishing her tasks.
This scenario may lead to reduction of traffic to your site. Try to look for the younger sector of society for your Agents, since these are more adept in social media. The young generation acquired multi-tasking and greater exposure through the different media channels.
Social media has become the medium of communication of the young; thus, their in-depth knowledge and skill on the subject.
#5 – Chat and act as a human being
On Live Chats, sometimes visitors come across Agents who talk and act like robots because of the presence of pre-recorded responses.
These responses are helpful sometimes, but are not at other times. Visitors expect to talk to real people and not robots. It is therefore important to ensure that the Live Chat Agents you are hiring can easily manage dealing with visitors using pre-recorded and spontaneous style of talking to clients.
#6 – Be able to act as a salesperson
Live chat agents are expected to chat effectively with visitors but an excellent Live Chat Agent can go beyond chatting to selling of the services of the firm. You need to hire people who are well-trained and well-equipped to become Chat Agents.
#7 – Well-motivated and responsive
Hire Live Chat Agents that are self-motivated and do not need an outside force to make them excel in what they do. Their work drains one’s energy to the extent of becoming dull during chats.
Without self-induced motivation, this may lead to a disastrous conversation or treatment of clients. Having an Agent that can sustain his motivation, who is always ready and alert to respond to queries is recommended.
#8 – Customer-focused
Customers should come first in all the endeavours that a good Live Chat Agent must possess. He must have the ability to stay focused in attending to the firm’s clients to serve them well.
One of the critical factors that needed to be given utmost attention is customer care, without which you can be losing many visitors to competition.
Conclusion
Owning a website is not enough to boost your income as a management consultant. You have to use additional features such as the Live Chat Agents and Live Chat Apps. With competent and skilled Agents, you are guaranteed increase in traffic, sales and income.