Management Consultancy: Bike Fixers Case Study

Management Consultancy: Bike Fixers Case Study

INTRODUCTION TO FIRM AND SUMMARY OF BUSINESS PROBLEM

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Company A is providing services to the bike riders. Core business of organization is to provide maintenance services to the customer who is paying fee to company periodically and in return, organization have to provide all exclusive services to the customers. In this business, concept bikers pay the company to get their bikes repaired and fixed(Stefanov, 2018). As per the business, concept customers have to buy the parts on their own after the check run by the company. According to business concept, all the revenue generated by the organization is based on subscriptions that are sold by company. In each subscription, services are only provided for only one bike. Customer of the organization can subscribe multiple times to register different bikes. The fee of the subscription is based on the length of the contract. At the time of registration, all the present damages are assessed by the company and these present damages are not covered by the company in service. There is total of 7 organizations are providing similar services in the United Kingdom.

As per the past performance data of organization and revenue report from past few years, it can be considered that revenue that is generated from the sales is continuously decreasing since 2012. After 2017, there is some improvement in the sales revenue of organization but it is comparatively low as compared to the revenue generated by company in year 2012.

Figure 1 Revenue of Company Since 2012

Figure 2Revenue of Companysince 2012 in Numbers

 The subscriptions sold by the company are low as compared to the subscriptions that are sold by the company in year 2012. The fall in the number of subscription can be observed from year 2012 to 2015. In year, 2016 subscriptions that are sold by company are more than last two years. In year 2016 subscription sold by company were more than last few years. In year, 2017 and 2019 subscriptions sold by company were less(Sturdy, 2018). Organization has seed hike in number of subscription in 2018. This is how company has seen various ups and downs in the number of subscriptions are sold.

Figure 3 Contract Sold by Company Since 2012

The customer data of the company is also similar to the subscription and revenue data of the company. In 2012, organization has served most customers and after this organization has seen fall in the number of customer for continuously 2 years. In year, 2015 performance of company was good as compared to last years and again company has seen continuous fall in number of customers for next two years. In year 2018, more customers have been served by the company as compared to past two years. In year 2019, performance of company was lowest in history. This is how the performance of company A is not constant in holding customers.

Figure 4 Customer data of Company a Since 2012

The fixed cost of company is also decreasing since 2012. The fixed cost of company is decreasing with the principle of depreciation. The decrement in the fixed cost of the company can be observed in the table below.

Figure 5 Fixed Cost of Company

According to the data that is collected in the survey process from customers, it can be explained that the average review of customers is 68.2 which is more than 50%. So, the reviews that are provided by the customers are not that bad for company. The reviews gained from the customers cannot be considered as beneficial for the business organization. This is important for the company to make effective changes in the internal processes to get better results in the business process.This is how the performance of the Company in target market is declining since 2012 and the organization needs to make effective changes in the business process to stay profitable in market place.

The major problem that is faced by the business organization in past few years is related to the market ting processes that are used by the company in business promotion. The promotion and marketing activities are not effective as compared to the company F in market place. Because of this performance of company is continuously decreasing in market.

CONSULTATION STRATEGY

Type of consultancy Model

The need of the organization is to hire marketing consultant to improve the current approaches that are used by the organization to improve the visibility of the organization in target market.In the marketing consultancy, process two different models can be used for the consultation(Goulart Sztejnberg and Giovanardi, 2017). The selection of consultancy model is based on the requirement and situations. The most common model of consultancy that is used by the business organization is- Expert consultancy and process consultancy planning.

Expert Consultancy- This model of consultancy can be explained as approach or process in which a person who has specialised knowledge and ability to suggest specific processes and methods provide better solution for the challenge or problem that is faced by the client.

Process Consultancy Planning- This consultancy model is completely different from the expert consultation process. In the process consultation model, relationship with client is improved and it permits the client to understand, perceive, and act in the particular process in internal and external environment to get advantage in the particular situation that is faced by the client.

According to the study of both model, it can be explained that this is more beneficial for the business Company A to use process consultancy model to improve the marketing process to increase the effectiveness of the marketing process of company(Slater, Lim and Lean, 2018). This can be helpful for the organization to generate higher profit from the business operations. The process consultancy model can be used for Company A because it is most effective process to meet the short-term business objective of company in effective manner. The meeting that is performed within this model is more productive and through this process, effective decisions can be made in process. Through this model, engagement with client can be developed to provide satisfactory result with theirissues. Questions that are asked by the client related to marketing strategy of company can be effectively handled in the process.

Resources

In the process consultancy model, different type of resources are needed to be used to provide better ideas and suggestions to improve the performance of marketing department of company A. the major resources that re need to be used in the process consultation process are- majorly in this process, this is important for the consultant to have precise and relevant information related to the marketing process that is used by the organization, In this process, consultants required to have past customer data, sales data, information related to the marketing approaches that are used by company previously and impact of those strategies on the sales of company(Hodges, 2017). This is how range of data is required for marketing consultant to improve the marketing process of company.

This is also important for the consultant to have information about the infrastructure that is used by Company A in marketing process. The technical appliances, tools of marketing and channel of the marketing that is used by the business organization. This is how current infrastructure that is used by the business organization can be analysed and assessed by the marketing consultant to provide suggestion to improve the current marketing infrastructure of Company A.

In process consultation process, this is important for the marketing consultant to perform different meetings and actions to develop productive process to improve the current marketing approach of the Company A. To get effective result this is important for the consultant to develop effective team to develop the current marketing process of the organization. From the marketing consultancy organization, some people need to be involved in the consultation process to improve the brainstorming process(Eddy and Solomon, 2017).From Company A some people from the marketing department are need to be involved in the consultancy process to develop effective process of marketing in business organization.

Skills

 Some of skills are required in a consultant to make the consultation process more effective and productive. These skills can help individual and team of consultants to provide better suggestion and recommendations to the business organization. The major skills that are required in the consultant's are- interview skills, group skill, data collection, observation skill, interpretive skill, negotiation skill, project management, and Time management. These skills can help the consultants to effectively deal with the clients effectively.

Interview Skills

This skill is related to the makingface-to-face communication with the client. This is all about developing effective relationship with clients. This skill is important to make the communication and exchange of information more effectively. This skill can help the person to effectively understand the situation of the business client. Without this skill

Group Skill

This skill is most important for a consultant to have group skill that allows an individual to deal with various situation within the team operations. Sometimes consultants have to deal with delegation of client organization to make discussion about the requirement of company and analyse their issues. This skill can help the consultant to deal with delegation of company and understand their needs. This skill also can help the person to work collaboratively with the delegation of Client Company to increase the effectiveness of consultation process.

Data Collection

Data collection process is used by the consultant to collect information about the issues and challenges that are faced by Client Company(Saad, 2017). This is important for the consultant to have ability to collect information about various factors of client organization. This skill is important for the consultant to develop effective strategies for the client company to solve their issues effectively.

Observation Skill

Observations skills are more crucial for the consultant. This skill is important to analyse and understand the business problem of the company in an effective way. Better observation skills can help the consultant to focus on the challenges that are faced by the business organization in business operations.

Interpretive Skill

Interpretive skill of a person can be explained as skill to explain the data and information that is collected in the observation and data collection process. This skill is effective to explain the business data effectively to the client and provide them better overview of critical factors that are important to improve their marketing process

Negotiation Skill

Negotiation skill can be explained as capability of the person to deal with people. Negotiation skill can help the person to convince the client company to implement the suggestions that are provided by them.

Project Management&Time Management

 Project management and time management skill can be used by the consultant to solve the challenge that is faced by the client company within time(McLeod and Schapper, 2020). This skill can increase the credibility of person as marketing consultant.

Team Specification

There are different people that are need to be considered in the consultation team to meet the priority objectives within the time.The major people who will be involved in the consultation team are from both consultancy service and client company. Role of all team members is specified effectively. In the consultation team, people from marketing department and their leader is involved to understand the marketing process that is used by the business organization(Warner and Wäger, 2019).The people who are involved from the consultancy team are group of people who have expertise in various marketing strategies and processes that can improve the marketing process of organization.

Timeline

In this team working process all the activities will be performed a per the business problem of the company. The process of consultation will be started with team meeting process to define the complete consultation and process development process. In the consultation process, various team meetings will be organization to keep the process stick to the main objectives of the company, in the team meeting process role of consultants to provide different strategically suggestions to the company representatives and role of company representative is to make them aware of the feasibility of strategies that are suggested by the consultants in the process. This is how complete process of team operation will be consists of various team meetings and brainstorming processes. This is how complete operation of consultation will be conducted for client Company.

Scope and Targets

The main aim or scope of the consultancy process is to make positive development in the marketing process of the company to increase the effectiveness of the marketing process of company. In the consultancy plan, a specific process and plan will be followed to develop effective marketing strategy and process for the business organization and improve the promotions of the company services in target market place with better customer response. The effectiveness of the marketing plan can be evaluated by analysing various measures for business organization. For example, sales of subscription, better customer engagement, increment in the number of customers. This is how various measures can be used by the organization to evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing consultation process on marketing performance of company.

Deliverables

 Major deliveries of the consultancy process are related to the implementation of different processes, strategies, plans, and methods in the marketing process of Company A(Madakam, Holmukhe and Jaiswal, 2019). the results of new marketing strategies, marketing processes and technology also can be considered as deliverables of consultancy process.

Risk

There are some risks that are associated in the consultancy process that can affect the performance of organization in target market. For example, strategies and methods that are implemented based on the suggestion of consultants can reduce the attractiveness of the marketing campaign of company. It also can reduce the profitability of company in market place. This is how some risks are associated with the consultancy process.

CONCLUSION

This report was providing overview of the process in which organization hires marketing consultants to improve the current marketing process of company. Brief introduction of organization and its performance in market place has been explained in report. The model of consultancy used for Company A also will be explained in report. Resources used in process, people involved in consultancy process, timeline of consultancy plan, scope of consultancy process, deliverables and risks that are associated with consultancy process has bee explained in report. Various benefits of involving marketing consultants in marketing process also have been explained in the study.

SELF REFLECTION REPORT

This was great experience for me to analyse the role of marketing consultants in improvement of the marketing strategy and approach of company. I have analysed various things in this process. I have also analysed the model of consultancy process for business organization. I have also learned the process that is used in the consultancy process by the marketing consultants to improve the marketing process of company.

References

Books and Journals

Eddy, M.A. and Solomon, D., 2017. Leveraging librarian liaison expertise in a new consultancy role. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. 43(2). pp.121-127.

Goulart Sztejnberg, R. and Giovanardi, M., 2017. The ambiguity of place branding consultancy: working with stakeholders in Rio de Janeiro. Journal of Marketing Management. 33(5-6). pp.421-445.

Hodges, J., 2017. Consultancy, organizational development and change: a practical guide to delivering value. Kogan Page Publishers.

Madakam, S., Holmukhe, R.M. and Jaiswal, D.K., 2019. The future digital work force: robotic process automation (RPA). JISTEM-Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management. 16.

McLeod, S. and Schapper, J.H., 2020. Understanding Quality in Planning Consultancy: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature. Journal of Planning Education and Research, p.0739456X20943928.

Saad, Y.G., 2017. Deliverable accountability, change management and breach in consultancy contracts: A comparative study of World Bank versus Europeaid funded projects. Journal of Public Procurement.

Slater, L., Lim, W.M. and Lean, J., 2018. The value of student consultancy projects for hospitality businesses. International Journal of Knowledge Management in Tourism and Hospitality. 2(1). pp.34-49.

Stefanov, T., 2018. MARKETING MIX SPECIFICATION OF CONSULTANCY ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PROCESS OF UTILIZATION OF RESOURCES FROM THE EU FUNDS.

Sturdy, A., 2018. Promoting solutions and co-constructing problems-Management consultancy and instrument constituencies. Policy and Society. 37(1). pp.74-89.

Warner, K.S. and Wäger, M., 2019. Building dynamic capabilities for digital transformation: An ongoing process of strategic renewal. Long Range Planning. 52(3). pp.326-349.