Perceived Value In Consulting and Services
You might think that an individual, or organization, that provides a superior product or service always comes out ahead in the business world. This idea is currently most pertinent to me in relation to consulting groups and service providers representing the IT industry. I’ve dealt with a number of different consulting groups lately in some capacity or another. Some directly in relation to my job, some in relation to other folks asking my opinion on what benefits or pitfalls a given choice may have for them. There are so many consulting companies around these days, that to stand out they frequently choose to focus on how they present themselves to a prospective client, largely by focusing on pizazz in the presentation itself. I offer that it is equally important to have actual ability, and a history that shows you can implement what you’ve promised.
When it comes to choosing any one option over countless others, it all comes down to the presentation. Sure, a great product helps, but crap peddlers abound, as do their wares. Still, people and companies consume what they offer, and seem none the wiser. When the world comes tumbling down around the pathetic implementation the pizazz peddler has provided, the consumer acts bewildered and confused. What ? Why ? How did this happen ? They may say. You made a choice based on a flashy presentation, what do you expect ?
Too many times lately I’ve seen friends, acquaintances, and colleagues choose an inferior product or service simply because of the presentation or sales pitch that was given to support said product or service. I’ve seen phenomenal products tossed aside simply for lack of a ‘pretty’ presentation. Come on people, check into whatever it is you’re getting yourself into. Don’t blindly accept the flashy presentation, see it for what it is. A flashy presentation has its place, but only to draw potential customers in so that they may reap the benefits of a company’s superior ability to deliver! The consulting and services industries seem entirely content to trumpet form over function, when in fact, the latter matters equally, if not more. I will continue to hope that some day consulting companies, if only a few of them, may find the happy medium, and that I will have the pleasure of working with them.