Client Profile:
A boutique strategy consulting firm.
After growing naturally for years, the small consultancy reached a standstill. With a tight marketing budget and a packed calendar, they were looking for an affordable way to bring in new clients, build stronger connections with current ones, and establish themselves as experts in their niche.
The Challenges
Not enough time to plan and carry out focused marketing efforts.
Not keeping up with client follow-ups and managing relationships.
Not much of an online presence to draw in new clients.
No clear strategy to capitalise on existing connections and industry expertise.
The Solution: On-Demand Support Services
The consultancy teamed up with Kellie at Complement using on-demand business support to work through the challenges. Kellie helped out with research, copywriting, digital strategy, and making operations run more smoothly.
Here's how the on-demand business support made a difference:
1. Client relationships were strengthened.
Client satisfaction improved, and referral business increased.
Kellie came up with a good way to keep in touch with clients. She put together a follow-up plan, wrote some personalised emails, and recommended setting up regular check-ins.
By creating meaningful messages, the client reconnected with inactive clients and strengthened bonds with active ones. This personal approach changed many satisfied clients into advocates, resulting in a steady flow of referrals.
2. Existing connections were leveraged.
Past clients came back with new project offers, and others also introduced the consulting firm to people in their networks.
The consultants had multiple untapped contacts from their years in the industry. Kellie pitched in to help them dig into past clients, colleagues, and acquaintances, pinpointing those in decision-making roles who could use their consulting services.
Engaging outreach emails and LinkedIn messages were created, reintroducing the consultancy and highlighting how it had evolved.
3. Online presence was optimised.
LinkedIn engagement grew and a renewed online presence helped to attract new clients.
The founder's LinkedIn profile was pretty much inactive, and the company website was looking old. Kellie gave the founder's LinkedIn page a refresh, updating her profile to show off her skills and started posting regular, quality content. Additionally, Kellie went through the company website, taking old blog posts and reports and turning them into new, SEO-friendly content.
4. Industry peer collaboration was facilitated.
Lucrative projects emerged, opening up fantastic opportunities for future collaborations.
Kellie found some service providers that fit well with what the firm does and got in touch to suggest working together. By partnering up with another agency, the consultancy could go after bigger projects that included both planning and execution.
5. Free tools were identified.
The team were able to save hours of manual tracking and gain a clear understanding of the business pipeline.
Kellie showed the firm some free CRM tools and developed a smooth system to keep an eye on client interactions, leads, and follow-ups. She also set up Google Analytics to monitor how the website was performing using insights to tweak their online strategy.
5. The niche expertise of the consultancy was highlighted.
This focus helped the firm stand out in a crowded market, receiving an increase in the number of enquiries from their target market.
Kellie looked at the firms past successes to identify their strongest niche and crafted targeted messaging, blog posts, and LinkedIn articles highlighting their expertise in this area.
7. Internal operations were streamlined.
The founder was able to increase her productivity affording her more time to focus on strategy and growth.
Many founders find their workload overwhelming and without a clear system in place. Kellie supported the founder in streamlining her workflow and encouraging the delegation of non core tasks freeing her to focus on more high value activities like client consultations.
8. The value of asking for help was understood.
By asking for strategic on demand services, the consultancy was able to achieve growth, without over extending themselves.
The biggest change probably happened when the founder understood how helpful outside support could be. On demand support not only made her workload easier but also brought in skills she didn't have in-house, like copywriting and digital strategy.
The Results
Revenue Growth: Boost in revenue in just six months.
New Client Acquisition: New clients brought in through referrals, outreach, and online presence improvements.
Cost Efficiency: Achieved growth on a modest budget by leveraging free tools and targeted support.
Work-Life Balance: Workloads became more manageable, reducing stress and increasing the overall satisfaction of the team.
Key Takeaways
On-demand business support can really change things for a small business, even if the budget isn't huge. By building better relationships, making the most of current connections, boosting online presence, and making operations smoother, small business owners can achieve sustainable growth.
If you're feeling overwhelmed or don't know where to begin, getting some expert help on demand could be the trick to boosting your business—without spending too much.
Author - Kellie Dodds | Over 20 years working with global companies.
After moving on from senior commercial roles, Kellie now shares her expertise with small businesses, helping them save time, reduce costs, and boost efficiency with on-demand, multi-disciplinary business support.