FINDACONSULTANT PARTNERS WITH U.T.S. FOR MARKETING MAKEOVER
Masters marketing students pitch new ideas to startup
Sydney, Australia, October 28, 2015 – University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and startup FindaConsultant could not believe their luck: one was seeking a private sector collaboration project for a post-graduate subject, while the other was looking for a fresh approach to marketing a B2B startup. Thanks to a mutual connection, Marketing Lecturer Valeria Noguti and Founder Sharon Melamed met and seized the opportunity for collaboration.
“I was blown away by the creativity and digital know-how of the UTS students,” said Melamed. “I challenged them to come up with ideas to increase brand awareness and improve our website, and what happened next was beyond my expectation: hundreds of pages of reports with recommendations backed up by academic and primary research, as well as mock-up screens and re-designs. Five groups were shortlisted to give a 10-minute pitch to me. I had to pick one winner, but have to say I got new ideas to invigorate our marketing strategy from every single presentation.”
FIndaConsultant is a free online service matching companies with “pre-screened” consultants. The Aussie business developed matching software which locates the “perfect match” consultant(s) for a specific business need - matching industry experience, specialisation, price, availability and location across hundreds of categories.
UTS’s Noguti said, “It was a great opportunity for students to partner with an exciting startup and work on a real world marketing challenge. The competitive pitch element at the end of the project really fired them up. This level of energy and enthusiasm is not something you see all the time.”
Malcolm Turnbull recently said, “The Australia of the future has to be a nation that is agile, that is innovative, that is creative.” The FindaConsultant / UTS collaboration is a sign of the times.
Media inquiries: Sharon@findaconsultant.com.au
OUTCOME BASED CONSULTING HERE TO STAY
Exclusive survey reveals trend towards outcome pricing for consulting services
Sydney, Australia, June 23, 2015 – Almost 50% of consultants are billing on an outcome basis in a trend that looks set to increase.
In an exclusive survey conducted by findaconsultant.com.au in which just under 100 consultants were interviewed, 24% of consultants responded that they now bill regularly on an outcome basis while another 21% bill this way occasionally.
“One of the key reasons is that consultants no longer just help with strategy, they are often hired to deliver on their recommendations as well,” Sharon Melamed, Managing Director of findaconsultant.com.au, says. “If a consultant is responsible for the ‘end-to-end’, then it’s fair to hold them accountable to some degree. One way of holding someone accountable is only paying if the agreed outcomes are achieved."
“I think another reason for the emergence of the trend towards outcome-based pricing is that so many companies have been burnt by poor consulting experiences, they’re nervous about paying large fees for advice, with no guarantees it will be worth it.”
The management consultancy world is a lucrative business with IBISWorld estimating that in Australia alone revenue for the 2014-15 financial year will exceed $8 billion. This revenue is shared amongst more than 11, 500 businesses.
Media inquiries: Sharon@findaconsultant.com.au
NEW ONLINE SERVICE MATCHES BUSINESSES WITH CONSULTANTS
Start-up FindaConsultant poised to fill market gap
Sydney, Australia, September 17, 2014 – A free online service matching businesses with consultants is the latest start-up to disrupt the under-served B2B sector. Consumers have long had a choice of websites which provide them tailored recommendations for everything from health insurance to electricity. However in the B2B market, there is a paucity of similar services, even though 93% of businesses start the buying process for a product or service with online research.
Enter FindaConsultant, the latest brand in the online B2B matching portfolio of Matchboard Pty Ltd. FindaConsultant has developed proprietary matching software which matches companies’ needs with consultants who can meet them. A company can specify industry experience and area of specialisation, budget, timeframe and location, slashing the time you'd normally waste searching for the perfect match consultant(s). Founder Sharon Melamed says, “you can also choose the profile of consultants: for example, a small business might prefer to deal with a consulting enterprise consisting of only one or two professionals, while a large organisation may need to work with a big brand consultancy to endorse their recommendations to the Board. And of course there are many boutique consultancies in the middle.”
One of the main benefits of the new service is that consultants have been screened and reference-checked in advance. The aim is to reduce risk for clients when they are engaging a consultant for the first time.
“We have created a truly best of breed community of consulting enterprises, across more than 20 categories, 200 subcategories and 100 industries. While this represents immense diversity, we believe that the sheer convenience of a one stop, go-to-site for consulting services fills a much needed gap in the market,” said Melamed. It’s the second brand in her matching portfolio, following on the success of Matchboard Pty Ltd, an online matching business operating in the sales, service and back office niche.