The management consulting industry is growing at a rapid pace across Europe. It has become an increasingly attractive destination for leading marketers due to the challenges and exposure involved.<\/p>\n
The fastest growing management consultancy in the UK at present is Elixirr (as verified by The FT). In the latest installment of EMR\u2019s series of marketing insight into the Professional Services industry, Rhydian Fairfax recently sat down with Ellie Duffus, their Marketing lead, to discuss how marketing has played its part in their rapid growth.<\/p>\n
Strategy from scratch<\/strong><\/p>\n At the highest levels of marketing, strategy is vital. Experience of creating and overseeing a successful marketing strategy is number one on the list when organisations are looking for a new senior marketer. Ellie described how Elixirr\u2019s marketing strategy began and how it evolved.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us it was (and still is actually!) all about brand. Perception is everything and for us as a young, challenger brand, it was vital that we created a strong identity, a distinct personality. So the first thing we did when I joined was start a rebranding project and we spent a lot of time solidifying our positioning, our messaging and designing the framework behind the brand. We were crystal clear on what we wanted to be famous for, so it was pretty easy really!\u201d Culture eats strategy for breakfast<\/strong><\/p>\n It was clear when meeting with Ellie that the culture and values of Elixirr are of the upmost importance and reverberate through the whole organisation. One of their mottos is \u201cCulture eats strategy for breakfast\u201d. Following on from this, it is easy to understand why their marketing strategy revolves around their values: delivering beyond expectations, entrepreneurialism, collaboration and creating a legacy.<\/p>\n Ellie focuses on storytelling – making sure Elixirr\u2019s vision, values and expertise are heard and this takes precedence over which marketing channels are used.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes it really matter which marketing channels you use as long as you tailor your story to the channel? I really feel like if you can inspire an aspiration, an ambition in the people you are trying to reach, you can create an emotional connection that people start to bind to. That\u2019s where the power is \u2013 it\u2019s not all about tactics.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cOur vision is to be the best consulting firm in the world, and our culture is all about building a firm of entrepreneurs. Every single channel plays its part and is important (and we love to experiment with new ones quickly, like our Alexa Skill), but it\u2019s all about the strength of your messaging and telling a compelling story \u2013 you need to create aspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n Storytelling is a skill that is becoming more vital amongst marketers from an employment perspective. The ability to produce content that is compelling and inspiring is in high demand. An organisation can use storytelling to build an image and a relationship with its clients and customers. The Challenger Consultancy<\/strong><\/p>\n The management consultancy industry has established and well-respected names as well as new niche firms gaining a foothold. Elixirr, established in 2009, is a relative newcomer and they embrace their \u2018challenger consultancy\u2019 tag. They have quickly made their mark in a fast-growing industry that has attracted large investment from other industries. Ongoing competition and further establishing themselves in the market poses its own challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cWe regularly compete with the big four, the strategy houses and some of the more niche consultancies as well. It\u2019s changing now as our brand is becoming more and more recognised, but clients can perceive engaging a relative newcomer like us as a risk. No one ever got fired for hiring Accenture, right? This is why our brand is so important to us – perception is reality at the end of the day. And backing this up with outstanding delivery is what we will always do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The entrepreneurial spirit that is a key facet of their culture makes up part of their strategy to keep up their success as they become an established name in the sector. \u00a0This transition brings challenges for any business, specifically the marketing team as they will have to adapt to a changing set of circumstances. I asked Ellie how she thinks marketing will change as they continue to grow. \u201cFrom a broader business perspective, empowering our team to #MSH (make shit happen) is much more powerful than us as a management team dictating something to them. That’s what it means to be a firm of entrepreneurs \u2013 our people join us to be part of building a business and we\u2019re all about empowering them to do so, whether this is with marketing activity or something else. And it\u2019s our team that will evolve the business as we grow.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Culture at the forefront of tomorrow\u2019s marketing world<\/strong><\/p>\n Elixirr are an excellent example of how using your culture and your vision as the focus for your marketing strategy can propel your organisation to great heights. The entrepreneurial spirit that they champion has enabled the marketing team to move quickly, try new things and utilise the latest trends in marketing.<\/p>\n The most frequently asked questions from marketers when thinking about joining a new organisation is \u2018what\u2019s the culture like?\u2019 It is foreseeable that this question is also moving into the forefront of clients’ minds when choosing who to work with, and here Elixirr are ahead of the curve.<\/p>\n Read the Elixirr story at www.elixirr.com<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cToday, we\u2019re all about building our audience in the relevant places. We\u2019re very proud of our strong engagement rates \u2013 our messages and our thinking are really resonating in the market. So, now we\u2019re focussed on increasing the audience they reach, with an additional focus on the US, as our business is growing fast over there too. We feel like we\u2019re at a bit of a tipping point, and it\u2019s an extremely exciting time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
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\n\u201cOne of the things I\u2019ve learnt is how powerful a story is in painting a really strong vision. It\u2019s something I\u2019m really passionate about, and it\u2019s not something that\u2019s always easy to do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
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\n\u201cI think it’s about continually challenging ourselves, continually evolving in response to the market, and a relentless desire for better. Keeping up creativity, finding new solutions and most importantly, teamwork. What we do and our brand is all about people \u2013 it\u2019s their opinions, expertise, personality that our clients buy, and we don\u2019t have a brand without every single one of them \u2013 we\u2019re all responsible for building the Elixirr brand.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n