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Why Is A Creative Consultancy A Little Like A Bag Of Compost?

By: William Penworthy


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A question you might reasonably ask a successful creative consultancy is where on earth their ideas come from. Companies or organisations which have discovered that they have reached a position from which a new direction seems unclear, but which also feel that a new direction is necessary for the continued survival and growth of the business may well invite a creative consultancy to carry out either a one off workshop, or create a longer lasting partnership in order to develop the business over time.

Creative consultants may look at a range of aspects of the business but typically these will focus on issues such as brand image, corporate identity and corporate communications. Today the image of a business is every bit as important as its internal structure, since it is often the image of a business, or its perceived image which determines a customer's initial interest or not.

A business which seems too old fashioned, or too amateurish, or one which gives the impression of being too cheap and unreliable may well fail to gain even a passing interest from consumers, yet these impressions may not in fact be true or deserved.

It is ironic that a business which puts a great deal of time and effort into the products or services may in fact lose custom because the corporate image or brand identity may give the impression of being cheap or amateurish simply because these aspects have not been given as much importance or as much investment of time and money.

However, once the decision has been made to invite a creative consultancy in to the business, where are the ideas likely to come from? This is a reasonable question, and one likely to be at the back of the mind of most of those business representatives present.

The perceived view is that creative consultants will somehow be able to walk straight in to any business and immediately provide a range of creative ideas which will be exactly what the business needs to move forwards. Although in reality it may be that based on past experience or local knowledge creative consultants may have some initial thoughts and suggestions, the first place to start when looking for inspiration is not at the creative consultancy at all, but those already within the business.

This makes sense, because it is those people already within the business who know the business, know its aims, its values and its long term objectives, knows who its clients are, and who it's trying to reach.

After a brief discussion it may well be the case that the creative consultants hit upon a few dormant ideas, or discover the fact that long term plans are vague, or that most of those within the business have little idea of who their clients really are, or who they're trying to reach, or how they might be more successful at reaching those clients. An initial discussion or workshop session often uncovers these gaps, as well as helping to encourage an atmosphere of creativity.

Most people within the business will have had ideas and thoughts relating to specific areas in which they may have a special interest, but in the normal day to day running or the business these ideas rarely get explored or even voiced. It is the job of the creative consultancy to provide opportunities for not only these ideas to be expressed, but developed by those within the business.

Where assumptions or omissions are apparent, these will be brought to the attention of all concerned, and ideas encouraged which will help the business develop its own clear understanding of its purpose, its aims, long term objectives, clients and potential.

Although most creative consultants would quickly move the conversation on, you might almost consider thinking of them as the compost in which seeds germinate and grow to become fully fledged ideas of their own.

Certainly, with the background of the business established it may well be the case that the creative consultancy is able to introduce new ideas, fresh directions and inspiration based on the professional experience and skills of the creative consultants as well as on their understanding of the business and its consolidated self awareness.

But the fact that most creative ideas come from within rather than without it is easy to suggest that businesses ought therefore to be able to manage without creative consultants. But to suggest this is a little like suggesting that since flowers eventually become compost themselves, there's no need to use compost to help them grow - they will eventually become self sustaining.

A creative consultancy is the catalyst of ideas, the mirror held to the business and the voice which asks all of the questions that people are thinking but not acting upon, and all of the questions that have been forgotten in the hustle and bustle of everyday business.

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Creative Consultancy | www.specialdesignstudio.co.uk | Creative Consultants

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