I have high regard for consulting companies because they employ the best of talent. Not only in India, but world over best b-school grads' first choice is a consulting company and McKinsey tops the chart. Yet, looking at articles on McKinsey Quarterly often makes me wonder is this what they do. For example, look at this article "Three trends in business-to-business sales" - it talks about the following trends in B2B sales (abridged for copyright issues) -
First, customers have become more demanding. Second, B2B companies are exploring lower-cost ways to make clients happier and to generate sales growth. Third, B2B companies are making smarter use of customer data to predict behavior, drive sales, and deepen relationships.
Now, except for second point what's new in this? Customers have always been demanding, every basic sales and marketing book would tell you that. And which company doesn't analyse customer data? Again basic marketing book would tell you about this. Well, McK has figured this out by talking to senior executives with 150bn USD combined B2B sales. Come on McK, tell me something new !!
Fully agreed Amrit,
ReplyDeleteBut then tell me, what's new in the second point either.......companies always strive to better the price-value equation.......either by adding more value, or by reducing costs.......which is time and again explained in basic economics and marketing management as economies of scale, experience curve, cost-differentiation.... so on and so forth.
But then again, tell me what's new with consulting altogether.........don't McK et al. always rephrase some very basic management fundamentals, coupled with some latest data to 're-state' the obvious and already known.....yeah, and more often that not such 'representations' are backed with interviews/statements/referrals from some of the best achievers.
In fact to me the best thing that ever came out of McK, HBR etc... till date is 'Marketing Myopia' article.