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As you may have already heard, this year, a few of our team members embarked on an exciting community project in partnership with The UW Consulting and Business Development Center (CBDC). CBDC is no stranger to RedCloud, with ongoing support in years past as part of our ongoing Community program. With an exciting opportunity to press on in 2021, we were so excited to serve as mentors for the Business Management Consulting Program - all via Zoom in true remote-work fashion.
Throughout the year, we provided a talented team of excited mentors - Marie, Sophia, Mary Anne, and Scott with direction and support from RedCloud Managing Partner - and CBDC board member - Brett Clifton to guide and advise small teams of business school students through real-life client challenges. With a January kick-off and client presentations in March, we wanted to update our community with the final product because we are SO proud of these students and the hard work they put in. The program celebrated with a shout out to all the participants on Instagram. The students gained invaluable professional experience that will stand out on their resumes and increased confidence in their strengths.
Want to go behind the scenes on two of the projects? Read on!
Client Project A
Challenges:
A client needed impactful, scalable recommendations to redefine and invigorate their socially conscious public sector consulting practice. Ultimately, seeking new ideas to increase profitability while honoring their holacracy partner model.
Recommendations:
In reviewing the current state, it was found that heavy usage of niche terms and descriptions created messaging, marketing, and selling challenges to reach prospective customers. Staying focused on public sector clients meant limited growth potential due to low profitability compared to private sector potential.
After deep research and consideration, the student group identified the need to develop a more clear product offering and messaging to support growth in target markets. to enhance longer-term growth, it was recommended to develop a hybrid market solution that aligns values with skills with both public and private sector audiences (e.g., HR and CSR).
Results:
By establishing clear business lines and creating a new business development process, the client was able to pursue a hybrid market strategy. Additionally, messaging clarity enabled the client to develop social media strategies.
Client Project B
Challenges:
For this project, an independent insurance agency offering a wide variety of commercial and personal insurance products was experiencing economic impacts from the COVID-19 outbreak, including a sudden and significant loss of revenue.
Recommendations:
The company’s online presence was minimal, the sales team was focused on a narrow set of products, and operations had active licenses for redundant and costly software. Through the discovery process, the student consulting team identified the need to increase digital marketing efforts, to have salespeople dedicate more time to cross-selling, and for operations to eliminate any underutilized programs.
Results:
The efforts by the student groups resulted in some highly tangible deliverables, including:
Improved website user interface and design
Updated marketing content and strategy for LinkedIn and Facebook company pages
Created a planning brochure for marketing to funeral homes
Dedicated more time to cross-selling personal insurance products to existing customers
Cost savings from the refund of two software programs
Congratulations to each of the student groups on their outstanding work. We know you will make a huge impact in the world of business!
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