Frequently Asked Questions 1. What Consulting Services do you offer? 2. Why would I need any of these services? 3. What is "Messaging Consulting"? 4. I already have a marketing plan, what can you do that I haven't already done? 5. I'm in a highly specialized industry, what experience do you have that applies? 6. How much will your services cost? 7. I already have advertising and PR agencies on board. How are you different? 8. Can you work with my existing advertising and PR agencies? 9. I don't need any design work at this time. Can I still retain your consulting services? 10. We hired management consultants in the past and saw very little results, why should I trust that you're any different? What Consulting Services do you offer? Our Consulting Practice is focused on developing customized marketing and communications plans that help build our clients brands in a way that fits their unique needs. We offer services in three areas, each aimed at supporting their overall business:  Marketing Consulting We look at how the client can most effectively develop and promote their brand through marketing audits, strategy development and planning.  Messaging Consulting Combining years of experience in marketing, public relations and sales support, this practice works to develop clear and consistent messages that can permeate throughout an organization to support a companies mission and establish a desired position in a market.  Communications Consulting Focusing on the traditional areas of public and analyst relations as well as internal communications, the Communications Consulting practice identifies the strategies and tactics that a client can employ to support its position through the media and analysts. Why would I need any of these services? Many companies today are finding it more and more difficult to separate themselves from their competition, or clearly articulate what their differences are. Our consulting practice is designed specifically to help identify the key differences that your company has over its competitors and develop plans that help get that message out into the marketplace. This is often done through the development of a clear positioning statement and the appropriate messages and actions you need to achieve that position in the market. Our services can also provide guidance for a company looking to address a new audience, crisis communications management for a company experiencing a public relations nightmare and marketing audits for companies looking for an objective external opinion of their marketing activities. What is "Messaging Consulting"? Messaging Consulting is probably the most complex type of communications consulting there is. As simply put as possible, Messaging Consulting looks at all of the messages that a company is communicating, both internally and externally, analyses them and develops a clear and coherent strategy and plan for getting the message out that a company want to communicate. It is very closely linked with positioning and image management, but from a non-advertising standpoint. Working outward from the positioning that a company wants to achieve in a given marketplace we work with the highest levels of management to develop a set of core messages that you want to communicate. From there we work our way through the organization developing product, service and internal messages in the context of the new core messages. I already have a marketing plan, what can you do that I haven't already done? There are a number of services we offer that can compliment an existing marketing plan. This could include a marketing audit that looks at how effective the implementation of the plan has been, a communications plan that integrates public, analyst and investor relations with the marketing plan or a messaging plan that carries the key messages of the marketing plan throughout your company. I'm in a highly specialized industry, what experience do you have that applies? We have experience across a number of industries including at consumer, business-to-business and multi-level distribution companies. When looking at marketing and communications issues there are basic fundamentals that are true no matter what industry you are in. The key is our ability to understand what your needs are and developing a plan to address them. Our experience has shown us that the highly specialized nature of most industries is in the specific messages and jargon that is needed to communicate across it. Once we have had a chance to evaluate your needs, if we determine that we do not have the expertise to address them appropriately we will tell you. Your business and its continued success is more important to us than our delivering an ineffective plan to you. How much will your services cost? We develop customized solutions for each of our clients and do not give out estimates without first understanding the scope of your needs. We do however, believe that we are able to offer lower cost services than many of our competitors due to our business model and internal cost structure. We prefer to base our consulting engagement fees on a project basis, but do have hourly billing rates that apply in conjunction with design projects and smaller engagements. I already have advertising and PR agencies on board. How are you different? While we do offer limited Public Relations services as part of our overall offerings, the main focus of our consulting practices is development of specific programs and plans that integrate with your overall business. Our Marketing and Communications Consulting practices are designed to compliment the work of your existing agencies providing direction to them where needed and provide an objective voice to the mix. Can you work with my existing advertising and PR agencies? Yes! One of the most difficult tasks we have experienced in the past is integrating the work that advertising and public relations agencies do. We have extensive experience facilitating the work of both of these groups, helping develop common messages, coordinated campaigns and developing internal lines of communications between them. I don't need any design work at this time. Can I still retain your consulting services? Yes, though our design and consulting practices are tightly linked, we welcome clients who are only in need of one type of service. We hired management consultants in the past and saw very little results, why should I trust that you're any different? We feel your pain. Our experience with other management consultants is that often they do a good job of analyzing your situation and then providing a one-page summary of recommended actions. These make nice looking binders on a shelf, but do little to actually solve your problems. AT ECS|DC we believe that it is important that in the end you have a plan that can be executed efficiently and effectively in as cost effective a manner as possible. The plans that we put together are not based on some standardized formula or template, but are based on your individual needs. If you would like to meet with us, please fill out and submit the Request for Proposal (RFP) so that we may begin working together.

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