Original ideas for website content

July 20, 2010 3:59 AM

I am working on setting up a website for a very small management consultancy. I am thinking of some really interesting content to differentiate from the mundane. Metabrain please help.

Its for a one man band based in the UK that does work with small and medium businesses. The person is not your normal 'accountant' and is looking for content that distinguishes him from the competition.

Simple things like linking to a twitter account, but I'd appreciate some original ideas.

Thanks
TC

posted by trashcan to computers & internet (6 answers total)

A newsletter or blog focusing on the ideas/frameworks that the consultant uses in his practice is probably the most valuable thing you could put onto a management consultancy's website. The clients he's looking for aren't going to be too interested in bells and whistles so much as how he's going to approach their issues and solve them.
posted by xingcat at 5:16 AM on July 20, 2010

I agree with xingcat, maybe he can add anonymised case studies on how his firm (just him in reality) helped a company similar to the ones he is trying to target.
posted by london302 at 5:21 AM on July 20, 2010

Clients will really want to know what he has accomplished for other clients, how, and for how much money. What's his track record, what's his approach, and what's his cost. You don't have to put dollar signs up, but quotes, testimonies, etc. clearly spelling out his value and his clients' return on investment is probably the best content for both your client and his potential clients. To the extent that he's "not your normal accountant," I'd need more detail to understand how to translate that into a web experience. Is he a clown for hire on the weekends? Former MI6? Stephen Hawking's brother-in-law?

For content that "distinguishes him from the competition" you need to know who his competition is. Having been both a website designer and a management consultant, I'd do site reviews of his competitors' websites. What do they highlight that he can surpass? What do they offer that he cannot, and how can he translate that into a benefit for potential clients? Are the sites busy and overwhelming, and can you translate that into a different experience for potential clients that come to his site? Or are they austere (snobby?) and without real-world examples, and can you address that in your site?

To the extent you want to integrate things like twitter, you need to have confidence that your client 1) will update regularly (for Twitter at least once a day), 2) has either the daily experiences or intellectual content to be compelling, and 3) has the communication skills to condense that into a pithy read. That is, don't pony your client up for failure for the sake of appearing current technologically.

A quick survey of some consulting sites and Propaganda is the only one that looks different from all the others. It's a creative consultancy, so that's one reason, and it doesn't use the ubiquitous header navigation style that most of the other sites do, but another reason is their use of hand-drawn/handwritten images that relate to the content. Au courant.
posted by Yoshimi Battles at 7:11 AM on July 20, 2010

The person is not your normal 'accountant' and is looking for content that distinguishes him from the competition.

Just having a website that doesn't look like it was built by a four year old would help.

Not using either a) awful photos of the person b) cheesy stock photos is a big plus.

Another big issue with one man bands is the ability to keep the site updated once the web designer has done their thing.

A non-crappy contact form is another plus.

Apart from that, I think it's striking the happy balance between presenting a human face b behind the company and not necessarily letting on it's a one man band.
posted by MuffinMan at 7:36 AM on July 20, 2010

Content is king. If he can provide some stuff for free -- useful spreadsheets, forms, or templates. Also he could set up a forum where he could give advice and answer questions from site visitors.

I'd say you want to have a bunch of people out there saying, "Well, I'm not an accountant, but I know of one that is very approachable and helpful."
posted by cross_impact at 8:36 AM on July 20, 2010

There are a number of products I've purchased or recommended because I kept going back to the author's website.

For example, I bought Tim Ferriss's 4 Hour Work Week, because I kept reading his blog, and finally bought the 2nd release of the book.

So, I agree that providing some great content would help.


On the other hand, I have to agree with Yoshimi - don't start a blog/Twitter account, if you can't guarantee that it will be updated.

Maybe just some sort of gallery of successful work with words of praise from clients.
posted by jander03 at 9:13 AM on July 20, 2010 [1 favorite]