Advance Digital’s (Advance) business model included the marketing of social media products and services to small and mid-cap companies in regions where Advance had a news media presence. My job included analyzing Advance’s top national competitors and finding a way to distinguish the company’s offerings from the rest of the pack.
The dirty little secret of the social media industry is that most every company’s business model is built around obfuscating what it is that they actually do. They accomplish this with vague language and by inventing their own proprietary nicknames for common services or bundling services in odd ways to muddle key performance indicators down the road.
In the end it was my job to determine Advance Digital’s pricing, service tiers and offerings, and to figure out what offerings were feasible and scalable.
I believe in candid, clear communications with clients and potential clients. When consulting, I offer only services that I believe will provide genuine value. This isn’t a business strategy; it’s about integrity.