by Robin Dicks | Oct 6, 2022 | Uncategorized
We’ve just done a study with 68 participants from professional services firms, about approaches to pricing and the impact on profitability. One of the things that struck me was the examples given of the most profitable matters and relationships. When people talked about how they approached pricing, all of these took into account the broader context – i.e. not just “what’s our hourly rate.” In the most successful examples, people had understood the value to the client, understood what the client really wanted to achieve, had a sense of competitor pricing, and been absolutely transparent in nailing the real deliverables of value. These tended also to be the firms who were confident about future...
by Robin Dicks | Mar 24, 2022 | Uncategorized
As the founder director of Thriving, it feels pretty good to reflect on the fact we’ve raised about £10000 over the past year for various causes, including over £1000 for the people of Ukraine. I know its very little compared to what major PLCs may raise, and sometimes it feels like it may be a drop in the ocean – but on the other hand, it’s definitely helped people dealing with huge challenges and sadness. All of us can do more good. It’s not particularly difficult. It just requires a bit of will and...
by Robin Dicks | Mar 24, 2022 | Uncategorized
Value for money continues to be one of the most misunderstood aspects of providing professional service. And, when clients rate their firm’s performance, it’s very often the aspect that is rated most lowly. These things are not unconnected. Take a look at our free insight and articles section (under the services tab) to see some of the reasons why, and what you can do about it....
by Robin Dicks | Apr 21, 2021 | Uncategorized
Writing this as the short-lived idea of a European Super Football league comes crashing down. There couldn’t be a clearer example of a strategy and objective created internally. Without thinking of stakeholders. Without understanding customer needs. Without consulting. And perhaps most dramatically, without asking or clearly recognising what fans/customers/the market VALUES in what you do. There was such a gulf between what the architects of this idea focused on and what their most loyal supporters wanted. It’s a salutary lesson for any business in developing its aims or strategy without listening and taking on board feedback from its customers and major stakeholders. Internally driven strategy without being sense-checked? Very expensive mistake. Listen to your...
by Robin Dicks | May 27, 2020 | Robin's Blog
A couple of weeks ago our car – probably like many others in the last few weeks – had a flat battery. The thing about modern cars is it’s a lot more complicated than it used to be, you can’t just stick jump leads on any more. In the end it necessitated two different people from two different organisations coming out. I’ve no idea which one was more technically adept, as I struggle to tell the difference between a spark plug and an exhaust pipe. But one guy coughed into open air, and kept rubbing this nose, and was pretty blasé about social distancing. The other had gloves, had clearly sanitised stuff, was respectful of distance, and had clearly thought how to communicate and show me how to do stuff, again at a distance. Who do you think I’d use again? It’s a blunt example, but enabling customers to feel safe and secure in dealing with you is going to be a big deal for a...
