Question

Topic: Customer Behavior

Customer/employer Expectations

Posted by williammconnors on 2/19/2017 at 6:42 AM ET 250 Points
How do you think an employer would react if a marketing consultant (or employee) they were working with used a series of third party created metrics templates (that they could rebrand) to provide them with various metrics, data, etc? The client could discover the template company ID easily. In other words - do you think it's ALWAYS expected that the consultant (or employee) is going to create the datatsheet engine themselves or is it acceptabe for the consultant/employee to use a third party template? I ask because I'm thinking of purchasing a subscription to a service that provides an impressive array of templates that I can rebrand but I doesn't allow me to hide their ID. Thanks in advance! - Bill Connors




Kim Isenberg accepted your request.


Chat Conversation End




Does an employer of a marketing consultant (or employee) expect the consultant/employee to ALWAYS be the creator/originator of the engine behind primarily Excel-driven data-related marketing deliverables - or is it acceptable for the marketing consultant/employee to use a third party template (that they can rebrand) where the third party company can easily be discovered? I ask because I am up for two marketing management jobs - one as a consultant and one as an employee and I am considering purchasing a subscription to a service that provides an impressive array of Excel-based tools that would widen my abilities to do my job, save me an incredible amount of time - and not constantly re-invent the wheel. Thank you in advance for your help and input.
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by mgoodman on 2/19/2017 at 6:43 AM Accepted
    If I were in your situation, I would disclose that you are using the template (supplied by a third party) and adding value with your insightful analysis. Why risk potential thoughts about being lied-to or about your misrepresenting how you do the analysis? Even a suggestion of dishonesty or misrepresentation could haunt you for years.

    As your client I would welcome your input and value-added. If you're concerned that the client (or employer) might not appreciate it, maybe they are the wrong client/employer for you.
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 2/19/2017 at 6:44 AM Member
    Well, it depends a lot on what these are and what sort of information they are providing. They are buying knowledge and experience and such from you - your secret sauce.

    The employer doesn't expect you to write your own word processor from your own source code, and is Ok with you using Microsoft Word or similar. So they should be fine with you purchasing and using tools that help you get your job done faster, and presumably be cheaper for them as they can stick to paying you for time that is around your secret sauce, and not for things unrelated to that.

    But if this template is providing a lot of information that they expect you to provide (your secret source), then they may question why they are paying you.
  • Posted by telemoxie on 2/19/2017 at 6:44 AM Member
    I would shout it from the housetops. I would find 22 other sources of commercially available or public domain templates, and I would position my company and service offering is a safe choice since they are not dependent upon or tied to proprietary methods and techniques. I would not give my clients direct access to the templates, but I would have a process which collected information efficiently for a robust set of comprehensive template. My standard contract would include terms to describe and train and document the processes used, So that the client company could take over certain functions if they desire.

    In parallel, I would also offer services (under a different brand) without disclosing my "secret sauce".
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Customer Behavior)