What have you learned starting a consulting program?

Mike Kochczynski

Hi Everyone,

Our company might add a new, higher account tier with more concierge service and thus a higher price point. This new team would provide gated/paid content with external business partners/elite clients, a more frequent cadence for business review, and greater access for our client to tap into our most experienced staff for strategy/tactics/support, etc.

We have exceptional client success leads who provide outstanding service and support in a remote setting. We currently only charge for implementation (and even that is about 50-80% lower than our competitors in our market), and we wrap our service costs into the contract price. This new team would provide even more than what we currently offer.

Has anyone seen similar models? What advice would you have? How much more should we charge for more intensive service and support compared to our already stellar service? Are we better off setting a retainer/subscription or per project (or both)? 

Anecdotally, it seems like we need to build a stronger client community first, so clients self-identify as wanting such a service first. However, I would love to hear what everyone else thinks.

Thank you in advance for your insight!

-Also, quick edit, I realized the title doesn't quite reflect the comment in hindsight. Thanks!

Ed Powers

@Mike Kochczynski, two things come to mind:

1. Have you engaged a Product Manager in this effort? Ascertaining scope, CTQ, and economics for services works the same way as does for software. A good process uncovers and sizes unmet and under-met customer needs, sets requirements, defines value propositions, etc. I've learned that doing primary market research is far faster, less costly and delivers better results than just putting something out there and hoping for the best.
2. Have you seen the 2019 Deloitte study on Customer Success services? They surveyed hundreds of enterprise buyers of SaaS and asked about specific services, value and monetization. It may give you some clues on where to look. Happy to share the study.