Uncle trey & the loose cannons

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Describing the Industry

Background

Industry
Firm

3
4

Objective

Audience

Target
Messaging
Communication Vehciles For St. Louis
Online
Proposals
Word of Mouth

5
5
5
5
5
6

Internal

Employees
Geography
Products and Services

6
6
6

External

Competition
Booz Allen Hamilton
Deloitte
Prospect Infosys
Numerof & Associates
Community Service

7
7
7
8
8
8

Describing the Client

Target Audience groups

CLimbers
Legacies

9
9

Demographics

Age
Income
Household/Family
Education

10
10
10
10

Psychographics

11
2

Religion
Cultural Factors- Regional Characteristics
Personality/Activities
Saint Louis Sports
Grilling/BBQ
Beer Culture

Motivators

11
11
12
12
12
12

13

Achievement/Drive
Relationship
Knowledge/ fulfillment
Helping others

13
13
13
14

Summary of target audience

14

Climbers
Legacies

14
14

Communication Strategy
Social Media

15

Virtual Assistant
Vehicles
Facebook
Twitter

15
15
15
17

Personal Interaction/ Networking Events

19

Vehicles
Personal Invitations
Promoting the Company

19
19
20

Community Building

22

Vehicles
E-vites
Phone Call to secretary

22
22
23

Works Cited

24

DESCRIBING THE INDUSTRY

BACKGROUND
INDUSTRY
3

The Consulting Industry is a broad industry that helps companies solve internal or
external problems. There are many different types of consulting, but the most
common one is Management Consulting. Management Consulting started in the mid
1920s by McKinsey & Company. These first companies pioneered the first uses of
many analytic tools in business for problem solving (Consulting Industry Overview). By
the 1990s the consulting industry was growing, which led to the perfect opportunity
for North Highland Consulting to enter the industry.

FIRM
North Highland Consulting is a company that was created to allow a strong work-life
balance. Dave Peterson was tired of leaving his family for work. He worked for a large
consulting company where he was constantly traveling. In 1992, he decided to start
his own consulting company in his current city of Atlanta, GA. The general premise of
his company was to franchise small boutique consulting firms. Dave and his partners
decided they were only going to work with clients who were a reasonable distance
away. Since they stayed in the same area, it helped them create strong, long lasting
relationships with many companies within their city. Their concept proved extremely
successful and they decided to expand to different cities across the United States, and
eventually to different offices around the world. They currently have 24 offices in the
USA and the UK (North Highland Worldwide Consulting).

OBJECTIVE
North Highland consulting opened up
their St. Louis office over 4 years ago,
yet they are still relatively unknown.
They have had many successful
projects with well-known clients but
they work to become the company that businesses who need consulting services go
to. They want to be the preferred choice among successful businesses who need
consulting services. They want a high ROI (Return on Investment) with the funds that
are being put into the company to gain preference and presence. They also want to
adhere to the standards of the North Highland brand (NH Presentation, 2015).

AUDIENCE
TARGET
4

North Highlands Target Audience

Over $500 million in revenue.

Looking for a personalized solution to their problem.
Large companies that regularly need North Highlands services.
Smaller companies that need services every 3 or 4 years.
Energy & Services, Healthcare, Financial Services, Life Sciences, Public Sector,
Media & Entertainment, Retail, and Transportation (North Highland Worldwide
Consulting).

MESSAGING

Philosophy of putting their clients first.

Goals are to inspire, transform, challenge

disrupt to create the best solutions.

Value interactions with clients and

guarantee their work.

100% recommended by previous

and

customers.

COMMUNICATION VEHCILES FOR ST. LOUIS

ONLINE

Potential clients will likely visit its webpage before contacting the company.
Overall feel of website will determine a clients initial perception.
North Highland website gives off a very competent, yet global feel.

PROPOSALS

North Highland can earn clients by winning proposals.

Only 10% of the St. Louiss offices work comes from request proposals. (NH
Presentation, 2015).

WORD OF MOUTH

St. Louis business community revolves around word of mouth communication.

Relationships and the quality of work it gives to them will determine its

reputation.
Most important communication vehicle to reach new clients in the St. Louis
area.
5

INTERNAL
EMPLOYEES

Consulting Magazines Best firm to work for every year since 2006.
15 employees working there whom all own a share of the company.
Maintain own profit and loss statement.
Responsible for how a specific office operates.
Allocate funds for their employees to attend training workshops.
Dedicated group of employees in each office (NH Presentation, 2015).
Pushing for more senior consultants with an MBA.
Opportunities also available to undergraduate students (North Highland
Worldwide Consulting).

GEOGRAPHY

The St. Louis market

filled with a high
number of start up

The collaborative team is known for being

Innovative, trusted advisors focused on
challenging their partners to take their business
to the next level while delivering superior work.

companies.
Major focuses of the

St. Louis market are Financial, Healthcare and Life Sciences.

75% of the work done in St. Louis for North Highland is in the Healthcare and

Life Sciences industries.

In 2011, St. Louis had a Gross Metropolitan Product of $133.1 billion, making it

the 21st highest GMP in the United States.

Mississippi River and Missouri rivers make it a prime shipping location.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

North Highland solves their clients problem by leveraging 5 different things:

1. Consulting
2. Marketing
3. Analytics

4. Managed Services
5. Staffing

is

6. North Highland has their own marketing company known as Sparks Grow and
their job is to both market North Highland and do marketing work for their
clients. The consultants use analytics to track the changes they made
through concrete evidence, and in this case monitoring data. North Highland
also can bring in specific individuals to work with the client and provide for
certain needs of the client. While they use these specific tools to solve many
of their clients problems, they never solve the same problem twice (NH
Presentation, 2015). North Highland Consulting offers services in a variety of
industries including Energy & Services, Healthcare, Financial Services, Life
Sciences, Public Sector, Media & Entertainment, Retail, and Transportation
(North Highland Worldwide Consulting).

7. EXTERNAL
8. COMPETITION
9. North Highland in terms of competitors is stuck in the middle; they are
neither a huge Big 5 consulting firm nor a local small boutique firm (NH
Presentation, 2015). The main competitors they have within St. Louis are
large consulting firms with offices based here, this includes Booz Allen
Hamilton Holding Company and Deloitte.

10.

BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON

Fortune 500 company.

Leader in the fields of consulting,

technology and engineering.

Provide services to US Government.
Focus on strong client relationships due to their consulting background and

collaborative nature of employees (Booz Allen Hamilton Fact Sheet, 2015).

Larger company than North Highland.

11.

DELOITTE

60 offices around the world and approximately 29,000 employees.

Vision is to aspire to be the Standard of Excellence, the first choice of the

most sought-after clients and talent.

Cares about reputation and has high levels of integrity in the work that it

does.
Culture of borderless collegiality, allowing
employees from different places to meet and
Deloitte thinks of this as a competitive advantage. The commitment they

have is on
Reach people far away and provide them with their services (Deloitte
Consulting, 2015).

12.

PROSPECT INFOSYS

13.It seems as if many of the boutique consulting firms in St. Louis are being
overshadowed by large consulting firms with multiple office locations. One
boutique firm that North Highland may compete with is Prospect Infosys.
Prospect Infosys is an

IT consulting company with its headquarters in St.

Louis.
Connections within the St. Louis area that may compete with North Highland

because of their presence and original location.

Learns about the business they are working with and then adapts their
technology and creates personalized solutions for companies (Prospect Infosys
About Us, 2015).

14.

NUMEROF & ASSOCIATES

St. Louis based strategy consulting firm specializing in Healthcare,

Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Devices.

Global company, but its St. Louis headquarters and focus within the major St.

Louis industries make it boutique-like.

Focused expertise in the Healthcare industry.

15.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

16.Employees in the St. Louis area also

enjoy giving back to their community.
Nationally, North Highland is partnered

Giving back means

everything to us.

with United Way. Every year, North Highlands St. Louis office holds an annual
kickoff event to tell the St. Louis communities what organizations they are
working with. Their goal is to make the community a better place. This year
on May 16, 2015, North Highland hosted its annual Day of Giving Back.
Employees volunteered with local organizations for the day to give back to
the communities they work in. The organizations this year that they chose to
give back to were mostly shelters, food banks and housing organizations
(North Highland Hosts Annual Day of Giving Back, 2015).

17.

DESCRIBING THE CLIENT

18.

One of North Highlands main keys to success in St. Louis is

accurately identifying its target customer. North Highland wants clients

who value their unique services and advantages over the
competitions. We believe that North Highland should focus its efforts
on two unique personal demographics.
19.
20.

TARGET AUDIENCE GROUPS

The audience of North Highland is split into two groups. Each

group has their own distinctive characteristics which influence north

Highlands ability to connect through marketing and communication
channels.
21.

CLIMBERS

22.

The first demographic is a younger client aged 30-45. This

demographic is mostly short term result driven, and cares a lot about
efficient and professional service

23.
24.
25.

LEGACIES

26.

The second demographic is age 45-60 and is more focused on

their legacy. Having been an important player in their respective

industries for a while, this demographic is more concerned with
keeping their firm relevant in the future.
27.
28.

AGE

DEMOGRAPHICS

29.

The age groups of St. Louis are similar to those of the United

Age Demographics in the U.S.A.

13% 6%
12%

13%

14%
14%
13%
13%

States

Under 5

5 to 14

15 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65+

Age Demographics in St. Louis

14%
Under 5
13%

5 to 14

6%
13%
15 to 24

25 to 34

13%
35 to15%
44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65+

13%
13%

(Demographics).
30.
31.

INCOME

Median income within St. Louis county: $58,910

Mean value of owner occupied housing units within St. Louis County:
$174,500 (United States Census Bureau)

32.

HOUSEHOLD/FAMILY

Average household in St. Louis County: 2.43 people

Average family size in St. Louis County: 3.15 people
Percentage of people living in St. Louis county for over a year: 86.2%
33.
(United States Census Bureau).
34.

EDUCATION

Percentage of people in St. Louis County ages 25+ with a high school
degree: 92.1%

Percentage of people in St. Louis County ages 25+ with a bachelors

degree: 40.6%

Percentage of people nationally ages 25+ with a high school degree:

86.0%

Percentage of people nationally ages 25+ with a bachelors degree:

28.8%
35.

36.

(United States Census Bureau).

Climber Client

Smaller than average family size.

Looking to increase income and move up in the business world.

More likely to take risks.

37.

Legacy Client

Late high-school age or college age children

Want to leave business world on a positive

Looking forward to retirement

38.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS

39.

RELIGION

40.

St. Louis has a large Catholic population. Taking 15% of the

population belonging to a denomination, Catholicism is the most

prevalent group in St. Louis. Additionally, 51% of Catholics make above
$75,000 per-year which makes them one of the highest earning
religious groups in St. Louis (Pew Forum, 2008). There has been an
80% increase from 2000 to 2010 in those who dont associate with a

particular religion (City Data). There has also been a 54% increase in
the amount of religious congregations within St. Louis, which could
increase the amount of those practicing any religion within the St.
Louis area in the future. The Faith Church is a protestant church in St.
Louis that has 25,000 members, making it one of the largest protestant
churches in the United States (Faith Church).
41.

CULTURAL FACTORS- REGIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

42.

St. Louis location in confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri

rivers and on the Mason/Dixon line provide a unique economic

environment. Being at the confluence of three rivers makes St. Louis a
major port city. As the Gateway to the West, St. Louis sits right in
between the South and the Midwest, creating a unique culture for the
metro area. There is a large emphasis on the community and
relationships within St. Louis as a whole. The relationships within the
St. Louis area are vital to many businesses, which is very similar to an
element in southern culture. Another emphasis is on the Midwestern
hospitality that St. Louis prides itself on. Comfort is being given to
individuals who visit the city, however, long-term residents have a
reputation of being cliquish and exclusive.
43.

PERSONALITY/ACTIVITIES

44.

Saint Louiss strong sense of community creates an excellent

environment for creating and fostering strong relationships. The

community culture rewards firms who embrace and support their
community. Three cultural epicenters to target are:
45.

SAINT LOUIS SPORTS

46.

The Cardinals are the backbone of the Saint Louis Identity. Busch

Stadium, home of the Cardinals, seats 3.5 million people per year.

Thats roughly 10 times the population of the City St. Louis. and half of
Missouri as a whole (United States Census Bureau). North Highland can
use the infrastructure surrounding sports to reach out to new clients
and maintain bonds with past customers (St. Louis Cardinals
Attendance Data).
47.

GRILLING/BBQ

48.

Saint Louis has a well established Barbeque culture. This year,

Tripadvisor, put two Saint Louis restaurants in their top ten barbeque
destinations nationwide. Missouri also ranked 3rd in the Nation for
barbeque statewide (Wires).
49.
50.
51.
52.

BEER CULTURE

53.

Anheuser Buschs Brewery opened in 1852 and is considered a

National Historic Landmark. It is a huge part of St. Louis culture, as is

Anheuser Busch InBev in general. Anheuser Busch announced in late
2014 that it would be moving its Sales and Marketing to New York. Bill
Finnie worked for AB for 26 years and states that he feels that AB's
production at the brewery is one of its most valuable assets and would
likely never leave St. Louis. He says if anything, the sales and
marketing success in NYC will ensure production job security at the
brewery. Anheuser Busch InBevs beer and other beverages are a St.
Louis staple (Seith, 2014).
54.

MOTIVATORS

55.

ACHIEVEMENT/DRIVE

56.

Every client North Highland works with is looking to increase

their companys performance. A CEO that reaches out to North

Highland may want to increase profit to secure his or her position in
front of shareholders. A mid-level manager who contacts a consulting
firm may be looking for promotion. Either way, North Highlands job is
to develop strategies to increase company performance. Before
beginning work on a project, North Highland should outline a
companys specific goal and align all work to reaching that. Again,
more Group 1.
57.

RELATIONSHIP

58.

St. Louiss cultural environment and old money economy

creates a business atmosphere dependent on relationship quality. As a

motivator, relationships emphasize integrity and consistency above all.
North Highland should focus on creating a sustaining, long-term
partnership with firms that will reap benefits in the future. Beyond
business quality, this requires that North Highland consultants act as
personable as possible and treat everyone from the janitor to the CEO
with utmost respect. Dont be a jerk needs to be taken a step further.
Transform this into be a gentleman/lady. Probably more Group 2, as
they look to find trustworthy colleagues to pass their legacy on to.
59.
60.

KNOWLEDGE/ FULFILLMENT

61.

North Highland teaches as well as advises. North Highland

encourages its employees to continue learning about the consulting

world. This is also true for many of the companies that North Highland
works with. Their clients want to gain knowledge to further their career.

The North Highland clients also want to have large amounts of

knowledge in their current position at work to achieve maximum
performance. Group 1 is going to be looking for knowledge to further
their career.
62.

HELPING OTHERS

63.

Contributing to the community creates a positive identity among

St. Louis businesses. Clients care strongly about the St. Louis
community, and would value any efforts by North Highland to get
involved. Nationally, North Highland is affiliated with United Way. At the
local level, North Highland chooses one or two community service
organizations to work with. By doing this, North Highland distinguishes
itself from other national consulting firms. More Group 2, as they will
be looking to give back to the community.
64.
65.

SUMMARY OF TARGET AUDIENCE

The audience of North Highland is split into two groups. Each

group has their own distinctive characteristics which influence north

Highlands ability to connect through marketing and communication
channels.
66.

CLIMBERS

67.

The first demographic is a younger client aged 30-40. This

demographic is mostly short term result driven, and cares a lot about
efficient and professional service. This demographic is also socially
active in the Saint-Louis community, allowing North Highland to use
the Cardinal games or similar public events to connect to the
consumer.
68.

LEGACIES

69.

The second demographic is age 50-60 and is more focused on

their legacy. Having been an important player in their respective

industries for a while, this demographic is more concerned with
keeping their firm relevant in the future than boosting short term
profits. North Highland can target this demographic through the
creation of long lasting relationships and innovations through
technology.

70.

COMMUNICATION

STRATEGY
71.

There are three main platforms we plan on using for the

communication Strategies.
1. Social Media
2. Personal Interaction/Networking Events
3. Community Building

72.
73.

SOCIAL MEDIA

We plan on creating a Facebook and a Twitter page for North

Highland STL. The Facebook can be used for advertising the events
that North Highland STL puts on and posting pictures from this event.
The Twitter account will be used for a more personal interaction. This
account can follow potential clients, post updates on the St. Louis
office and talk about current events or post links to interesting articles.

It allows for that initial and hopefully continuous connection North

Highland has with their clients.
74.

VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

75.

Weve identified a variety of solutions for North Highland to

increase its presence and preference in the St. Louis market including
Social Media, Networking Events, and Community Service. The most
efficient and cost effective way to communicate through these vehicles
would be to hire a virtual assistant.
76.

All of the work needed to operate these vehicles takes up around

5 hours a week. The creation of our invites and updating of social

media pages can easily be done remotely. For a quality virtual
assistant, costs would be around $16 an hour. (Virtual Assistant Salary)
77.
78.

VEHICLES

79.

FACEBOOK

80.

Statistics:

58% of users are Facebook friends with their work colleagues

73% of people aged 30-49 use Facebook (Duggan, 2015)

30-49 Years Old

Use Facebook
Don't Use
Facebook

27%
73%

81.

82.
83.
84.
85.
86.

Example Page:

87.
88.

89.
90.

Example Posts:
91.

IT

ER

92.

St

tis

ics

6 already established North highland accounts, with 1,000s of followers

and almost 5,000 tweets on the main account
o

The new North Highland STL will add to their already established
network.

27% of people with an income of $75,000 and $50,000-$74,999 use

Twitter (Duggan, 2015). This is a large increase from last year showing
that twitter is a viable Social Media platform that North Highland can
use.

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

% of People Making $75,000+ who us e Twitter

93.

% of People Making $50,000 - $74,000 who us e Twitter

94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.

Example Page:

100.

Example Posts:
101. 1.

102.
103.
104. 2.

105.
106.
107.
3.

108.
109.
110.
111.

PERSONAL INTERACTION/ NETWORKING EVENTS

There will be two Networking events: one is Cocktails on the

Track and the other event is the Live Game Event. The Cocktails on
the Track event is a formal event to advertise North Highland as a
company and invite potential and current clients. The Cocktails on the
Track event is run by the St. Louis Cardinals. It will be a 2-hour event
with cocktails and live music for approximately 150 people (Cocktails
on the Track). It fits in well with their relaxed environment and create
an an opportunity for relationship building and getting to know those
present on a personal level. The event space is $3,000, the food and
beverage is $4,000 minimum, the personal invites will be
approximately $100 and the promotional items will be $500. The other
event is a Live Game event for 20 people. This is a relaxed
environment for North Highland to get to know clients personally. The
tickets for the game will cost about $2,000 and the promotional
materials will be $600. The approximate cost for both the events is
$10,200 including ticket posts, event space rental and promotional
materials.

112.

VEHICLES

113.

PERSONAL INVITATIONS

The core of north highlands success as a company

Allows for that personal connection that North Highland thrives on

Classic and sleek way to reach out to high level executive at other
companies

Example invite:

114.

PROMOTING THE COMPANY

1 Pint

Beer Glass with embossed North

Highland Logo
Connects with the Beer

culture of St.
Louis
Allows for

North
Highland to
be
memorable and give their potential and existing
clients
something
physical to associate with their company
o Example:

115.

Business card with a voucher for Next Drink on Us

o Good opportunity for follow up with potential clients and to
continue current clients relationships
o Goes well with their already established coffee dates
o Example card:
116. Front117.
118.
119.
120.
121.

122.
123.
124.

Back-

125.
126.
127.
128.
129.

COMMUNITY BUILDING

130.

Currently, North Highland St. Louis runs 2 community service

events per year. The goal is to increase this number to 6 events per
year. The focus is going to be on art and children. Some possibilities for
this event are a 5K, a volunteer day with St. Louis Art Works, a
volunteer day with Habitat for Humanity, and finally working with
Kreative Arts for Kids which works with disabled children and a part of
St. Louis Arc and United Way (a current partner of North Highland).
North Highland can build new relationships and create a positive
presence in the lives of St. Louis citizens.
131.

VEHICLES

132.

E-VITES

Get a general response of who can attend the event, both clients and
employees of North Highland

Example E-vite:

133.
134.
135.

PHONE CALL TO SECRETARY

Allows for that personal connection with clients and North Highland
because of the direct approach to inviting them

136.
137.
138.
139.
140.
141.

142.
143.
144.
145.
146.
147.
148.
149.
150.
151.
152.

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153.
(n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2015, from Faith Church:
http://faithchurch.com/
154.
Booz Allen Hamilton Fact Sheet. (2015, September 28). Retrieved from
http://www.boozallen.com/content/dam/boozallen/media/file/Booz_Allen_Fact_
Sheet.pdf
155.
City Data. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from St. Louis County,
Missouri Religion Statistics Profile: http://www.citydata.com/county/religion/St.-Louis-city-MO.html
156.
Cocktails on the Track. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2015, from
Cardinals Special Events:
http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/stl/ballpark/events/experiences.jsp?
content=cocktails_on_the_track
157.
Consulting Industry Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2015,
from Street of Walls: http://www.streetofwalls.com/finance-trainingcourses/consulting-interview-training/consulting-industry-overview/

158.

Deloitte Consulting. (2015, September 29). Retrieved from deloitte.com

159.
Demographics. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2015, from St. Louis
Regional Chamber: http://www.stlregionalchamber.com/regionaldata/demographics
160.
Duggan, M. (2015, January 9). Demographics of Key Social Networking
Platforms. Retrieved November 7, 2015, from Pew Research Center:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/demographics-of-key-socialnetworking-platforms-2/
161.

NH Presentation. (2015, September 24). St. Louis, MO.

162.
North Highland Hosts Annual Day of Giving Back. (2015, September
29). Retrieved from North Highland Worldwide Consulting:
http://www.northhighland.com/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/northhighland-hosts-annual-day-of-giving-back
163.
North Highland Worldwide Consulting. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23,
2015, from http://www.northhighland.com/
164.
Pew Forum. (2008). U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. Retrieved
October 26, 2015
165.
Prospect Infosys About Us. (2015, September 29). Retrieved from
http://prospectinfosys.com/nw/about-us/
166.
Seith, G. (2014, December 10). Anheuser-Busch: From STL to NYC.
Retrieved October 8, 2015, from KSDK:
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2014/12/10/anheuser-busch-stlnyc/20223739/
167.
St. Louis Cardinals Attendance Data. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11,
2015, from Baseball Almanac: http://www.baseballalmanac.com/teams/cardatte.shtml
168.
United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2015, from
St. Louis County, MO: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/29/29189.html
169.
Virtual Assistant Salary. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2015, from
PayScale:
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Virtual_Assistant/Hourly_Rate
170.
Wires, C. (n.d.). Two St. Louis BBQ Restaurants Named Best in the US.
Retrieved October 9, 2015, from Fox STL:
http://fox2now.com/2015/05/20/two-st-louis-bbq-restaurants-named-best-inthe-us/

171.