Mark Satov
Founder, SATOV Consultants
As I write this we are celebrating 13 years since I started the business. This milestone causes me to reflect on where we have come from and where we are going.
We started off as a guy with a team…the little consulting company that could. We worked on a range of projects that small teams could execute, and our work was based on the relationships I had and the work they needed. As we grew and matured we gained the credibility of a lasting brand. In this second phase of our company’s growth, we built a larger team, knowledge management, and HR processes to institutionalize what we thought was great about what we did. Our internal mantra was to deliver ‘premium consulting without the bullshit’. (In case you are wondering, we are pretty specific about our bullshit here – it refers to the canned approach, arrogance and exorbitant fees of our larger competitors). We love taking on our large competitors and winning, and we delight in being known as the pre-eminent Canadian mid-market consulting company.
As we move on to Phase Three of our journey it is time for deep reflection. We took a hard look at the work we do best, the advice we give our clients about focus, and the feedback they gave us. We took a step back from the consulting industry and recognized the increasing need for a point of view and depth on a narrower range of subjects. Being an unapologetic generalist with a great style and approach just isn’t enough to take us where we want to go.
Our best work is in one way or another related to helping our clients get more profitable customers. Sometimes they start with profitable customers and want more of them, and sometimes they start with enough customers and want them to be more profitable. Here are some examples of our work:
- We helped Cossette, Canada’s largest communications agency, restructure its organization around a customer centric account management approach.
- We helped improve BMO’s mortgage business by identifying the most profitable customers and the most efficient ways to market to them.
- We helped the Air Miles Reward program solve some of their most complex operational issues through deep analysis of customers’ needs and behaviours.
- We helped one of North America’s largest cable operators transform its customer care by balancing customer experience and efficiency.
- In numerous Private Equity situations, we helped acquirers assess whether the profitable customers they have are happy enough to continue to grow and multiply.
As we grow, we will continue to help our clients get more profitable customers. We have formalized this commitment with a new way of thinking about our services, a new website, a new newsletter and an insights blog. Please take some time to look around, read some of our ideas and tell us what you think.