Industry Spotlight: Industry Expertise

Upon offering services to a new prospect, independent service professionals in marketing, consulting, or software are regularly asked whether they have experience in the industry.

If the consultant has experience; that’s fine. And a good case probably can be made as to the applicability of that experience to the prospect’s needs—the most obvious and biggest advantage being the shorter learning curve regarding standard industry practices, terminology, and industry players.

However, a strong case also can be made for bringing a fresh set of eyes to a problem. A professional who does not have specific industry expertise can argue that lessons learned from working with companies in other industries can be the generator of new and better ways of doing things. In this way, best practices can be created for your client, drawn on best practices from those outside the industry.

We have seen this play out lately in a number of situations in our own business and in those of our clients. Sometimes prior knowledge brings valuable perspective to a challenging situation, and sometimes it puts blinders on the consultant preventing them from seeing beyond the “common wisdom” of the industry.

Next time you look for industry expertise, think very specifically about what kind of expertise you really need.