Alright, as if there wasn’t enough confusion in the marketplace right now regarding community-building tools, techniques and technicians, we now have the platform makers up-selling ‘community consulting services’ with their wares, and that has left many a company scratching its head and asking…
So, uh, what exactly is the difference between a platform provider’s consulting services, versus, say, an independent consultant’s?
A few months ago, in an effort to help a client of mine find this line and answer this question, I took a crack at a version of the following comparison chart. Was it helpful? Yeah, I think so. Is it exhaustive? Nah, frankly, I think it’s really just scratching the surface of things, but let me know what you think and what your experience has been on either side of the chart here, and maybe it’s something worth iterating further….
Update: A great related post on community managers, and that thing they do, from Brian Oberkirch.
February 16, 2009 at 1:14 am
Hi Mike,
You’re quite right in differentiating between CPPs and CCs, but I’m afraid I don’t subscribe to your criticism of the CPP consulting services.
In my opinion. CPPs and CCs complement each other. The CPP can consult on how best to integrate their product, or how to best make use of it. They will probably have a more in-depth knowledge of their product than CCs.
While I share your view on CCs having a much broader scope and eyesight, They sometimes are not fully aware of important nuances. For example, how to tweak a certain product for better use.
Other than that – Thanks for sharing your insights here. The latest rise in your Feedburner stats is probably me