💼 300k-500k/month for 1 day a week: What is a Consulting Advisor? ── Company A Vol. 1
Introduction to the Consulting Advisor role ── The challenge with Company A
Hello, this is Roel.
Today, I would like to write about an initiative I am involved in as a "Consulting Advisor" for a certain retail company.
Actually, this topic is directly related to a question I am often asked myself.
"Roel, what kind of work do you actually do as a Consulting Advisor?"
I want to answer this question as realistically as possible. To do that, I will talk about the case of Company A, where I am involved as an advisor. I will share candidly the process of how I dive deep into the retail site, how I face challenges, and how I provide support.
Business or Organization ── Where is the support area?
As I touched upon briefly in the article below,
for this client, I am supporting both the "business" area of marketing and the product.
🏬 A historic retail company, a time for transformation
I encountered this project through a major agency. The agency, which has a network with some of Japan's leading large companies, received a request: "A long-established retail company is struggling with marketing. We want you to introduce good talent."
I was introduced and visited Company A. It was a company that had been loved by the local community for decades. What was characteristic was that it was just at the timing of a generational change. The young son had a strong desire to grow the company further as he prepared to take over as president.
Attracted by his enthusiasm to "make this company even better," I decided to get involved with all my might.
📉 The challenge is simply "a decrease in the number of visitors"
The marketing challenge is very simple.
The number of store visitors has been gradually decreasing over its long history
Although the average spend per customer has increased slightly, the overall situation is defensive
In other words, the challenge is "how to regain the number of visitors."
Many people tend to think, "Let's run ads" or "Let's increase exposure on social media." While those are certainly methods, my approach is completely different.
🧩 Reform starting from uniqueness and benefits
The philosophy I have consistently maintained as a CMO and executive is to calmly determine
in order to solve problems,
whether we should grow marketing or grow the product.
The basic approach is:
First, create a sales floor or product that has uniqueness and benefits
Design communication based on the value born from that
On top of that, deploy the How (means) such as ads and other social media
"Is what we are selling shining?" "Is that value clearly organized?" ── Polishing this is the starting point.
This approach is similar to Kazuki Nishiguchi's "Customer-Centric Marketing."
I have been strongly influenced by it, and I apply it to corporate reform by arranging it into my own methodology. We are taking exactly those steps at Company A as well.
🤖 AI research and "crystal" design
The first thing I tackled was market research utilizing AI.
"What are the benefits this retailer should have?"
"Where is the crystal (core value)?"
I analyzed this thoroughly. I collected and organized data with AI, formed hypotheses, and aligned them with the management team. By doing so, the direction gradually solidified.
What is important here is not to end with just research. I take the insights obtained from AI and translate them directly into plans that can be executed in the field.
🏗️ Stepping into non-specialized areas ── Store layout and zoning
What is particularly interesting about Company A is that I also had to step into the realm of store design.
I am a marketing person, not an expert in architecture or interior design. However, since the situation was "no store reform, no customer traffic," I could not avoid this.
While drawing on past experience—knowledge of store operations learned at a major convenience store chain—I created store layout proposals myself using AI and Figma.
Surprisingly, this hit the mark.
I realized something.
"The sales floor is a real-life landing page."
🪞 The sales floor is a 'real-world landing page'
On an advertising landing page,
First, grab attention
Instead of immediate purchase, make the user feel it's 'relevant to them'
Then, guide them to the purchase action
This flow is the gold standard.
The sales floor was exactly the same.
Don't place items people are specifically looking for right in front of the register
Create a flow that aligns with their purpose and encourage warming up
Just by applying these tweaks, the 'in-store experience' changes significantly. I realized that the mindset of ad operations can indeed be applied to physical stores.
When I proposed this to the site manager, they were very convinced, and
we have already moved into the execution phase.
⏳ Current phase and what's next
Of course, sales floor reform takes time. Right now, I am working in parallel on 'how to utilize existing sales floors and products, and how to design communication'.
From here on, I plan to step into more recognizable marketing areas like advertising and sales promotion.
The challenge with Company A has only just begun. Next time, I would like to talk more specifically about 'what kind of measures we are actually running'.
💬 If you have any thoughts or questions, please let me know in the comments.
If you follow me, you'll be notified as soon as Part 2 is released!
👉 In the sequel, I will write about 'the way of working as an advisory consultant' and 'how I am utilizing my entire career'. Stay tuned.
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