Why simplicity sells in social value consulting

As the business world has evolved over recent years, the value of social value consultants – or sustainability, CSR, or social impact consultants, whatever it is you like to go by – has steeply risen.

Transitioning from being ‘nice to have’ additions to ‘need to have’ requirements, social value, sustainability, and CSR are unavoidable aspects of running a successful, profitable, and genuinely good business. That’s why around 95% of businesses now actively report on their CSR.

Enter consultants like you, seeking to make the CSR, charitable, or philanthropic arms of these businesses run smoother and work harder. Your job to tackle all the messy logistics of managing data, initiatives, KPIs, and measuring impact. All in the name of making your clients’ jobs easier.

But what about making your own job easier?

Keeping things simple

Ordinarily, your role is all about data. Messy, disparate pieces of data that somehow need to relate to real-world impact and tangible results. You need to track progress, identify room for improvement, and make informed decisions on your clients’ future strategies and goals. We’ve all seen the spreadsheets and heard the horror stories.

But social value consultancy (for ease, we are using this term to represent all of those listed above) doesn’t have to be this tedious, challenging data pile. With the right platform supporting you, it can be simple. Yes, we said it: simple.

Reporting platforms are there so you can offer greater value to your clients. They make your life easier, so you can make theirs easier. Everybody wins. And why exactly is simple so much better?

Client engagement

We’re going to assume, as a consultant, you’re already well aware of just how important reporting is when it comes to social value, sustainability, and CSR. But how do you translate this to your clients?

Your clients know there’s increasing pressure on organisations to value people, the planet, and profits in equal measure. But that’s often as far as it goes. Hence why they bring professionals like you on board to guide them through the rest.

Keeping social value reporting simple pays off in keeping your clients engaged, interested, and invested in the work you do. If it’s too complicated, full of jargon, or in an inaccessible format, you risk people switching off.

Your clients may never be able to reel off the latest figures of an initiative by heart. For example, how many people you’ve employed over a year-long initiative to reduce unemployment in your local area in line with UN SDG number 8. A real-time dashboard that shows the initiative’s progress in an easy-to-understand bar chart will quickly get the necessary points across. 

And with greater understanding comes greater engagement, commitment, and dedication to the cause.

Do more with less

Simple reporting makes your life easier. A simple, no-frills platform that does everything you need it to requires less effort and resources from you, will be less hassle, and far easier to manage on a daily basis.

As it is, perhaps you have multiple systems you switch between to cover all bases. And you’re in the middle trying to merge everything together in one cohesive, consistent way. With a powerful reporting platform behind you, less of your time and effort is spent on mundane admin tasks. 

Instead, you can dedicate your attention to cutting-edge strategies and constant improvement of your services. And by doing your job better and more efficiently, you’re only proving your value to existing customers and increasing the likelihood of attracting new ones.

Everyone wins

Simple reporting is better because everybody wins. Your daily workload becomes a lot lighter, easier to manage, and more fulfilling. You don’t have to contend with laborious data entry into messy spreadsheets, and can instead focus on innovative strategising and one-click reporting. 

You achieve more for your clients. They’re happier, business is booming, initiatives are progressing, and their reputation reaches new heights. And happy clients means positive reviews, referrals, and a boost to your own reputation. This can lead to more clients and your consultancy business thriving. In the end, it means everyone’s a winner.

Social value reporting is still in its infancy. The business world is still trying to figure out where it fits or how it’s best embraced. But, as a consultant, there are tools out there designed to help you do your job better, easier, and more efficiently. And who wouldn’t want that?

At Impact, we offer an intuitive, easy-to-use platform that makes social value, sustainability, and CSR reporting a breeze. Whether it’s for your own business or your clients, we make collecting, analyzing, and reporting on non-financial data as simple as possible. If you have any questions, or are interested in a demo, get in touch on 0161 532 4752.