I am a marketing consultant.  Sometimes I am hired to design websites, create brochures or distribute PR.  Sometimes, I am just paid to give advice.

Now I love to share my opinions when people ask and even sometimes when they don’t… But sometimes it can be awkward.  For example, what do you say to a client who has selected a vendor to provide a service, who you don’t believe is capable of doing the work or doing it well?

If they are already involved in the project, what do you do?

I had some time after a meeting with a client in which this occurred, so I asked the Twitterverse what they would do.   Opinions varied widely.  Here are just a few of the comments

@joshbrammer: “We don’t recommend this because of X, but let us know how it goes. We’d love to help if we can

@sandlerindy: “it is never too late to tell them that you have a problem and need their help”

@colinclark: “I would say yes, but tell them gently. Letting bad decisions go unspoken only leads to more bad decisions in the future”

The conversation was interesting, and gave me a few ideas.  At the end of the day, I called the client, and gave him some specific suggestions he can use to guide the process with the vendor.

In the same situation, what would you do? If you’re stuck, call Roundpeg, an Indianapolis marketing firm. We’d love to talk to you about what you can do to help your business.