A Marketing Consulting

Project Proposal for Gowling

WLG
Prepared By:

Module Name: Applied Consultancy Project

Module Code: BMG 862

Module Leaders:

London:
Atul Sethi

Birmingham:
Ian Lewis Rogers

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Table of Contents
1.0 About Gowling WLG:.....................................................................................................................3
2.0 Client’s Requirements:....................................................................................................................3
3.0 Overall Aim of the Project:..............................................................................................................3
4.0 Objectives:.......................................................................................................................................3
5.0 Parameters.......................................................................................................................................4
6.0 Outcomes:........................................................................................................................................4
7.0 Our approach:..................................................................................................................................4
8.0 Time plan:........................................................................................................................................5
9.0 Key Personnel:................................................................................................................................7
10.0 Risk Register:................................................................................................................................7
11.0 Costing's:.......................................................................................................................................8
12.0 Bibliography:.................................................................................................................................9

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1.0 About Gowling WLG:
Gowling WLG is a multinational law firm with offices across Europe, the Middle East, Asia,
Canada, and the UK. The company is renowned for providing full-service legal
representation across a range of industries, including business, technology, life sciences, and
more. The company was founded in the nineteenth century, so it has a long history. The
company offers a variety of legal services including real estate, intellectual property,
corporate and commercial law, employment and labour law, and dispute resolution. The firm
also serve a diverse clientele that includes multinational corporations, individuals, and
startups (gowlingwlg.com, 2023). Glowing WLG is ranked 16 on the Lawyer UK 200 rank
with a yearly turnover of £530.8m and boasting 592 no of partners worldwide (The Lawyer,
2023).

2.0 Client’s Requirements:

As an important part of Gowling WLG’s growth strategy coined by David Fennell, the chief
executive of Gowling WLG (Basham, 2023); Gowling is interested in expanding business in
new countries given the right opportunity and favourable conditions in medium term
investments. Although the goal is to serve clients wherever there is a need, there are no
immediate plans to expand beyond existing business in short term. However, the company
would consider options to establish a presence in all Asian countries (excluding China),
African and Middle Eastern countries in the medium term, depending on opportunities and
create a brand image to the new market.

3.0 Overall Aim of the Project:

The specific goal of this project is to create a marketing strategy and evaluate the
opportunities that can help Gowling WLG UK build a brand image in a new market.

4.0 Objectives:
1. Conduct market analysis in two new countries, one from Africa and one from Asia.
2. Analyse the suitability of the company's current marketing strategy and approach.
3. Develop the marketing strategy to create a brand identity for the company in the
selected country.
4. Develop the implementation plan and estimate marketing the budget for the
implementation.

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5.0 Parameters
The project will include assessment of suitability of two countries one from Africa and one
from Asia for Gowling WLG to expand the business into. However, the project will only
consider the chosen nations of Asia and Africa. Furthermore, it will assess the company's
current standing in the market and evaluate the brand position analyse the product & services
and marketing activities in various marketing channels. However, the project will not provide
any recommendation for changes in the current market marketing strategies because it will
simply analyse the effectiveness. The project will look at the market segmentation, targeting
and positioning; and implement the marketing plan and marketing budget estimation for a
medium-term investment only for the selected one country either from west Africa or Asia.
The project will not develop the STP and marketing plan for any other country other than the
final selected country. Also, project will not apply the CBBE model to suggest the brand
positioning for the client other than the selected country.

6.0 Outcomes:
Along with logical reasoning based on recent data a precise recommendation will be made to
which country the Gowling WLG should consider expanding to. The project will evaluate the
company’s effectiveness and suitability in the current market. The project will also provide
detailed layout on how to approach the new market through segmentation, targeting and
positioning along with a detailed marketing plan and budget to create a brand identity for the
company in the new market. There will be clear communication plan through offline and
digital channels that will help build brand awareness in the new market. Additionally,
recommendation will be provided in terms of adaptation or standardization of product and
services along with pricing strategy. Through the project the client will be able to identify the
expansion opportunity to a new country understanding the suitability in terms of cultural
alignment and macro environment. Client will also have a clear understanding of the
competitors’ positions in the new market in terms of pricing and brand image of the
competitors. Client will have clear understanding on the target market and will be able to
position itself that will help build brand identity in the new competitive market.

7.0 Our approach:

The project will look at recent data through secondary research which will include news
articles, journals, and authentic data sources such as Statista, Fame, Sage journals, Mintel etc.
It will apply PESTLE model to understand the macro environment which will then help build
the SWOT analysis to determine whether the external factors affect the company positively or
negatively which will result in an opportunity or a threat. Through the Porter’s five forces it
will understand the industry environment and determine the competitiveness and entry
strategy in the market. Through the macro and microenvironment analysis it will be then

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determined which country the client should expand their business to. The McKinsey’s 7s and
7p of marketing mix framework will be used to evaluate the current position of the client in
the UK market. The Mackinsey’s 7s framework looks at seven key elements to measure the
effectiveness of an organization (Singh, 2013). The Keller’s CBBE Branding model will be
used to suggest the positioning strategy for the client. The customer-based brand equity
(CBBE) model is a marketing tool that aids businesses in creating branding strategies that
resonate most with their target markets and consumers (Keller & Swaminathan, 2019).
Additionally, the STP model, segmentation, targeting and positioning will be used to
effectively select the target audience and create the positioning strategy for the client. To
effectively create a communication plan for the selected target audience the AIDA model will
be used to create the brand awareness through integrated marketing communication (IMC) in
specific recommended offline and digital media channels.

8.0 Time plan:

The project milestones and tasks description along with allocation of timeline for each
assignment are mentioned below:

Sl No. Milestones Description Time allocation

1 Introduction to Introduction to applied consultancy Week 1 – Week 2
applied consultancy project which involves applying the
project knowledge and skills gained to a real-
life challenge faced by a business or
organization. Working closely with a
client to understand their issues and
goals. Armed with knowledge, one can
then analyze, strategize, and devise
practical solutions.
2 Project Evaluation Introduction to the systematic approach Week 2 – Week 3
and Analysis on how to assess the effectiveness of a
project.
3 Meet the Client Meeting with the client to understand Week 4
the client’s requirements and determine
the objective of the project
4 Development of the Defined approach to illustrate the Week 5
proposal solution for the client’s problem
5 Review the Revision of the proposal for final Week 5
proposal & adjustments and submission
submission
6 Market analysis on Selection of two countries considering Week 6 – Week 7
selected two cultural similarities with the clients
countries existing business operation and perform
macro and microenvironment analysis
using PESTLE and Porter’s five forces
to determine the suitability for a
business expansion.
7 Analyse the Determine the company’s current Week 7 – Week 8
suitability of the position in the existing market and
company's current effectiveness through the help of
marketing strategy Mckensey’s 7s framework and 7p of
and approach marketing mix.
8 Develop the STP Develop segmentation, targeting and Week 7 – Week 8
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 for new market positioning for the selected new market
to create an effective marketing strategy
9 Develop the Develop the marketing communication Week 7 – Week 8
marketing plan through effective integrated
communication marketing communication across
plan selected digital and offline media
channels with the help of AIDA model
approach
10 Create the Develop the marketing mix and Week 8 – Week 9
implementation of effective pricing strategy with
marketing plan adaptation or standardization of product
and services for the new market
11 Create the budget Using SMART approach create the Week 9
estimation actual feasible marketing budget to
estimate the ROI and budget allocation
for marketing
12 Review the project Revisit entire project for final Week 10
adjustments
13 Develop reflection Develop the reflection report using Gibs Week 11
report model to illustrate the deeper
understanding and learning of the
consultancy project
14 Submit the project Submission of the project report Week 12
report

Note: Please refer to the project time plan illustration using the Gantt Chart in the appendix 1.

9.0 Key Personnel:

A business professional with over 7 years of experience in eCommerce sales, sourcing, digital
marketing, operations, and customer support, as well as an MSc student studying marketing.
knowledgeable about staffing, process design and development, reporting, analytics, and
budgeting and forecasting, as well as business strategies. The broad range of management
skills and practical business experience will be crucial to understand the nature of the
business expansion need for the client and analyse the wide range of data effectively and
recommend the suitability of the business expansion in a feasible context. The in depth
understanding of the marketing elements and practical knowledge of business operation will
help build the project pathway for the effective marketing communication plans. Additionally,
the acumen for extensive years of budgeting and forecasting ability will be vital for the
project marketing budget in a meaningful and realistic manner.

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10.0 Risk Register:
The risks of the project are associated with changes in external environment and over or
underestimation of budgeting and time constraints. Also, external market changes can make
the project obsolete in conjunction to marketing plan recommendations.
Followings are the five identified risks which can associated with the project.
ID Risk description Likelihood Impact if Severity Owner Mitigating action
of the risk the risk
occurring occurs
1 The project's aim Low High High Consultant Revisit the project charter and
and needs are raise concerns to the project
unclear board.
2 Calculating or Medium High High Consultant keep close tabs on expenses,
planning project completion costs, and
mistakes make any required revisions.
Factor in a 10% contingency for
both scheduling and cost.

3 Unresolved Low Medium Medium Consultant Call frequent meetings of the

project concerned parties and keep an eye
components that out for disputes. Examine the
weren't promptly plans for stakeholder engagement
escalated and the project to identify any
possible points of contention.

4 Changes within Low High High Consultant Lack of ability to lessen

target market can likelihood, however, early
render business warning should be given to the
case to become Project Board regularly reviewing
outdated or the business case.
compromised

5 Events beyond Low High High Consultant Verify the existence of insurance.
human control, Get educate on emergency
such as severe protocols. Install backup systems
weather, can when it's economical, like
result in the loss generators.
of property,
supplies, and
other items

(stakeholdermap.com, 2023)

11.0 Costing's:
According to Statista, the entry salary for consultants with an MBA/ PhD at leading management
consulting firms worldwide in 2023 averaging about £142,000 in a year (Statista Research
Department, 2023). Which makes it approx. £11817 a month.
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However, In the United Kingdom, the average salary for a consultant is £20.51 per hour, or £40,000
annually. The starting salary for entry-level jobs is £27,500 annually, while the average salary for
experienced workers is £79,602 (Talent.com, 2023).

The overall consultancy costings can be broken down to the followings (Eyermann, 2022):

Cost Catg. Estm. Costs/hr

Travel £ 2.50
Insurance £ 1.00
Office supplies £ 2.00
Phone bills £ 2.00
Software subscriptions £ 5.00
Books, journals & Research papers £ 2.00
Professional services £ 4.00
Total £ 18.50

As a master’s student with a business professional background and considering the competitiveness
of the market the consultancy charge for the project would be £22/hr.

Estimated Cost for the client:

Hours committed per week 35 hours

Project duration 12 weeks
Service charge per hour £22
Total service charge for the project 40*12*£22 = £9240

12.0 Bibliography:

1. About us (2023) Gowling WLG. Available at:

https://gowlingwlg.com/en/about-us/overview/ (Accessed: 01 November 2023).
2. Basham, V. (2023) Gowling WLG adds Taylor Wessing partner quartet for Frankfurt
launch as it targets Europe growth, The Global Legal Post. Available at:
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 https://www.globallegalpost.com/news/gowling-wlg-adds-taylor-wessing-partner-
quartet-for-frankfurt-launch-as-it-targets-europe-growth-951145828 (Accessed: 01
November 2023).
3. Eyermann, J. (2022) 5 expenses consultants need to include in their rates, MeetFox.
Available at: https://meetfox.com/en/blog/5-expenses-consultants-forget-to-account-
for-when-setting-their-rates (Accessed: 02 November 2023).
4. Keller, K, & Swaminathan, V 2019, Strategic Brand Management: Building,
Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, Global Edition, Pearson Education, Limited,
Harlow. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [1 November 2023].
5. Management Consulted. (2023). Entry salary for consultants with an MBA/ PhD at
leading management consulting firms worldwide in 2023 (in 1,000 U.S. dollars).
Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 01, 2023.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1009174/salaries-at-the-leading-management-
consulting-firms-mba-phd/
6. Singh, A. (2013) A Study of Role of McKinsey’s 7S Framework in Achieving
Organizational Excellence. Organizational Development Journal, 31, 39-50.

7. stakeholdermap.com (2023) 20 common project risks - example risk register -

stakeholdermap.com. Available at: https://www.stakeholdermap.com/risk/register-
common-project-risks.html (Accessed: 02 November 2023).
8. The Lawyer (2023) Gowling WLG, The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data
and jobs. Available at: https://www.thelawyer.com/gowling-wlg/ (Accessed: 01
November 2023).
9. Talent.com (2023) Consultant salary in United Kingdom - average salary,
Talent.com. Available at: https://uk.talent.com/salary?job=consultant (Accessed: 02
November 2023).

Appendix 1: Project Time plan Gantt Chart:

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Appendix 2: CV of Shah Md. Jakaria
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Shah Md. Jakaria
London, E3 3JB
jakariabir@gmail.com | 0746 6068
243
LinkedIn:
https://tinyurl.com/2cr8yhwm

Personal Profile
A MSc Marketing student and a business professional with more than 7 years of experience in
eCommerce sales, sourcing, digital marketing, operations, and customer support. Skilled in business
strategies, budgeting & forecasting, process design & development, staffing, analytics & reporting.
Demonstrated proven acumen in the application of technical knowledge such as Google Analytics,
Facebook ad manager, Tableau, Zendesk, Microsoft Power BI, PowerPoint, Excel and Canva.
Currently, looking for an opportunity in the field of marketing to advance in a professional career.

Education
Ulster University, London 2022 -
Present MSc Marketing with Advanced Practice
Modules include: Marketing Management, Strategy and Innovation, Foundations in Management,
Digital Marketing Communications, Marketing Analytics, Global Marketing and Sustainability
Marketing.

North South University, Bangladesh

2008 - 2013
Bachelor of Business Administration
Major: Marketing Grade - 3.00 out
of 4.00

Barisal Cadet College, Bangladesh

2000 - 2006
Higher Secondary School Certificate: Concentration – Science Grade - 5.00 out
of 5.00
Secondary School Certificate: Concentration – Science Grade - 5.00 out
of 5.00

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Work Experience
The Grand on Portobello, London May 2023
- Present
Bar Supervisor Part Time (20 hours
per week)
 Controlling inventory and supplies to guarantee efficient day-to-day restaurant operations.
 Managing phone calls for customer inquiries and reservations with optimum quality service.
 Managing customer orders and delivering fastest quality service.

Prima Sapori D'Italia, London September 2022 -

May 2023
Bartender Part Time (20 hours
per week)
 Controlled stock levels for daily, effective bar operations.
 Oversaw customer orders and delivered highest quality service to maintain customer satisfaction.
 Set up the tables as directed to ensure the restaurant is ready for service.
 Closed the bar and restaurant as per guidance of restaurant authority.

Aadi BD Limited, Bangladesh November 2021 -

January 2022
Manager, Operations

 Designed supply chain bulk pickup process from merchants using 3rd party vendors to minimize
in-house costs by 10% and improved operational efficiency by reducing pickup SLA from 5 days
to 3 days
 Formulated sales KPI by introducing a sales pipeline management tracker to track lead conversion
progress along with a reporting procedure to improve accountability that resulted in sales
efficiency and the highest monthly sales generation.
 Enabled cross-border operation in the new market (India) at 40% less cost through onboarding a
new international courier partner.
 Led the sales team of 5 people for acquiring new clients, and managing merchant accounts and
key accounts relationships.
 Managed the content team of 2 people that published high-quality adverts and material on the site.
 Guided and coordinated marketing and sales team to provide digital campaign requirements and
acquire sales promotional deals from merchants.
 Coordinated with the tech team to provide UX requirements and feedback for improving the
overall onsite experience.
 Directed operations team for running daily operational tasks to ensure the business operation
running as intended.
 Measured teams' KPIs on revenue targets, conversions, delivery accuracy SLA, and PMS for
employee development goals.
 Designed and presented business performance analysis and reports to stakeholders.

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Bikroy.com Limited, Bangladesh July 2019 -
October 2021
Assistant Manager, eCommerce Lead
 Led the eCommerce break-even initiative for the Bangladesh market in partnership with the Sri
Lanka and Ghana markets, achieving vertical break-even.
 Developed the eCommerce SOP policy for the Bangladesh market, which has since been adopted
by other markets.
 Implemented a re-branding effort for the eCommerce vertical.
 Directed the vertical budgets, staffing requirements, and set team targets & KPIs that covers
revenue, sales, and operational efficiencies.

Bikroy.com Limited, Bangladesh February 2017 -

June 2019
Senior Executive, Team Lead, eCommerce
 Restructured the team formation that enabled job specializations.

Bikroy.com Limited, Bangladesh November 2014 -

Jan 2017
Executive, Sales & Service Centre
 Created email response templates in Zendesk which improved team response time.

DHL Express, Bangladesh May 2013 –

July 2013
Marketing Assistant (Intern)

 Facilitated in organizing the Bangladesh Business Award Event in Pan pacific Sonargaon the 5-
star Hotel in Bangladesh.

Extra-Curricular & Achievements

 Food Allergy and Intolerance Training Certificate 2023 (FSA, UK).
 Selected as a University Student Representative; drove discussions on challenges and feedback
representing the class, acting as a bridge between students and teachers.
 Awarded The Best Team of the month at Bikroy.com Limited for the following months: July
2019, July 2018, August 2017, March 2017.
 Awarded The Best Employee of the month at Bikroy.com Limited in the month of July 2016.
 Selected College Captain and represented more than 300 cadets in the year 2006 at Barisal Cadet
College.
 Performed in cultural events as a drummer.
 Played in Inter-house Cricket, Basketball, Volleyball and Athletics competitions at Barisal Cadet
College.

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Languages
English – fluent; Hindi - Basic

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