In summary: The consultancy market is tough. The market is polarizing. Mid-sized firms are suffering as niche players and the very large consultancies thrive. According to the Management Consultancy Association’s statistics, the trend over the last four years has been for the large consulting firms to consolidate their market position – their share of fee income has risen from 28% of the total to 42% today. Our research shows that the top strategy firms are very commercial. They are excellent at understanding the clients problems, devising imaginative solutions, demonstrating ROI, getting client buy-in and implementing change. In short, they have an enviable combination of hard technical skills and soft skills. But elsewhere in the industry there is some way to go. Our research shows that management consultants are less commercial than lawyers, with only 24% saying consultants are excellent at providing advice that shows commercial insight. Source: The FT client-adviser study 2012 Businesses are buying advice on how to become more efficient. Growth areas for consultancies are in financial systems and analysis, operational performance, project management and information technology. But the market is competitive. Clients are building their in-house capabilities, often hiring in former management consultants. For better or worse, they know how the consultancy firms work. To thrive, consultants need to adjust. Clients are telling us that they are tired of consultants that: In the future management consultants will need to be more down-to-earth, agile and results-driven. When selecting a firm, our research shows that clients are looking for:
Q: In general how would you rate the service you receive from your main adviser against the following criteria?
