A Complete Guide About Strategy Consulting

Published on: March 28, 2023

    With the change in the finance landscape, organizations, irrespective of their type and size, require the input of professional consultants who can help them make key decisions regarding their operations and profitability. Strategy consulting is one of the most competitive and lucrative designations for bright graduates.

    Strategy Consulting: Understanding the Concept

    Strategy consulting emerged as a massive industry, and most students want to join the industry. Before heading further, let us discuss “what is strategy consulting?” 

    Strategy consulting, often termed strategy consultancy, strategic advisory, or boardroom consulting, refers to the most high-end and prestigious segment within the professional service industry. Strategy refers to a plan to realize long-term goals, and organizations regularly engage with strategy consultants for support in developing and implementing business strategies.

    Significance of Strategy Consulting

    Strategy consultants offer independent advice to organizations on high-level decisions, leveraging deep industry knowledge to achieve the best results. 

    Here are a few reasons to seek business strategy consulting.

    • Ensures increased objectivity in decision-making. 
    • Bringing creativity to new solutions 
    • Setting strategic business priority based on external business factors 
    • Better access to industry-based practices 
    • Creating accountability against measurable goals and challenges
    • Deploying a range of experts on the business challenge
    • Designing and strengthening the company’s financial goals and models.

    Strategy Consultants: Roles and Responsibilities

    Often most people ask, “What does a strategy consultant do?” The responsibilities of strategy consultants include:

    • Meeting the clients and discussing their business goals.
    • Conducting marketing research and studying market trends.
    • Creating and presenting analysis reports.
    • Monitoring the long-term effects of business changes.
    • Reviewing and analyzing the efficacy of revised business strategies.
    • Devise strategies to increase revenue, reduce expenses and promote growth.

    Essential Traits of A Strategy Consultant

    Enlisted are a few essential traits a strategic consultant must possess.

    Intellectually curious

    The people, who became the best consultants in the world, started out wanting to have a good time. Besides being high-earning individuals, they pursue their interests and find a job that enables them to achieve their dreams.

    Committed to the development

    Besides using their brain, business strategy consultant remains committed to the continued development of public policy thinking. As a strategy consultant, do not perform on the side. It is what you do full-time throughout your career.

    Ability to communicate

    Unlike most jobs, people judge a strategy consultant on their ability to communicate. If your supervisor finds you lacking this skill, they will ensure you know about it.

    Why Does an Organization Require Strategy Consulting Services?

    Organizations need an unbiased third party to help with decision-making that involves thousands of dollars. In such uncertainty, strategy consultants offer a research-driven and data-backed approach and help businesses take the right step. Organizations hire a strategic consultant for the following projects:

    • Improving company performance 
    • Increase revenue
    • Seek advice on legal matters
    • Protecting intellectual property rights
    • Determining the best practices 
    • Managing crisis
    • Seek advice on particular ideas
    • Create a competitive advantage
    • Build brand awareness
    • Enhance creditability and acquire assets 
    • Gain access to funding and set up joint ventures

    Primary Disciplines of Strategy Consulting

    Although companies use strategy consulting for any business decision or process, the primary disciplines include:

    • Business Model Transformation (BMI)
    • Digital strategy
    • Corporate strategy
    • Mergers and Acquisitions (M &A)
    • Strategy and Operations
    • Organization strategy
    • Functional strategy
    • Economic policy

    These disciplines carry numerous project possibilities, from restructuring operations and determining best practices to creating brand awareness and developing market entry plans.

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    Skills Required Becoming a Strategy Consultant

    Besides having expertise in the domain, enlisted are the skills needed for strategy consulting.

    Analytical skills

    Strategy consultants process and analyze huge volumes of data and drive insights to determine structural solutions for business challenges. They often require reporting and presenting complex insights and findings in easy-to-understand terms. All these require strong analytical skills.

    Flexibility

    Strategic consultants require flexibility, as they work simultaneously with multiple clients and projects. Often clients make specific requests, alter their targets and reschedule meetings without prior notice. Therefore, to deal with an uncertain work schedule, strategy consultants must demonstrate the flexibility to utilize their time and resources.

    Creativity and innovation

    They must think creatively and find innovative answers to routine questions to meet clients’ needs and challenges. They must use their knowledge to find agile, dynamic, and relevant solutions.

    Attributes required to Succeed in Management Consulting

    Enlisted are the attributes that you require to succeed in strategic consulting.

    Strong ambition for success: Helps maintain work consistency and achieve the best results in difficult tasks.

    Excellent content skills: Helps in problem structuring, data gathering, and analysis, and presentation 

    Excellent learning capabilities: Helps in quickly adapting to new industries, functions, and locations.

    Excellent people skills: Helps in leading teammates, working with support staff, and influencing clients.

    Effective and efficient resource management: It helps achieve the best results with the least time and effort.

    What are Strategy Consulting Firms?

    A strategy consulting firm offers its services to clients and businesses across various industries according to their field of expertise. A firm might have one, a team, or several professional consultants working on various projects. There are two types of strategy consulting firms:

    • Pure-play firms: These firms offer only strategic consulting services.
    • Professional services: These firms offer strategic consulting and other consulting and professional services.

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    Difference between Strategy Consulting and Management Consulting

    In strategic consulting, the heads of companies seek advice from external consultants for their guidance and advice to solve specific strategic business challenges or conflicts. The consultants focus primarily on corporate-level strategy and help organizations implement changes at the highest level of the power structure.

    On the other hand, in management consulting or operational consulting, the consultants assist companies in developing general management methods, such as operation maximization and solutions for any related issues. Primarily, a management consultant strives to improve overall company performance and operations. 

    Benefits of Hiring Strategy Consultants for Business

    Here are a few reasons why every business requires hiring a strategic consultant.

    Clear and unbiased perspective 

    The investment in a strategy consultant is an important decision for your business. A strategic consultant plays the role of the last “yes man” role and agrees with the ideas you already laid out on the table. They help you with original, creative, and “out-of-the-box” points, which are essential for the business.

    Contributes new and fresh ideas

    An experienced consultant helps the business by offering a new perspective and generating new ideas you never considered for your business. Their specialty and expertise contribute dynamic new approaches to what you already planned. 

    Result-oriented focus

    A strategic consultant helps you achieve the result that you might get achieve without any outside help. Skilled and experienced consultants clearly understand their role in your company. These include the time required for them to be involved with the company, setting the right goals and milestones for progress, and specific results that equate to the project's successful outcome.

    Examples of Strategy Consulting

    For instance, a business is undergoing a merger, buy-out, or acquisition. They will seek the advice of a strategy consultant to identify the overlapping roles and areas that require consolidation. They further offer general guidance as an independent and unbiased third party.

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    Ma Foi, established in 1992, started as a recruiting company and expanded its services to help businesses across the globe. It has a rich history of helping small and medium businesses pick up momentum with the right business strategies. The professionals work closely with the business leaders and help businesses plan go-to-market strategies, business continuity plans, and building agility in business operations. Get in touch with them for more details.

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