How is the purchasing behavior of consulting clients evolving [2019]?

How is the purchasing behavior of consulting clients evolving [2019]?

New research shows how the buying behavior of consulting assignments has changed in recent years. How can you take these changes into account to help your consultancy grow?

The Hinge Research Institute company carries out thousands of interviews each year with professional service providers (consulting, accounting, legal, etc.) as well as with their clients. Every 5 years they publish comprehensive research on the professional services industry and particularly consulting. Their latest study showed how purchasing behavior for consulting projects may have evolved in recent years. The criteria for evaluating providers are changing. In a particularly competitive environment, we must understand these behaviors and their developments in order to establish the most relevant strategies to position ourselves and stand out from the crowd.

In this post, we summarize the major trends that this research revealed.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align =”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self ” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][ vc_column_text] 1. Using only referrals and connections to grow the business can be risky.
Although clients indicate that they are more likely than in the past to recommend the consulting firms with which they have worked, it appears that the recommendations actually made are down slightly compared to the study conducted 5 years earlier in which 74% of clients had recommended their consulting firms to other potential clients.

A possible reason for this decline may come from less use of the network as a channel for finding an advice provider. While in 2013, 70% of clients indicated that they had used their network to be put in contact with firms capable of supporting them, only 60% now indicate that they proceed in this way. At the same time, internet searches are progressing strongly and more than one in five buyers now use the internet to prepare their call for tenders. Google will soon be the number one source of recommendations![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] 2. Buyers are placing more importance on technical skills when selecting a firm.
Expertise and experience are now the primary criteria for selecting a consulting provider, whereas in 2013, these subjects were not even on the podium. Previously, reputation, price and cultural ties occupied the top 3 selection criteria. It therefore seems that providers are better able to differentiate themselves than before, which makes understanding the positioning of each firm simpler for the buyer. He is more confident in choosing the firm that will be able to support him in resolving his challenges.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] 3. Buyers consider consulting activities more useful and important than in the past
While in 2013, only 19% of customers considered their consulting providers to be instrumental in resolving their problems, this figure jumped to 29%. Additionally, 55% of buyers now believe their advice creates significant value for their business, up from 33% 6 years ago. This confirms that demand for these types of services remains high.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=” left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow =”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text] 4. Increased competition reduces the strength of firms’ reputations

The main challenge for firms remains competition. This remains at the head of the ranking of the problems of consulting activities between this last study and that of 2013. Competition is intensifying and taking new forms which offer greater negotiating leverage to buyers and reduces prices for sellers. Giving visibility to your firm and increasing your reputation or brand is becoming more difficult than before. Despite everything, the study shows that the objective of growing one's reputation remains the priority marketing objective of consulting firms.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] 5. Despite the intensification of competition, service providers do not always know well their competitors.

This knowledge of the competition obviously varies depending on the competitive intensity. Not all service providers are in the same boat. Thus, management consultants who operate in a very competitive environment manage to identify 23% of their competitors while accounting firms, which experience slightly less competition, manage to do so at 37%.

It appears in various research that firms that are better able to identify their competitors are able to better position their business and grow more quickly.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=” middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity =”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none ” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text] Source:

https://www.business2community.com/ [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]