There are many schools of thought within the world of consulting – from Harvard and Haas to Kellogg and Columbia.
Despite credibility built by decades of successful business cases using the traditional consulting model, the arrival of technology and globalism have brought changes with them. Traditional consulting must evolve its approach to problem solving in response to this new economy of rapid change and global transformation.
Companies and firms should respond to new economic factors by approaching strategic initiatives with fact-based insights, over speculation and historical best practices. The constantly changing business dynamics, and disruptive market entrants create an unprecedented need for this type of insight.
This MIT-founded approach to consulting is rooted in technology and has gained legitimacy with clients such as Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, and a variety of Fortune 500 companies. The intimacy of a boutique firm combined with the international reach of a large agency allows us to be adaptive and better navigate its clients through the changing tides of business. Disruptive product and service offerings including artificial intelligence and other technology integrations are essential to the new consulting model.
Through years of research and analysis, Bainbridge has witnessed the relationship between big businesses and its customers shift due to technological advancements.
Customers have more control than ever, with higher expectations about quality, responsible practices, and an aversion to inauthentic marketing and advertising. They have the freedom to choose, the luxury of selecting the brands they want to embrace and the ones they want to avoid. The impact of these choices changes the way we view and interact with customers.
Digital channels change the way companies reach and communicate with consumers. Mass customization via a series of platforms, and focusing on value while leveraging data and analytics to create a meaningful customer experience are the new standard. Not only this, but each interaction must be inspiring and individualistic. If it reads like traditional mass marketing or any other generic content, customers disengage and lose interest.
The global nature of this phenomenon proves the power of technology and its impact on businesses.
Consider that startups can launch and offer products and services on a much larger scale, and the power of technology becomes undeniable: It accelerates growth through direct access to a diverse base of consumers, as it simultaneously enables established companies to debut new forms of technology to improve operations and maximize the customer experience.
Consulting firms need to adapt to this environment, or rethink their respective business models and question their thoughts about business in its many manifestations, because the future of this industry – replete with an abundance of sophisticated programs and proprietary technology – is a far cry from the status quo, with its reliance on PowerPoint presentations and restatements of the obvious.
