Experience consulting studio
New perspectives on strategy, management, and consulting
By Jeff Roach, Head of Global Consulting
Experience consulting is a new approach to strategy and management consulting. It combines the core capabilities of traditional firms with outcomes driven by human desirability, business viability, and technical feasibility.
Strategy and management consulting is a highly competitive and lucrative industry, where the Big 4 and Tier 2 firms dominate the market with their established reputations, global presence, and comprehensive service offerings. However, in today’s rapidly changing and complex business environment, traditional consulting firms may not be able to meet the evolving needs, demands, and expectations of customers, who are looking for more than just analytical solutions and generic recommendations.
To stand out and stay competitive in an on-demand world, customers want partners who can help them create and deliver meaningful, memorable experiences for their customers, employees, and stakeholders, while also ensuring business viability and technical feasibility. This is the unique space of experience consulting.
Traditional approach to consulting
The traditional consulting model assumes the best way to solve a business problem or achieve a strategic goal is to conduct rigorous analysis, identify root causes and key drivers, and provide recommendations or action plans aligned with best practices and industry benchmarks. Traditional consulting firms have strong expertise in domains like finance, operations, marketing, human resources, technology, and risk management, and they offer a variety of services, such as strategic planning, process improvement, change management, organizational design, and project management. With large networks of offices and consultants across the world, traditional firms can serve clients in different regions and sectors with the same level of professionalism and quality. These firms enjoy nearly instant credibility and have a loyal and prestigious client base.
Challenges of traditional consulting
Despite traditional consulting’s solid reputation, this model has some limitations, especially in the current business context, where:
Customers are more empowered, informed, and demanding.
Markets are more dynamic, uncertain, and competitive.
Technologies are more disruptive, innovative, and pervasive.
In this environment, the traditional consulting model can suffer from uniformity, inflexibility, and a lack of creativity—leading to solutions that are overly prescriptive, narrowly focused, and slow to respond. Other potential challenges of this model include:
Too analytical, rational, and linear; unable to capture the emotional, intuitive, and creative aspects of the problem or solution.
Too generic, standardized, and prescriptive; unable to reflect the unique needs, preferences, and expectations of the customer or end user.
Too detached, impersonal, and transactional; difficult to foster a strong relationship, trust, and collaboration between the consultant and customer.
Too focused on short-term, tactical, and operational issues; may not address long-term, strategic, and visionary goals.
Too siloed, fragmented, and isolated; unable to integrate the different domains, functions, and stakeholders involved in the problem or solution.
Experience consulting—a new approach
Experience consulting assumes the best way to solve a business problem or achieve a strategic goal is to create and deliver a holistic, integrated experience that:
Satisfies the needs and wants of the customer or end user.
Creates and attains real business value.
Uses suitable, realistic technologies.
Experience consulting is a human-centered, design-driven, and outcome-oriented approach to addressing the deep strategy and management complexities of modern organizations. This model combines the core capabilities of traditional firms with outcomes driven by human desirability, business viability, and technical feasibility. Experience consulting firms have strong expertise in domains like strategy, innovation, design, technology, and culture, and they offer a variety of experience-based services, including theory, design, delivery, measurement, and management. These firms have a global presence and are distinguished by a talented and truly diverse team of consultants, technologists, writers, designers, and researchers who work together to build unique, impactful experiences for their customers. Known for their creativity, agility, and empathy, experience consulting firms have a client base that is both loyal and growing.
Advantages of experience consulting
The experience consulting model is well adapted to the dynamic, fast-paced nature of today’s business and market demands. As such, customers can expect forward-thinking, long-term perspectives focused on their unique goals and outcomes. Other potential benefits of this model include:
More human, emotional, and creative; able to capture the needs, wants, and expectations of the customer or end user.
More customized, personalized, and tailored; able to reflect the specific context, situation, and goals of the customer and project.
More collaborative, engaging, and participatory; encourages a strong relationship, trust, and co-creation between the consultant and customer.
More strategic, visionary, and innovative; addresses the customer’s long-term, transformational, and competitive goals.
More holistic, integrated, and systemic; enables integration among the different domains, functions, and stakeholders involved in the problem or solution.
Indigo Slate’s Experience Consulting Studio
Our Experience Consulting Studio isn’t one of the Big 4, but we compete with them. Our more creative, agile, and empathic approach stands out—different but relatable, original but reliable. Being human-centered, design-driven, and outcome-oriented lets us lead with disruption, challenging traditional methods and reimagining top-tier consulting.
To find out more, email jeff.roach@indigoslate.com | jeffrey.roach@zensar.com | jeff.roach@foolproof.co.uk.
Editor
Lisa Rosenberger