An HBR study that’s more relevant today than when it was published caught my attention recently.
In 2023, researchers Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna surveyed C-level executives across professional services and found that five years prior, 76% of buyers preferred to return to their existing firm for the next engagement. By the time the study was published, that number had dropped to 53%. They project it will fall to 37% within five years.
That’s a collapse in automatic client loyalty – and it’s accelerating.
The root causes aren’t hard to find. Supply is exploding. According to IBISWorld, the number of management consulting businesses in the US has grown 5.4% every year since 2020 – there are now over 1.1 million of them. MBO Partners puts the number of independent professional services consultants at 11.5 million globally, up 55% since 2020.
Buyers have more choice than ever. We’ve been in a buyer’s market for a while and that’s not changing.
But here’s how I see it – this isn’t a threat to consulting. It’s a threat to generic consulting.
Borders are no longer barriers. Buyers are actively looking for the right expert, not defaulting to the incumbent. They’re willing to find you – if you’re findable, if you stand for something specific, if you have a defined market position, a clear point of view, and a proprietary method that delivers results.
If you don’t have those things, you won’t be talked about in the room where decisions are made.
I’m genuinely excited for our industry. Big growth is coming – for those who want it.
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