Consultants lagging on marketing function maturity

As growth continues to slow across the UK consulting sector, a new study has found that fewer than one third of mid-sized and small consulting firms have a marketing plan. The consequences of this are clear, with researchers at The Marketing Centre also finding that just three-in-ten consultancies were attracting enough leads to meet their current expansion goals.

According to the latest data from the Management Consultancies Association, the UK’s consulting market saw revenue growth fall dramatically from 23% in 2022, to “more sustainable levels” of 11% for the last year. While this is still well above pre-pandemic levels, and exceeded the expectations of seven-in-ten consulting executives, it also represented a decline from the MCA’s estimations late in 2023, when it predicted the market was on course for 13% growth.

Looking ahead, the organisation also anticipates a further slowdown – with growth forecast to hit 9% for 2024. With consulting firms across the country hitting the panic button throughout the last year, freezing hiring campaigns and even issuing widespread redundancies to offset the financial impact of this trend, firms will undoubtedly already be looking at those predictions with apprehension.

According to new research from The Marketing Centre, however, many small and mid-sized enterprises are missing a trick when it comes to marketing – which could see them scale up their growth in the coming year. And SMEs in the consulting sector are no exception to that.

The Marketing Centre polled 1,988 marketing decision-makers in SMEs across the UK, asking them to rate their current marketing operations. The researchers found that 54% of businesses did not have a documented business plan – and an even higher 67% have no marketing action plan. Seemingly in correlation, just 28% of respondents said they generate sufficient leads to achieve their business growth objectives.

These figures were just as drastic in the SME consulting sector. The Marketing Centre was told by 69% of consulting leaders that their company was without a documented marketing plan and are “marketing in the dark’ into 2024 – providing weak foundations for growth in the new year. At the same time, roughly in line with the 31% of firms which had a marketing action plan, 30% of consultants said they generated enough high-quality leads for their growth targets.

Pete Jakob, marketing director at The Marketing Centre, commented, “A well-crafted business and marketing plan is not just a blueprint, but a safeguard against uncertainties, a guide for companies to grow, and a shield for overall business success. The saying is true – if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. With more than half of companies in the UK not having a business or marketing plan, there are significant risks, and it’s crucial for business owners to realise that a documented business plan leads the way for marketing success to align with your vision.”

Overall, the business consultancy industry came fifth in the industry analysis out of 23 sectors, when looking at marketing maturity across all 60 questions. Considering the sector is often called upon to give insight on how clients might improve their sales rates, and better engage with customers, that is not up to consultants’ own standards.

There were some other signs which suggested a more hopeful outlook for consulting marketing efforts in the year ahead, though. The figures showed that 58% did feel they had a clear brand proposition that is lived by the whole organisaton, and well-articulated – ahead of the 44% average for all industries.

At the same time, 47% of SME consultants were using customer relationship management (CRM) software across both the sales and marketing teams – making it more challenging to maintain effective relationships with clients, and to track the impact of sales and marketing activities. In contrast, this figure fell to 40% over all industries. Even so, if consulting is to make ground on the marketing abilities of the leading industries of marketing and fashion, planning can also help get the most out on those fronts too.

Jakob added, “A strategy gives senior leaders the confidence that budgets will be channelled into the right areas, and activity will be measured and optimised to drive brand awareness, positive sentiment and ultimately sales. A strategy helps to steer the ship, and with that comes focus on reporting, CRM systems, tools and lead generation.”