From elite product to widely available in society

We estimate that in the western world, 99% of consultants serve 1% of organizations. And, we reckon that this 99 % serve globally 0,01% of organizations.

We studied the “the ease of doing business online” with consultancy firms with that of peanut butter brands. These peanut butter brands excelled in their social outreach programs and corporate social responsibility, unlike many of the consultancy firms’ websites. Even if consultancy firms want to contribute to society, then the utilization pressure keeps them from sustainably doing so. The only exception is then the strategy houses that operate with stratospheric day rates. That makes it easier to give away something, and a small project then amounts quickly to a large donation.

Automated consultancy changes all that.

Once the consulting practice has recouped all the initial investments for the digital asset, the additional income is just margin. This margin can then be used to cover for lost hours, the bench, and the marketing and sales cost to bring the digital asset to the market. That still leaves enough space to give something away.

From an economic point of view: consultancy hours can't be stored: it’s the ultimate perishable good. Digital assets, on the other hand, can be stored nearly infinitely and at near-zero storage costs. The consultancy firm might give the digital assets away to clients who would otherwise not buy from them. The organization that is totally in love with a competitor, for example.  Or, that company that would otherwise just be too small to be a client. On the extreme opposite, there is this micro-finance recipient in an underdeveloped region that could use knowledge. From an economic viewpoint, this giving away makes all the sense in the world. These audiences were not planning to buy (the organization in love with the competitor) or were not able to buy. Yet, they add with their data to the firm’s business pattern library. And they provide social currency: the consultant firm can profile itself as a benefactor.