Being a consultancy in a saturated and competitive market is far from easy. It’s easy to pay attention only to the consultant giants who seem to reel in the biggest fish, frequent the news, and loiter in the limelight most of the time.
As a small or a moderate SME consultant, you can react to this information in two ways: One, you might consider withdrawing. You’ll probably think, ‘What difference can I make when these big companies already have so much to offer?’
Or two, you can seize the opportunity of being a small firm to explore different options and take risks that larger companies dare not mess around with.
So, what’s it going to be? Let’s hope for the second one. True, seeing large consultancies rake in millions year after year is a level you cannot achieve straightaway. That’s going to take time.
But what you can do (and this article will teach you how) is beat them or at least compete with them using your talents and the advantage of operational freedom.
Ready to learn how to compete with big companies? Let’s begin.
The Share Game
One area where large and well-established companies are helpless is the immense amount of investments they’ve made in various expansion or development projects. After years and decades of operation, consultancies like these hardly have straight, streamlined investment shares and have a lot at stake if they ever decide to switch shareholding strategies or restructure their focus.
On the other hand, an emerging consultancy like yours can easily navigate different traditional and unorthodox investment methods. Occasionally, this may also ensure a significant breakthrough for some small consultancies!
Bridge the Gaps
Another way small and middle scale consultants can make it big against large companies is by shifting their targets from the traditional ones. What does that mean? Here, let us explain:
Suppose an SME owner visits a globally known consultancy to fix a couple of their small-scale business issues. They complain about the difficulties they face in finding affordable repairs for special-needs washroom stalls. Now, it isn’t every day that SMEs complain about such one-of-a-kind, rare problems. So the consultancy brushes it aside with some temporary, generic solution.
But what if someone actually took the risk of taking this seriously? Instead of providing a one-off solution, maybe a consultancy can research the struggles special-needs employees, employers, and customers face in SME facilities. YOU can do detailed market research and reorient your firm’s entire purpose to making SMEs better for those who may have a disability.
This way, you’ll be able to target calm waters and discover lots of opportunities in a sector that’s majorly unexplored!
Defining Yourself
After diving deep into the consultancy business, large-scale consultancies find themselves at a loss when it comes to proper business description. They’ve ventured in and out of different projects, faced countless successes and failures, and have had numerous phases where they diverted from their original path.
So, if you’re worried about finding your place at the table, relax. As an emerging consultancy, you have what your elder competitors don’t- a fresh start. You don’t have to confuse yourself with various concepts about what defines you and makes you unique.
You’re actually at the starting point of your journey, which allows you to pick your path, making your consultancy appear more professional, polished, and trustworthy.
No Traditions to Uphold
One peculiar problem almost every company faces after being established for some time is that they have a fixated ‘image’ in the market. They’re known for only a particular set of services, making it harder for them to try out new dimensions of SME consultancy.
On the other hand, younger and smaller consultancies can freely deviate from their standardized operational methods without their clientele being affected in any major way.
You can try out new and unique business models. You can experiment with a variety of new research findings and implement them quickly into your business model. You can take on multiple consultation approaches and figure out which ones work the best. Because, unlike a fully established brand, you have a lot of room to grow and expand without risking anything.
Takeaways
When you start fresh, you may feel like the market dynamics are fixed or that the traditional way of older consultancies is the only acceptable method. However, if you keep your eyes, ears, and mind wide open, you’ll be able to achieve your dreams within no time!
Book a call with us to discuss your companies next steps.
Author: Mohammed Adris is a co-owner & director at Responsum Global. He has over 8 years’ experience matching the top building services engineering talent with the best employers. He has over 50 written success stories. He’s active on LinkedIn, is a host on The Building Services Podcast, and a regular writer on The Building Services Blog. He’s a dad of 2 & a petrol head.