How can a consulting agency help your business?

Consulting agency. Running a business effectively is not an easy task. Entrepreneurs constantly have to face new challenges in every area of the company's operations. The support of specialists is often necessary. A professional consulting agency provides comprehensive consulting services in many business areas. How can such a company help your enterprise?

What will you find in the article?

What exactly is consulting and what services does a consulting agency offer? In the article, we will take a closer look at the concept of consulting and the areas of activity of consulting agencies. We will also discuss what benefits companies can benefit from working with a consulting agency. You will also learn what specific actions it takes as part of strategic consulting.

What does "consulting" mean?

Consulting is a Polish version of the English word "consulting", which literally translates to "advice". Consulting can be translated as a field of management dealing with advising business entities. Most often, consulting services are associated with large organizations, but smaller companies also use this type of assistance.

In business, consulting is contracted, external, objective and independent consulting, which is based on the analysis of the company's initial situation, diagnosis and removal of existing errors or problems it is struggling with, as well as the implementation of new, thoughtful solutions aimed at improving the functioning of the company and its development in a specific area.

Consulting is related to the principles and the way the company operates on many levels. The scope of consulting services is very wide and may include both defining the company's strategy or reorganization of the company, as well as financial or human capital management, as well as designing and implementing new IT solutions.

Consulting services are provided by professional consulting agencies. What exactly is marketing consulting? This is a professional marketing consulting service provided by advertising and communication specialists. It is not only support in designing a marketing strategy, but also an analysis of the company's activities and recommendations regarding activities related to the image and development of the brand. Marketing consultants take into account competition, market trends and consumer preferences. All this is intended to help customers stay ahead of the competition and achieve business success. Thanks to the knowledge and experience of experts in this field, the company can increase its visibility, interest and sales. Marketing consulting is an investment that can pay off many times and provide the company with a stable position on the market.

What does a consulting agency do?

A consulting agency helps other companies to the extent that they need this help. Its activity may take various forms and include consulting, making expert opinions, implementing changes and conducting other activities by external specialists for the needs of a given enterprise.

We are currently dealing with various specialized levels of consulting. A consulting agency may:

• conduct financial and tax audits,
• advise on legal issues,
• advise on strategic issues (on purchase and sale transactions of enterprises, companies and assets, restructuring and privatization),
• keep the books,
• optimize the costs of running a business,
• to lead training for employees and motivational workshops,
• manage human resources,
• optimize specific processes related to the functioning of the company.

Many of the above elements are closely related, which is why consulting companies often provide comprehensive advisory services. Here are the areas of activity of consulting agencies that we distinguish in practice.

Consulting agency - areas of activity

Strategic consulting

Strategic consulting, from English management consulting or strategy consulting, is an economic consulting department that includes comprehensive preparation for running a business. It was created along with the development of management as a response to the demand for increased efficiency and more efficient planning of corporate strategies. The first consulting company was established at the end of the 19th century (1886 to be precise; officially registered in 1909) on the initiative of Arthur D. Little, a chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The founder of the organization was to deal with difficult business problems that entrepreneurs could not cope with. Little did not want to systematize the counseling process. He focused on an individual approach to each case. Interestingly, the company operates to this day as an international consulting agency.

A little later, in 1914, the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton was founded to serve both government and industrial clients. In 1926, the first company dealing strictly with strategic consulting - McKinsey & Company. Since then, the consulting industry has grown rapidly. Despite a short downtime in the 1970s, during the economic crisis, today it is a powerhouse.

Strategic consulting it is, in a nutshell, a preparation aid development strategy company, affecting its entire operations. Why is it worth using professional strategic consulting? Choosing the right strategy is the key to success on the market.

Strategy is a kind of glue that connects all areas of a company's operations. It is something that dictates its development path and indicates the next steps it should take to achieve market success.

There is no universal recipe for the perfect development strategy. Preparing an effective strategy requires experience, excellent knowledge of the market, its mechanisms and prospects, as well as competition. The strategy should match the profile and nature of the company and the main goal of its activities. When creating a development strategy, an individual approach to a given matter is key. This is why the help of an experienced consulting agency may prove invaluable. The team of consultants, using their professional knowledge and extensive experience, can tailor the strategy to a specific company as much as possible, thus guaranteeing its successful market entry.

As part of strategic consulting, comprehensive development and implementation plans are created, in accordance with the client's expectations. The main tasks of a consulting agency in this area include:

• enterprise resource analysis,
• industry and competition analysis,
• creating comprehensive development strategies,
• full support at every stage of strategy implementation,
• implementation of investment programs.

Consulting, PR consulting

The consulting agency also deals with consulting in the field of PR. It is worth remembering what is PR itself. By definition, it is a tool for managing communication between an organization and a community. In a slightly broader sense public relations can be considered as shaping the relations of a given company with the environment in which it operates in order to create a specific, desired image. That the image is supposed to lead to general acceptance of the company's activities and gain market trust, which will translate into its development.

PR is of particular importance in running a business. It often determines the ultimate success of the company on the market. Good relations with the environment are especially important today, in times of high competition and competition for customer interest. A company that is able to maintain positive relations with the environment has a better chance of building a competitive advantage.

PR consulting, otherwise known as image consulting, is help in managing communication between the company and the public. The role of a consulting agency is to support the company in building and creating the desired image in the eyes of individual target groups - not only potential customers, but also investors, partners, employees and the media. Consulting PR allows you to control how your company is perceived outside.

Marketing consulting

Marketing is an extremely broad concept that has had many definitions. The American Marketing Association states that marketing is all activities aimed at creating, communicating and delivering products of value to the customer and his partners. According to Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller, these are activities that involve the recognition and satisfaction of human needs.

In a nutshell Marketing can be defined as managing relationships with the environment in such a way that these relationships translate into profits for the company. These are all forms of brand promotion tailored to the needs and expectations of potential customers.

Marketing consulting is the process of searching for and improving the promotion, sales and distribution strategies, selecting recipients. A consulting agency may:

• support the company in promoting a new product,
• help her reach a new group of recipients or a wider group of clients, as well as develop activities on a new market,
• strengthen the company's presence in a specific message channel,
• increase sales of specific products,
• build a competitive advantage.

Operational consulting

Operational consulting is based on optimizing the company's current operations in such a way as to maximize its functioning and guarantee the highest profits. The consulting process may include, among others: by introducing changes in the company's marketing, implementing innovative supply chain management solutions, outsourcing certain activities or updating organizational culture companies.

IT consulting

Today, in the era of modern technologies, IT support is an invaluable business management tool. The implementation of appropriate IT solutions can translate into an increase in the efficiency of various processes - it can improve communication and information flow, reduce business costs and, consequently, improve the functioning of the entire company.

The comprehensive IT consulting service provided by a professional consulting agency is the process of matching IT solutions to the technological needs of the enterprise. In addition, it is the management of the existing IT infrastructure, including: analysis of activities and needs, IT department support, technological supervision, construction and integration of IT systems, technological consulting.

Financial and tax consultancy

The efficient financial management of a company is of paramount importance in terms of its overall market position and eventual success. Bad financial policy exposes the enterprise to losses. Unfortunately, maintaining or improving profitability is a difficult task that requires specialized knowledge and experience. That is why it is worth entrusting them to professionals.

The tasks of a consulting agency as part of financial advisory services include:

• selecting the best offers from financial institutions (i.e. banks, insurance companies and others),
• contact with these institutions,
• preparing investment profitability analyzes,
• planning of capital sources,
• developing business plans,
• creating controlling systems,
• detailed financial planning.

A consulting agency can also advise the company on tax matters. Among the most important tasks of the agency in this area, we can distinguish: planning and selecting the most advantageous method of taxation, creating tax strategies, advising on income taxes, VAT, excise and customs duties, assessment of the correctness of tax returns, interpretation of legal norms.

Personnel consulting (Human Resources)

People working in them are the key resource of many enterprises. Human resource management is a real challenge - it requires experience, appropriate knowledge, and at the same time full responsibility and appropriate delicacy. The help of specialists in this area can bring benefits for both the employer (company) and employees.

Personnel consulting includes:

• assessment of employees' potential and examining professional predispositions,
• assistance in the recruitment of specialists,
• development and implementation of human resource management instruments,
• training needs analysis.

A consulting agency in action, or what does strategic consulting look like?

Strategic consulting is undoubtedly one of the most important consulting services - sometimes even referred to as one of the most prestigious. Strategy consulting focuses directly on cooperation with company management boards and consists in shaping a functioning strategy that affects the entire activity of the company in the future. Strategic consulting is an incredibly responsible task. The company's ultimate success will depend on how the directions of the company's development and growth will be defined.

The scope of the consulting agency's responsibilities as part of strategic consulting is very wide. This is due to the specificity of consultancy and the complexity of individual market sectors. The aim of the consulting agency, in addition to the aforementioned creation of the company's operating strategy for the coming years, may be:

• introducing a new product to the market,
• entering a new market,
• increasing operational efficiency,
• optimization of business processes,
• indicating areas on which it is worth focusing the most attention, allocating the greatest resources.

A consulting agency, in order to achieve the set goals, conducts detailed strategic analyzes, comprehensively researches the market, builds financial models, supports the company in the implementation of specific strategic projects, develops and implements changes in the organizational structure, and implements investment programs.

Consulting agency - who can use its help?

The services of a consulting agency can be used by both "young" enterprises that are at the stage of development, as well as experienced companies that have been operating for a long time.

Newly established companies particularly appreciate strategic consulting. Strategic consulting is a specific preparation of a new business entity to successfully operate on the market. It is a chance to build a competitive advantage and be successful.

Experienced companies usually decide to start cooperation with an experienced consulting agency when problems arise that they cannot deal with on their own, using the resources available at the moment. The help of a consulting company may turn out to be crucial at this point.

A reliable consulting agency will show you the sources company problems and suggest ways to solve them. A consulting agency can also help the company find new business opportunities or directions of development, as well as indicate innovative methods or tools that will improve its functioning.

Summary

Consulting agencies are a valuable resource for companies looking to achieve success in today's competitive business environment. In the article, we discussed the essence of consulting and the wide range of activities undertaken by a consulting agency. Cooperation with such a partner can bring numerous benefits to enterprises, including strategic consulting, optimization of business processes and support in making key decisions. Therefore, it is worth considering using the services of a consulting agency to effectively develop your business and achieve the desired business goals.

Running a business is an art. A company that wants to achieve spectacular success must ensure that it achieves maximum efficiency in every area of its operation. Comprehensive support from a consulting agency may prove invaluable in terms of effective business management.

Professional consulting is not only about providing immediate help, but also about improving the value of a specific company in the long term. Cooperation with a professional consulting agency can translate into visible improvement in the functioning of the company.

Outside advisory activities is a fresh look at the company's operations. This is a chance to spot errors that the company does not notice, or to set a non-schematic development path. The consulting agency uses tools that companies often do not have access to, and thus can implement even the most complex projects. By cooperating with the agency, you invest in the multifaceted development of your company!