What drives development at right now’s quickest rising consulting firms?
For over a decade, we’ve been asking this query and discovering the solutions in our annual Excessive Progress Research. Since its inception, this analysis venture has tracked the evolving advertising methods of profitable consulting corporations. The 2025 Excessive Progress Research: Consulting Version reveals the vital elements that separate right now’s quickest rising consulting firms from the remainder of the pack.
In right now’s weblog submit, we’ll share a couple of of the findings of this yr’s analysis report on consulting firms. You should purchase the total analysis report to your firm right here.
The Quickest Rising Consulting Corporations
At present’s consulting corporations are wrestling with a number of points, lots of which have been with them for years, corresponding to worth sensitivity, a expertise scarcity, generational modifications within the workforce, and the necessity to develop new abilities. However in addition they face challenges distinctive to this second.
The 2025 Excessive Progress Research offers a complete evaluation of those challenges and the methods that Excessive Progress corporations make use of to beat them.
Regardless of the numerous challenges confronted by companies that promote consulting providers, the Excessive Progress corporations grew at a powerful clip: at the very least 20% compound annual development price over a three-year analysis interval. They signify simply over a 3rd of the pattern of 384 consulting corporations who participated within the research.
With a development price of 41.7%, the Excessive Progress corporations grew 4.4 occasions sooner than common—a big enchancment over final yr’s efficiency, when median development for the top-performing cohort was 35%.
What can we study from these quick rising firms? How are they responding to the challenges of right now’s market? Which advertising methods do they make use of? Let’s check out a few of the findings from the total research.
Discovering 1: AI and Automation Lead the Dialog
For the previous 5 years, a thrum of uncertainty has rattled the consulting providers panorama. In 2025, unpredictability continues to be with us, although its vibrations have diminished a bit to make approach for a brand new seismic wave: the breakout of synthetic intelligence (AI).
In response to our knowledge, the consulting business is grappling with incorporating AI and automation into their companies. This problem was reported to be the primary problem dealing with consulting firms right now.
All the consulting business is making an attempt to determine how AI goes to have an effect on their operations, service supply, and advertising. AI guarantees to remodel consulting—with all of the alternatives and threats that include disruptive change.
On the identical time, AI is altering the best way providers are marketed. Whether or not or not these guarantees are saved stays to be seen, however AI’s sharp ascent to prominence is actually outstanding. It’s no shock that AI has shot to the highest of corporations’ listing of largest challenges.
Discovering 2: Content material Creation Is Right here to Keep
Like final yr (and the yr earlier than), creating content material stays the highest advertising precedence for Excessive Progress consulting corporations.
In a pool of choices together with over a dozen choices (together with partnership advertising, advertising expertise, purchaser journey mapping, growing thought leaders, and extra), the Excessive Progress consulting firms chosen creating content material as their high advertising precedence for 2025.
Clearly, content material advertising continues to play a significant function in these corporations’ success.
Excessive Progress consulting corporations perceive that producing academic, useful content material showcases their thought leaders and builds belief with potential shoppers. This strategy aligns with a number of key findings from the 2025 Excessive Progress Research. Content material advertising serves as a strong engine for producing digital leads, utilizing worthwhile, knowledgeable insights to seize the eye of potential patrons. It additionally enhances using case tales, which may present particular examples, and context, additional demonstrating a agency’s capabilities (see Discovering 4 beneath).
By persistently delivering high-quality content material, corporations can differentiate their model in a aggressive market and set up themselves as thought leaders. That is significantly essential within the face of rising competitors from new corporations and the evolving panorama of AI. Content material creation additionally offers tangible metrics for measuring advertising effectiveness, permitting corporations to trace web site visitors, content material downloads, and social media engagement. In brief, content material builds belief, generates leads, demonstrates experience, and positions a agency as an business chief.
Discovering 3: Excessive Progress Consulting Companies Generate Digital Leads
Excessive Progress consulting firms generate a good portion of leads digitally—and notably greater than their friends within the No Progress class. They obtain about 40% of their leads on-line. Digital leads come from varied sources, together with web site contact types, content material advertising, social media, webinars, and digital promoting.
It is a benchmark for digital lead technology, however we consider it may—and possibly ought to—be greater. As you may see intimately within the full report, even Excessive Progress corporations haven’t achieved the very best ranges of digital maturity with consistency. As that scenario improves, we anticipate this quantity to extend.
Discovering 4: Consulting Companies Use Detailed Case Tales in Their Advertising and Enterprise Growth
After we take a look at which methods are used most frequently by the quickest rising consulting corporations, growing and publishing case tales got here in second—a discovering distinctive to the consulting business.
What does this inform us about how these firms attraction to their patrons? Case tales show previous efficiency and showcase success in a related and compelling format. They construct belief and resonate with potential shoppers. They supply tangible proof of experience. In addition they present the influence of providers. By highlighting particular shopper challenges and profitable outcomes, case tales present a strong solution to show the worth of a agency’s providers.
How accessible are your agency’s case tales? Are they printed in your web site? Do you characteristic the tales in your different advertising supplies? Have you ever tried delivering them in various codecs, corresponding to video?
Discovering 5: Excessive Progress Consulting Companies Outsource Specialised Advertising Duties
Outsourcing specialised advertising abilities is a technique Excessive Progress consulting companies have used for a few years. On this yr’s report, we see that Excessive Progress consulting corporations outsource abilities extra typically than their No Progress friends in practically each class we measured.
Topping the listing are internet design, search engine optimisation, video manufacturing, and graphic design.
Outsourcing offers entry to specialists, the newest instruments, and cost-effective options. Excessive-quality outsourced suppliers will prioritize transparency about their outcomes, making it simpler to measure your return on funding. Be sure you rent businesses or consultants that know your business.
Discovering 6: Measuring and Using Advertising Metrics is a Mess
A brand new addition to this yr’s analysis was a query asking firms to price their proficiency in capturing and using advertising and enterprise improvement metrics. The info tells a transparent story: It is a huge problem for consulting organizations.
Whereas the quickest rising firms did report a better degree of proficiency than Low Progress firms, the distinction was marginal. Three quarters of Low Progress corporations have low proficiency in utilizing metrics, in comparison with 60% of Excessive Progress corporations. This discovering highlights an enormous weak point in each teams.
We requested those that reported low or some proficiency why they gave their ranking. Widespread solutions included time constraints, lack of devoted personnel, finances limitations, outdated expertise, and difficulties in connecting knowledge throughout platforms.
No skilled providers marketer will inform you that monitoring metrics is unimportant. However what’s clear from the information is that there’s a lot of labor to be completed on this entrance.
Dive Deeper with the Full Report
These findings provide a glimpse into the methods of the quickest rising consulting corporations in 2025. The complete 2025 Excessive Progress Research: Consulting Providers Version offers a complete evaluation of the elements driving success in right now’s market. It affords detailed insights, data-driven suggestions, and actionable methods. This report is a useful useful resource for any consulting agency that desires to thrive within the face of change. Able to dive deeper and unlock the secrets and techniques of excessive development? Get the total report right here.
