Give your E-commerce online business the Digital Business Consultancy advantage
This is a debate that will resonate long after you have finished reading this blog; consultancies versus agencies and each of their utilities to your business. Yet both consultancies and agencies are hardly similar in their outlook or execution and are in fact very different expertized solutions and both play an important part in bringing your E-commerce business across in your target market and to your eventual end customer. Both have different rolls, very different functions and even more different perspectives since both have very different end goals and objectives as well.
The basic difference between the two which is most easy to understand is that a consultancy will gravitate more towards strategizing and monetizing a product or a service for your brand while the agency is more adept at executing the strategy that has been conceptualized and see it through towards its most obvious end objective. So, while one is the think tank often deciphering routes, directions and forecasting models towards growth and sustainability, the other is simply the work force that helps get your online shopping business there with maximum efficiency and very often, some out of the box creativity as well.
But to help you understand this very obvious distinction in even greater detail and with more purposeful clarity, and as to why a digital business consultancy is better for your online business as compared to just a design agency, we’ll first take you through the key aspects of each over a series of five important parameters; purpose, scope, skillset, influence, organizational models.
Purpose
The core purpose of a consulting firm especially towards an online business is to deliver guidance and expertise to the client and help them make informed business decisions with regards to their marketing strategies in both the short- and long-term durations. A consultancy works with the Chief Experience Officer (CXO), C-level management, business heads and also business owners to create growth models, forecasts and strategies that need to be implemented for the smooth functioning and sustainability of the E-commerce business. Their key function and goal quite simply is to bring the business up to a level from where it can commoditize the execution of a plan.
Agencies, on the other hand, work on pre-determined projects which are often strategized by the consultancies. Agencies also deliver expertise and services however, they do so by working with mid-management teams from the client in a combined effort to plan and execute particular projects such as corporate events, designing and marketing campaigns, etc.
Scope
A digital business consultancy will typically be a group of trained and experienced business experts all working towards enhancing the growth and sustainability strategies for your online business. They may not even execute the actual campaign ideas or have the expertise to work in the page management software suites that are needed for design execution.
An agency is a group of different individuals working in the sphere of design and creativity. An agency will usually have a mix of professions such as design profiles, copy and content profiles, servicing profiles and more who all work in cohesion to help your business execute the core strategy idea laid down by the consultancy.
Skillsets
Being able to decipher the key skill sets of a consultancy with regards to an agency will also help you arrive at the more informed decision while choosing who to delegate your tasks towards. In digital business consulting, the skillset most required usually entails paradigms such as research and analysis, content coordination, SEO knowledge, brand management and marketing strategies. As you may have noticed, all of these skill sets help you form a road forward for the online business.
On the other hand, when it comes to a design agency, skillsets tend to become more technical and specific. They range from aspects such as creativity, SEO management, content creation, web development, software development, web design for your E-commerce or online business.
Influence on your online business
In a well-drawn out overall strategy, both consultancy and agency play key roles to set up and sustain an online business. However, their levels of influence vary greatly, and this is because consultancies usually hold a more trustworthy position with the senior management of the organization due to their years of relevant experience and proven track records in helping other similar businesses excel. Since the key job of a consultancy is to strategize the road forward with regards to business challenges and also come up with solutions to help dilute those challenges, their level of influence automatically tends to become stronger as compared to that of an agency.
An agency usually sticks to its field of work and does a job for the client, whether it’s a small online business or a giant corporation. Agencies are looked upon more as vendors with little to no obligation to comment on the internal strategies or operations of the organization. They are more concerned with obtaining a brief and executing it across creative functions like social media, web design, digital marketing, SEO, content creation and more. Agencies are also thought to be expendable and may or may not have a long-standing relationship which may impact the organization’s bottom line directly in any way.
Organizational Models
A digital business consultancies’ structure will not be too different from any other technical consultancy structure. It will be headed up by partners who are the most influential in terms of experience as well as their abilities to generate and sustain business and have a well-staffed team of employees whose job is to crunch numbers, project forecasts and do research to develop effective strategies and creative direction to guarantee the success of your online business.
An agency on the other hand has a mix of hands-on creative individuals who despite their age and experience, all tend to play robust roles in taking a brief and executing it in the best interests of your online business. They work as a close and cohesive unit in a collaborative organizational model to help meet the varying needs focusing on only the creative and marketing efforts of a rapidly evolving E-commerce business. Agencies do not focus on providing strategies or sustainability for your online business.
Now that you have understood the key functioning and working principals of both digital business consultancies and design agencies, it also makes it’s a lot easier for you to be able to approach one or the other or even both to produce a progressive direction for the online business that you may have just started or then are looking to scale up to the next level. But what if you have the bandwidth to accommodate only one of the two? What would you choose then? Would you choose the design agency that is limited in its scope of the work and functioning? Or would you choose a digital business consultancy that will not just strategize the way ahead for you but also show great skill, creativity and fortitude in the execution of the strategy? The answer to most would be quite evident. Some of the very obvious and many benefits of hiring a digital business consultancy over a design agency include:
Immaculate Efficiency
While design agencies tend to be erratic in their delivery and quality check and control, a digital business consultancy will be incredibly immaculate in its approach and efficiency towards strategizing and executing a business plan as well as the end campaign that will be seen and consumed by the end consumer. The efficiency that a consultancy shows in getting things like the overarching strategy, social media, web design, digital marketing, content creation, SEO, online branding, and more just right is invaluable making it an ideal partner in the growth and success story of your online business.
Multiple Resources
A digital business consultancy will always have a whole host of varied resources, both in-house as well as outsourced, to ensure that your online business or your E-commerce website are never lacking any immediate or long-term attention that they may require. Agencies, in this aspect are once again limited in their scope and may not be able to perform the same role with the same level of efficiency and commitment to the cause.
Streamlined processes
Consultancies, as we have seen above, operate with a definite structure and have processes and strategies laid out to tackle any kind of situation. Having well defined and drawn-out processes also help consultancies to be more professional, reliable, and fast in their execution as compared to have a slightly laid back and a more slacked approach towards work which can be found from design agencies.
Experience
One of the core competencies of a digital business consultancy is to bring its strategic experience and involvement to the table not just when strategizing for the path ahead but also while executing the same with confidence and efficiency. With years of professional and relevant know-how behind them, partners at digital business consultancies are more adapt at organizing and executing campaigns that may have a defining impact on how your E-commerce website and online businesses are consumed by the end consumer along with your products and services and eventual brand recall.
Speed. Reliability. Credibility.
Being fast, efficient and yet on the spot every time are features that you will more often than not associate with digital business consultancies as compared to design agencies who are not as meticulous, accurate or even credible in the reading and execution of briefs. Consultancies work not just as a vendor but as a part of the organization that they are advising which means that they are also more invested in the end result and hence perform like they are a part of the organization as compared to agencies which look at their task as vendors completing a project.
Security
Consultancies in general tend to be run in a more professional manner with several processes and governances that are followed to ensure not just efficiency and output but also complete security and trust. The chances of untimely leaks or the divulging of important organizational data coming from a consultancy are considerably more limited as compared to an agency which also sees a tremendous amount of attrition and possible lose ends more often.
Convenience
Possibly one of the most underrated features and yet a very important feature in favor of the digital business consultancy is the convenience that it lends to the organization. Being able to outsource all your marketing requirements to a comprehensive, one-stop solution as compared to several smaller design agencies and having to follow up with one professional set up as compared to a multitude of smaller agencies is an invaluable time, effort and energy saver which just simply cannot be overlooked.
However, the key takeaway from all of this is the fact that being online is what your business needs at this time. With the COVID 19 pandemic raging chaos in the sales forecasts of physical shops and store fronts, businesses are left with little option but to sell their products and services across a more robust, dynamic and far-reaching online market. B2C, B2B, D2C businesses of all kinds across industries and business variants have all made the journey and transformation into the digital domain either by force due to the restraints of the pandemic or then by design and the wish and want to scale a thriving business into a global powerhouse.
AmareSol Global is a digital business consultancy creating innovative change through a team of talented designers, developers, and strategists creating digital experiences for brands and companies around the world. We are continuously fueling growth across constantly changing and advancing digital landscapes, by seeking and formulating newer and better ways to service clientele on a global scale across industries. Look up more about us at www.amaresolglobal.com