Typically, consulting services can overlook manifest needs or desires within organisations.

Many organisations are currently cash-poor:

• Turnkey consulting solutions, often involving outsourcing of relatively easily learned and managed functions, avoids additional hires but adds significant financial costs that are harder to recoup in the current highly sensitive economy;
• Many digital solutions that are on offer are not expensive but can see daunting if a company does not know the digital universe and does not know how to optimise the blend of different digital solutions for their business;
• As in most downturns, the first spending cut is marketing, but the availability of low-cost digital marketing and engagement solutions, and the light-touch maintenance of these engagement tools means the return on some well invested cash in digital can drive long-term customer engagement, brand strength and bottom line growth.

Many organisations are having to consider reducing headcount as furlough runs out:

• Companies are not in a position to make new hires, particularly not expensive senior hires in “marketing” roles, that are not perceived as driving the bottom line growth; 
• Companies have unidentified resources within their existing workforces, particularly in the under-30s grouping.  Repurposing existing staff, and re-aligning existing organisation and reporting structures can offer significant boosts to the customer response to digital engagement, driving company efficiency without driving up costs or head-count;
• As digital solutions are “skills” driven, a consulting solution that engages with support for the existing staff allows companies to grow beyond the need for consulting services, essential in a cash-sensitive environment;
• Most companies, from an ethical standpoint, would rather repurpose existing hires than fire staff in a downturn, but few advisory solutions prioritise this.