The competitive ‘bar-code’

By Fiona Czerniawska

The following forms part two of a series of articles that we are publishing based on our on-going research into how clients see consulting firms. To view the first article in this series, please click here; or to view the third article, please click here.

Trying to map the competitive landscape? Here’s a different way to do it.

At first sight, this chart is pretty puzzling. Actually, if we’re honest, it’s pretty puzzling at the second, third, and fourth sight, so let me try and explain. In one of our client surveys, we ask senior executives to give us feedback on three firms they feel comfortable talking about. Sometimes they’ve got first-hand experience of working with the firm; sometimes it’s more the case that they’ve seen the firm working in their organisations, but they’ve not been personally or directly involved. That’s not what interests us here, though: what our data also shows is the extent to which firms are mentioned in the same breath, that clients who have experience of Firm A, will also tend to mention Firm B, but not Firm C.

Using McKinsey as an example, the first column shows us the firms people talked about when they talked about McKinsey. The thicker the line, the more likely it is that someone who mentions McKinsey also mentions the firms listed. The second column looks at this the other way round: the thicker the line, the greater the proportion of people who talk about each firm who then go on to talk about McKinsey. The first column shows us the other firms that are on the minds of McKinsey’s clients; the second, firms whose clients also have McKinsey on their minds. 

From looking at the data in this way, we know that clients who talk about McKinsey also tend to mention IBM and the Big Four, but are much less likely to mention other strategy firms. In other words, McKinsey’s results and reputation squeezes out its immediate competitors in the strategy space, but still leaves plenty of space for technology firms and the Big Four, perhaps because the latter groups are seen as complementary to McKinsey but not a substitute for it (which is good or bad news depending on who you are, and what you’d like to be seen as). However, this situation isn’t repeated if we look at how often people who talk about other firms, also go on to talk about McKinsey. The two top firms here are both strategy firms, BCG and Roland Berger, suggesting that the clients of both firms may often be glancing over their shoulder and thinking about McKinsey. That’s a testimony to the continuing power of McKinsey’s brand.

Before you ask, yes, we have ‘bar codes’ for most major consulting firms…

This is the second in a series of articles, all of which are based on our on-going research into how clients see consulting firms. To read the next in the series, click here. If you’d like more information about this research programme, please click here or contact me here - sarah.burgess@sourceglobalresearch.com.