The role of a strategy consultant is evolving rapidly in 2025, driven by digital transformation, AI advancements, and shifting global business landscapes.
With the business environment consistently evolving due to market forces and external factors like geo-political stability and pandemics, businesses need strategy more than ever.
When businesses require assistance to improve business growth or processes, they often engage a strategy consultant to help them cross a hurdle or provide direction to get them to the next level.
Note: This blog post was updated from an article first published on 16 May 2021.
WHAT IS A STRATEGY CONSULTANT?
A strategy consultant is a third party brought in by the management of a company to offer outside and expert perspective on the business’s challenges.
In a nutshell, a strategy consultant’s role is to objectively assess the core capabilities in relation to the market and competition and identify issues, current problems, and implement solutions.
Some strategy consultants may be specialised in a specific industry, sector or field. They possess specific domain knowledge and practical experience that can help a business improve its core capabilities, offerings or grow its market share in a specific market.
Different Types of Strategy Consultants
While the role of most strategy consultants is to improve or grow a business, there may be specific areas of specialisation that can add value to clients.
Here are some examples of specialised strategy consultants include:
Marketing Strategist
A marketing strategist focuses on building a business’s brand equity and improving market position to grow revenue. In the current digitally evolving economy, they should also play the role of a digital strategist to harness both traditional and digital media in reaching out to new and existing customers.
Growth Strategist
A growth strategist focuses on helping businesses achieve a higher market share than the company currently has. This goes beyond marketing and growth can be achieved through developing new products to serve an existing market, developing new segments of the market or entering entirely new markets.
Technology Strategist
A technology strategist helps develop, implement, and maintain a company’s information technology (IT) structure to reduce cost, improving productivity and efficiency to improve profits.
Talent Strategist
A talent strategist is an expert on the full scope of HR processes to attract, onboard, develop, engage, and retain high-performing employees. They specialise in talent management to improve business performance.
Investment Strategist
An investment strategist is a financial professional who advises on an organisation’s investment assets, such as real estate holdings, fixed income, and equity securities. They must be knowledgeable on market trends that could impact an organisation’s investments and be familiar with fiduciary principles and regulatory legislation.
What Skills and Qualities DoES a Strategy Consultant Need?
Not everyone can be a strategy consultant, and it requires a particular skillset and experience to add value to an organisation at a strategic level.
A strategy consultant needs a mix of analytical, technological, and interpersonal skills.
Here are seven of the critical skills and qualities needed in a good strategy consultant:
#1 - Big-Picture Mindset
A strategy consultant is essentially a management consultant with deep industry or domain knowledge and analyses high-level business issues with a holistic mindset.
As such, the strategy consultant needs to have a big-picture view and the ability to identify connections creatively in the business landscape as it relates to the organisation.
Strategy consultants must be lateral thinkers with good domain and general knowledge. This allows them to provide “out-of-the-box solutions” that have not been considered before.
#2 - Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving
The ability to analyse complex business challenges and develop structured frameworks for problem-solving remains a core competency for strategy consultants. In 2025, this skill will be even more vital as businesses face unpredictable economic and market conditions.
Consultants must excel in scenario planning and risk assessment, allowing them to anticipate potential disruptions and propose resilient business strategies. Strong logical reasoning skills are also essential for managing complex business transformation projects, ensuring that organisations remain agile and adaptable in the face of uncertainty.
#3 - Agile & Adaptive Thinking
The rapidly changing business landscape requires strategy consultants to be highly adaptable and open to new approaches. Agile methodologies, which prioritise flexibility and iterative decision-making, have become increasingly relevant in strategic consulting.
Consultants must be able to lead cross-functional teams in fast-paced environments, helping organisations pivot in response to evolving market conditions.
The ability to embrace change and implement agile business practices is essential for staying ahead in the competitive consulting industry.
#4 - Data-Driven Decision Making
One of the most critical skills for a modern strategy consultant is the ability to interpret vast amounts of data to drive business insights.
The increasing availability of big data and advanced analytics tools has transformed how companies approach decision-making.
Consultants must be proficient in data visualisation platforms such as Tableau and Power BI, enabling them to present complex information in a digestible format.
Additionally, a strong understanding of predictive modelling and AI-driven analytics is essential, allowing consultants to forecast business trends and develop data-backed strategies that enhance competitive advantage.
#5 - Financial and Business Acumen
A deep understanding of financial principles is fundamental for strategy consultants seeking to develop sustainable and profitable business strategies.
Proficiency in financial modelling, pricing strategies, and profitability analysis is necessary to help organisations optimise their revenue streams.
By aligning business goals with financial performance metrics, consultants can ensure that strategic recommendations contribute to long-term organisational success.
#6 - Strategic Communication and Storytelling
Effective communication is a key differentiator for strategy consultants, as they must be able to convey complex data and insights to executives and stakeholders in a compelling manner.
Strong presentation and storytelling skills enable consultants to translate analytical findings into actionable strategies that drive decision-making.
Moreover, proficiency in executive-level communication and negotiation strategies ensures that consultants can influence key business decisions and foster alignment among organisational leaders.
#7 - Project Management Skills
Unless a strategy consultant is brought in for a purely advisory role, most consultants will also spearhead the implementation of recommended strategies and activities to help an organisation realise tangible value.
This means the consultant must be a capable project manager. This includes being able to manage timelines, resources, budgets, personnel and deliverables.
Whether a project is 3 months or 2 years long, good project management is necessary to ensure a project is completed on time and budget.
Strategy Consultant for Marketing In Singapore & Malaysia
Suppose you are looking for ways to build your brand and increase lead generation and sales in Singapore and Malaysia. In that case, you can consider engaging a strategy consultant specialising in marketing in these countries.
Evolve & Adapt is an award-winning strategic marketing consultancy firm headquartered in Singapore with an office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
We are certified management consultants with expertise & experience in strategic hybrid marketing in both these countries. Our international team can execute the marketing strategies and frameworks we develop.
Learn more about our strategy consulting work here.
