Why Outdated Websites Signal Bigger Problems in Consulting Firms

"Luk, don’t assess our website because it’s outdated…"

We hear this a lot when we review consulting firms. According to them, their website doesn’t matter because:

• “We win work through relationships, not marketing.”
• “Consulting clients don’t buy from websites.”
• “We don’t have time to update the site.”
  + a dozen other reasons along the same lines

Unfortunately, we’ve observed that an outdated website isn't just a website problem. More often than not, it’s a symptom of a fundamental consulting business problem.

In our experience, unclear digital presence usually signals more profound strategic challenges – underlying challenges that will sink the entire ship sooner or later. And that’s what I’d like to discuss in this article.

Digital presence does matter to consulting service buyers!

Gone are the days when business development involved cold calls and endless email follow-ups. If you ask me, that's good riddance!

Here are a few findings on how buyers go about their search these days:

• B2B buyers do their homework. 75% of buyers prefer to gather information before they buy on their own, according to research by Hubspot.
  
  
• Furthermore, a study by Hinge (an agency specialising in Professional Service Firm marketing) uncovered that general web search is the second most common method for buyers to search for work-related topics (asking peers or colleagues for a recommendation being #1).
  
  
• Finally, an Edelman-LinkedIn study found that 54% of decision-makers and C-suite executives say that an organisation that consistently produces high-quality thought leadership content has prompted them to research its offers or capabilities.

There are many more findings across various studies that point to the same reality: service buyers are paying attention to the digital presence of firms. It can be in the form of reading their thought leadership content, checking out their service offering on the website, reviewing the profile of the leadership team, reading case studies and testimonials, browsing through outcomes that can be achieved, coming across their websites through pain point-based search queries, etc.

Often, a consulting firm’s website is the first point of interaction a prospect has with the consulting firm. That’s a massive opportunity, or it is an enormous loss in instances where the website is vague and outdated.

5 reasons why a vague website hurts a consulting firm more than it seems

An outdated or vague website typically points to deeper issues that can hinder a consulting firm's growth, credibility, and efficiency.

#1. Prospects don’t read intent, they read what’s there

Prospects judge what they see, whether a consulting firm likes it or not. If the messaging is unclear, so is the firm's strategic positioning.

If things were well-defined internally, they would have made it onto the website. It’s not a matter of limited resources. Even the most non-tech-savvy person can update the site's text.

From everything we’ve observed over the years, a lack of clarity online often reflects a lack of clarity in practice. And prospects don’t like it when clarity is missing. They try to minimise risk, which means they are looking for some form of assurance that engaging a particular consultancy will deliver reliable ROIs.

Recommended reading: Want More Clients? Stop Talking About Your Expertise!

#2. Internal teams struggle to sell what isn’t clearly defined

A vague website creates internal confusion. If a consulting firm’s team can’t articulate who they serve, what problem they solve, what outcomes can be achieved, and how they do it differently - essential website components, how can they sell it?

This lack of internal unity in the sales efforts forces senior leaders – who can (hopefully) explain it – into business development mode without much support from the rest of the team. As a result, growth depends on these few people, and the consultancy fails to establish a scalable, repeatable sales model.

A website is an asset. Marketing and sales teams rely on it as a foundation for their efforts. Sure, they can communicate much of the value through calls, emails, neatly designed capabilities statements, etc.

Unfortunately, they often feel embarrassed that they have to point prospects to their outdated website as the main digital asset.

#3. Internal misalignment pulls consultancies in different directions

Internal misalignment shows up in external messaging. Updating a website is typically more than just a job for graphic designers and web developers. It’s an exercise in crystalising the vision, the value proposition, the target audience, and the service offering.

A vague website makes the lack of internal alignment obvious. It signals a disconnect among senior leaders regarding who the consulting firm caters to, its strengths, how it delivers value to clients, and what past engagements exemplify this delivery excellence.

#4. Vague websites fail to generate quality leads

The relationships-focused approach to business development is an outdated strategy. Nothing showed its fragility quite as much as global lockdowns in 2020-2021. However, even before the global pandemic, the wine-and-dine strategy was on its way out.

High-performing consultancies realised a decade ago that consulting buyers’ behaviour was shifting. They were increasingly starting their purchasing journey by doing their own research, looking into consultancies, reading their thought leadership content, and evaluating their digital presence to get a sense of their trustworthiness.

This trend has been on the rise ever since. And sure, purchasing consulting services is a more complex process than ordering a sweater from Amazon. The buyers’ journey is longer and typically involves multiple stakeholders. However, it doesn’t negate the simple reality: prospects are paying attention to their potential business partners’ digital presence and drawing conclusions.

Vague websites fail to peak prospects’ interests. They fail to generate leads that can then be developed into clients. That’s a massive missed opportunity.  

#5. Talent attraction becomes harder

It’s not just prospects who check out consulting firms’ websites. Potential employees do, too.

Before joining, top consulting talent wants to know exactly how their expertise fits into a firm's value proposition. They also want to understand a consulting firm’s approach to engaging clients as an indicator of what is expected of team members.

Potential hires struggle to connect their skills if a firm’s proposition is broad and unclear. Furthermore, many see it as a signal of a chaotic work culture that fails to define processes, responsibilities, and expectations clearly.

Recommended reading: Building a Winning Consulting Value Proposition

Key takeaway: Updating a website is an opportunity to refine the consulting proposition

We've learned that outdated websites often reflect internal strategy discussions. A website is a mirror of how a consulting firm sees itself.

If it’s outdated, it’s often because the consulting firm hasn’t defined its value proposition sharply enough to update it. If the consulting proposition isn’t clear, the firm will likely lose deals to competitors who make it easier for clients to say yes.

So yes, maybe it’s 'just' a website. But in our experience, more often than not, it’s also the outcome of a foundational internal discussion about strategy (where do we focus, what’s our ‘swim lane’?) and value proposition specificity.

When was the last time you checked whether your firm’s consulting proposition was as sharp externally as it is in the head of the partners or leaders?

The best part of updating a website is that it forces consulting leaders to have a discussion and answer questions like:

• “Whose interest are we trying to gauge with the website?”
• “What are the problems that these audience members facing that we could highlight on the website?”
• “What makes us different?”
• “What do we want prospects to think of us when they go through our site?”
• “What value are we claiming to deliver?”

So, I invite consulting firms to review their websites and assess the extent to which these digital assets accurately portray their self-image and build a high degree of trust for the prospect. 

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