Since the end of January, we’ve been questioning clients in a range of different geographies, from the mature markets of the US, Europe, and the UK to still developing markets in Asia. All told, this adds up to 1,600 senior executives, all of whom are buyers/users of external support. Sixty-two percent of them say they expect to use more external support in the future, up from 57% last year.

What sets the people who expect to need more help apart from those who think their need for help will stay the same?  

Clients who think they’ll need to use more external support in the future aren’t easy to spot: There are no distinguishing characteristics in terms of the size of organisation they work for or their functional role. But they tend to: 

Be scared about the future: Forty-three percent say that macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions have depressed their business confidence, compared to 22% of those who think their use of external support will stay the same.

Be more concerned with internal than external issues: Only 20% are concerned about a worsening economic outlook, compared to 27% of those who think their use of external help will stay the same. But 41% strongly believe that achieving their corporate goals depends on cross-functional collaboration, against 31% of those who expect their use will stay the same. They’re more likely to say that their work needs to be done more quickly (36% to 25%), that they have more special projects to do (40% to 25%), and that their overall workload has increased (36% to 25%). They’re also more worried about the impact of hybrid working (23% to 17%).

And think that, despite recent investment, their technology is not fit-for-purpose: People who expect their use of external support will increase are more likely than those who think it will stay the same to say that their organisation’s technology needs to be updated as soon as possible (74% to 52%), and around three times as likely to say that their investment technology will increase significantly in the coming year (59% to 22%).

We found little discernible variation between those that expect to use more outside help and those who think their use will stay the same in terms of the type of consulting services they’re likely to buy, but there are differences in their buying behaviour. Those that expect to use more external support are more likely to: 

Be focused on data and productivity: Forty-eight percent say they’ve responded to the challenges they face by investing in data (against 38% of those who expect their use to stay the same) and by simplifying their businesses (49% to 34%). They’re more likely to be focusing on productivity improvement (60% to 48%) but less likely to be changing their business model (40% to 57%).

Buy consulting services at CxO level: Fifty-five percent said their senior leadership team usually buys the most support, compared to 31% of clients who think their use will stay the same (and who buy more at the functional head level).

Want support with day-to-day processes: Thirty-one percent of those that expect to use more external support say they’re buying more managed services compared to 22% of those who think their use of external support will stay the same. Thirty-two percent say their use of consultants as staff augmentation is increased, versus 23% of those who think their overall use of outside help will stay the same. People who expect to use more external support are also more likely to put outcomes-based contracts in place (33% to 24%).

Say their trust in professional services has significantly increased over the last 12 months (52% to 14%), perhaps because they have been putting more thought and effort into ensuring consultants make a tangible contribution to their organisations. 

Which means, as a consequence, they’re willing to pay more for outside help: Twice as many people who say they’ll be using more external support in future think that fee rates will or should increase significantly (14%, versus 8% of those who think their use of outside help will stay the same—not bad in a market in which 55% of clients think that professional fee rates should come down). 

The details are important, but the overall message that emerges from our analysis is just how critical it will be for consulting and other professional services firms to analyse and identify who among their key accounts and targets are actually going to spend more in the future.