new design | January-February 2003 What are the new business development conundrums for the small-to-medium-sized design consultancy? Simon Teer explains why those consultancies that embrace change and achieve real differentiation in their service proposition and new business strategy can succeed in a tough climate – and why those that don’t must face the consequences. When it comes to new business development, one thing that cannot be ignored is the significant rise in the number of consultancies that make up today’s UK design industry. More breakaways, more start-ups… and so the potential slice of new business cake begins to resemble a...

Design Week | Opinion | 16 January 2003 How do design consultancy owners address the conundrum of new business development in such an expansive industry? There were 3000 design consultancies in 1998 and five years on, this figure is fast approaching 5000. The more competitive the market is, the more compelling and distinctive the new business proposition must become. Unknowingly perhaps, many design consultancies are just paying lip service to defining their competitive advantages and invariably fail to differentiate themselves from rival consultancies in any meaningful way. The irony here is a painfully familiar one – design consultancy creatives spend...