Business vs. Digital Consultants: Key Differences [updated for 2025]

Updated:  October 2024

Wondering whether a digital consultant or business consultant is best for your business? In this article, we'll take a look at these roles to understand which consultant will better align with your specific needs and provide the most benefit for your business. 

What is a business consultant? 

A business consultant is an expert in advising businesses by providing analysis and guidance to improve and reach their overall goals and objectives. They will give knowledgeable solutions that can affect a company both internally and externally. 

Businesses hire consultants a resource that they can learn from and enhance your overall operations' value, both internally and externally. Their solutions will be based on cost efficacy, proven techniques, best practices, and strategy. For these reasons, they are the second-most popular kind of consultant to work with. 

When this consultant begins working with your business, they will need to gain first-hand insights into how you operate before making recommendations. They collect and sift through a lot of data to determine the best possible strategy unique to your business needs. They are then able to provide a company with several benefits, including:

• Accountability: Each business function is evaluated and held responsible according to measures that are put in place.
• Expertise: Insights and knowledge from an outsider can help identify patterns and improve your business operations. 
• Objectivity: An industry expert can assess and implement unbiased strategies.
• Training: Learning new techniques and information from the consultant can help improve your workforce. 
• Insight: Help identify new opportunities and find ways to combat any looming threats. 

Business consultants are often licensed and have both academic qualifications and business experience. They usually have a network that can be beneficial for their clients and expertise within a particular industry.

What does a digital business consultant do?

These consultants are experts in digital technologies and often have experience with large digital transformation projects, usually operating as freelancers, or as part of a larger consultancy group or agency. Digital strategy consultants should have a more holistic view of the commercial aspects of your business. They will determine and introduce the best sales or marketing products and services for your business. Their role is to develop and improve your digital marketing strategies and identify effective ways to increase your customer engagement, lead generation processes, general marketing and, of course, sales. 

In today's complex digital-first world, there is a clear need for digital marketing and consultants as society is moving online faster than predicted. Many businesses have to play catchup, or simply improve and grow digitally to withhold and expand their place in the market. For many companies, the function that needs improving is marketing. A consultant can map this out for you using solutions proven to work, boosting your digital output.

When hiring such a consultant, you can work with them contractually for the period that their services are needed or utilise their expertise on an ongoing basis. The best consultants have partnerships and affiliations with the companies that can help your business grow. Unlike business consultants, they specialise in all things digital and have extensive experience within this niche. They will also have to understand a great deal more about your customers and the market you're in. 

Revamping your digital marketing is no easy feat - not only are analysis and strategy needed, but content production and community management are vital, too. When working with a consultant on this, you can develop a blueprint for your business. The online presence of your business and the relationships with your online customers are of the utmost importance in today's world, which is why working with digital specialists is highly recommended. 

Key 2025 trends in digital business consulting for growth and innovation

Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, there are several key trends that will shape the digital business consulting landscape. Digital Twin Technology is one of them. This tech revolutionises how businesses manage their operations by creating digital replicas of physical systems. This allows companies to speed up their processes by identifying inefficiencies, improving resource allocation, and driving operational growth.

Similarly, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities will continue to gain importance as more businesses integrate ESG strategies to align with regulatory expectations and stakeholder values.

Another crucial trend for 2025 is the focus on platform engineering to simplify user experiences and streamline complex processes. This approach allows clients to benefit from more agile, scalable solutions, ultimately increasing satisfaction and driving better business outcomes.

Why consultants are essential for business growth and success

Consultants can be a valuable aid to all sorts of businesses, whether they're emerging and want to get off to the right start or whether they're established and need some redirection and guidance. They are there to provide you with assessments, recommendations, and assistance in implementing the suggested strategies. 

When it comes to finding a consultant to work with, one thing is critical for both business and digital specialists: experience is key. Look beyond name-dropping - the portfolios that detail the results achieved for others should be a key indicator for your business when evaluating the right one for your business. 

The rates for consultants, such as a digital marketing strategy consultant, are often market-related and influenced by factors like expenses, time, project scope, and level of experience. These costs are typically calculated and charged according to an hourly, project-based or retainer fee.

While there are some similarities and differences between business and digital consultants, both have a vital role to play in helping a business grow.

Here's a quick recap:

• Business consultants foster growth by providing a holistic strategy to help a business reach its goals.
• Digital consultants use technology to devise and implement strategies that improve the sales, marketing and advertising of a business. 

Would you like to learn how we can help your business achieve growth at scale? Book a meeting with NEXA to learn more.