consulting-brief

Consulting Brief

Generates a structured brief document presented to the client at the first stage of a consulting project. It produces a professional proposal based on the MECE principle and data-driven thinking.

Overview

Creates a proposal structured as a logical flow from the current-state diagnosis of a consulting project to the action plan. It leverages an industry-specific knowledge base and various analytical frameworks such as 3C, 4P, SWOT, and Porter's 5 Forces.

Trigger Keywords

consulting brief, consulting proposal, consulting brief
business proposal, consulting report, management consulting
strategy consulting, diagnosis report, business diagnosis
proposal writing, client proposal, consulting contract

Real-World Consulting Analysis Patterns (Pyramid + MECE + SCQA)

The essence of consulting is vast facts → core message → actionable decision-makingthe ability to compress into that. A report that simply lists dozens to hundreds of pieces of raw data leaves the decision-maker with nothing but irritation.

7 Compression Patterns

① Pyramid Structure — Start with the Conclusion

At the apex, the conclusion, and going downward, logic and evidence. A decision-maker with no time should hear the conclusion first, then read in order why it was derived, so they understand faster. A report that starts with raw data can only be understood if it is read all the way to the end, which is inefficient in a business environment.

Good Example vs Bad Example:

❌ "Last week at Store A there was B, at Store C there was D, and… in conclusion, sales -10%"
✅ "Overall sales -10%. Three main causes: (1) Store A new product out of stock (2) Category B price increase shock (3) Channel C advertising halted"

② So What ↔ Why So Verification Pair

Question	Who uses it	Role
So What? ("What can we learn from these facts?")	Practitioner	Facts → Extract message
Why So? ("Why is such a conclusion possible?")	Executive	Message → Verify evidence

A practitioner reports having done only So What → gets flustered by the executive's Why So question. Prepare a Why So answer in advance for every messageto survive a consulting meeting.

③ MECE Horizontal Rule

Mutually Exclusive (no overlap) + Collectively Exhaustive (no omission). Reasons to use it:

Grasp the whole picture at a glance
Prevent important omissions
Structuring of thinking

Common anti-patterns:

Omission: Splitting customers into just "new / returning" and leaving out the "churned customers" area → CE breaks
Overlap: Classifying customers as "20s / women / office workers" → ME breaks (one person can be all three)

Good MECE example: Revenue = new revenue + existing customer repurchase revenue + new category revenue (mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive).

④ The very bottom of the pyramid = factual truthfulness

No matter how good the So What and Why So are, if the underlying facts are inaccurate, the analysis itself is meaningless. Make primary source verification Step 0:

Statistics: primary sources such as KOSIS, OECD, World Bank (no secondary citations)
Industry reports: check publisher, publication date, sample
Interviews: record title, interview date, context
News: reporter name, media credibility

⑤ SCQA 4-part presentation structure (executive reporting)

Executives do not focus from the beginning to the end of a presentation → one story in a repeatable form로:

Stage	Meaning	What to fill in
Situation	Worldview·context	Environmental facts the audience will agree with
Complication	The problem as seen through data	Anomalies in metric trends, what is a problem and why
Question	Deriving the key question	"How will we solve this problem?"
Answer	Presenting the answer	Recommendation + rationale + next steps

Simple reporting vs SCQA:

❌ "Revenue -10%"
✅ "(S) The overall market is contracting -3% / (C) We are down -10%, an additional -7%p decline versus the market average / (Q) What is the cause of this additional decline? / (A) A sharp drop in A channel advertising efficiency + new competing products in category B"

⑥ Top-Down concept establishment

Broad classification → narrowing order. Convey (1) situation (2) classification (3) priorities simultaneously on one slide.

전체 시장
  → 우리 사업 영역
    → 핵심 세그먼트
      → 우선순위 Top 3 타깃

At each narrowing stage, reasonmust be shown together (e.g., "select only segments with revenue share of 70% and growth rate of +20%").

⑦ Less detail, exhaustive classification

The two major mistakes in the early concept-establishment stage:

(1) Excess detail: A table of every variable and option → executives cannot follow the key point
(2) Showing only selected key points: Suspicion of "what are they hiding?", flood of questions about omitted parts

The right answer: MECE broad classification + emphasize only the key points(bold·color). Put details in the Appendix.

6 Korean consulting analysis frameworks

Framework	Purpose	Caution
3C (Customer/Competitor/Company)	Strategic positioning	Do not list; capture paradigm shifts
4P (Product/Price/Place/Promotion)	Marketing mix	For B2B, 4C (Customer Value/Cost/Convenience/Communication) is recommended
Porter's 5 Forces	Competitive analysis	Do not list threats; turn entry barriers to your advantage
7S (Strategy/Structure/Systems/Style/Staff/Skills/Shared Values)	Internal diagnosis	Korean organizations are heavily influenced by Style and Shared Values
SWOT	Strategy Synthesis	In the language of "choice and trade-off"
Ansoff Matrix	Growth Strategy	Market × Product 4-Matrix

Standard 30-60-90 Day Roadmap Structure

0-30일: Quick Win + Data Collection (short-term visible results)
31-60일: Executing core changes (process and organizational restructuring)
61-90일: Settling in and measuring (KPI measurement, designing the next stage)

Consulting Differentiation in the AI Era (2026)

AI Draft + Consultant Validation: Data collection and first-pass analysis by AI; hypotheses, insights, and decision-making by humans
Why So answers are human-only: AI is good at finding patterns, but has limits in the depth of "why that is"
Understanding Client Context: Industry, company, and organizational culture can't be captured by AI — the consultant's value is clear
MECE Validation: Categories made by AI often have omissions and overlaps — humans do the final validation

💡 The No. 1 cause of failure in Korean consulting meetings: (1) Listing only analysis without a conclusion (2) Broken MECE categorization (3) Not preparing Why So answers (4) Reporting AI output as-is. Just covering these four points will greatly increase client trust.

Workflow

Step 1: Load Industry Context

Identify the client's industry and load and analyze the latest trends and issues, competitive structure, market dynamics, regulatory environment, risk factors, and benchmarking cases.

Step 2: Current State Analysis

Diagnose multi-dimensionally the financial status (revenue, profitability, growth rate, ROE/ROIC), market position (market share, strengths and weaknesses versus competitors), operational efficiency (processes, organization, technology), and organizational capabilities (leadership, workforce, culture, innovation).

Step 3: Problem Structuring

Structure the identified issues according to MECE principles. Perform root cause identification (Iceberg Model, 5 Whys), prioritization (impact and urgency matrix), hypothesis setting, and hierarchical decomposition with an Issue Tree.

Step 4: Select Analysis Framework

Select the optimal framework according to the problem type.

Strategic Positioning: 3C (Customer, Competitor, Company)
Marketing Mix: 4P (Product, Price, Place, Promotion)
Competitive Analysis: Porter's 5 Forces
Internal Diagnosis: 7S (Strategy, Structure, Systems, etc.)
SWOT Analysis: SWOT Matrix
Growth Strategy: Ansoff Matrix

Step 5: Derive Recommendations

Present actionable recommendations including strategic direction, specific actions, risk mitigation, and success metrics (KPI, measurement framework).

Step 6: Document the Brief

Write a professional consulting brief including an Executive Summary, current-state analysis, problem definition, analysis framework, recommendations, and an execution plan (30-60-90 day roadmap).

Usage Examples

Example 1: E-commerce Growth Strategy Consulting

Input:

산업: 전자상거래
문제: 최근 3분기 MAU 성장 둔화, CAC 상승
범위: 고객 획득 및 리텐션 전략
예산: 5억 원 (6개월)

Output:

# 전자상거래 플랫폼 성장 전략 컨설팅 브리프

## Executive Summary
CAC 25,000원, LTV 18,000원으로 유닛 이코노믹스 불균형.
리텐션 강화와 유기적 트래픽 확대로 CAC 40% 절감, LTV 30% 증대 목표.

## 현황 분석
- 재무: QoQ MAU 성장률 12% → 5% → 2%
- 시장: 경쟁사 5사 중 4위 (12%)
- 운영: 유료 광고 의존도 78%
- 조직: 데이터 분석 역량 부족

## 문제 정의
핵심 이슈: 유료 트래픽 의존도 높고 리텐션이 낮아 성장이 지속 가능하지 않음
가설: (1) 온보딩 개선 시 리텐션 20%↑
      (2) 리퍼럴 프로그램 도입 시 CAC 30%↓

## 분석 프레임워크: 3C + AARRR
- Customer: 타겟 세분화, 코호트 분석
- Competitor: 리텐션 전략 벤치마킹
- Company: 유닛 이코노믹스 분석
- AARRR: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue

## 권고사항
[HIGH] 온보딩 흐름 재설계
[HIGH] 리퍼럴 프로그램 런칭
[MEDIUM] 컨텐츠 마케팅 확대
[MEDIUM] Push 알림 최적화

## 실행 계획 (30-60-90 days)
[30일] 온보딩 설문조사 도구, 리퍼럴 프로그램 설계
[60일] 리퍼럴 베타 런칭, Push 알림 개인화
[90일] 컨텐츠 마케팅 10개 채널, A/B 테스트 인프라

Example 2: Manufacturing Digital Innovation Consulting