Putting Products into Services

High-end professional services firms that cater to corporate clients have a clear upside: Because they provide specialized expertise, their offerings can be very lucrative. But there’s a less obvious downside: If a consulting firm, say, or a law practice wants to double its revenue, it has to double its staff of consultants or attorneys. Consultancies, law firms, ad agencies, and other professional services firms struggle to nudge their gross margins above 40% as they achieve scale. Contrast that with product companies like Google and Adobe, which don’t have to deal with the same cost structure and which enjoy gross margins of 60% to 90%.