Why do smart companies with strong teams still launch products users ignore?
Look at Google’s early Google+ or Meta’s repeated app redesigns. The tech was solid. More so, the brightest talent was there too. What was missing was a clear product direction. That gap is exactly why digital product consulting companies exist. They help teams decide what to build and why it will matter.
In this article, our AI UX design team explains how digital product consulting companies work alongside web design and product teams to arrive at industry-leading products. Among other insights and actionable tips, you’ll get a data-backed snapshot of why design-driven decision-making shapes industries and a list of leading firms worth checking out.
Key takeaways
- Digital product consulting is a decision accelerator. It reduces risk before UX debt or AI misuse becomes expensive.
- Not all digital product consulting companies solve the same problems. Some lead with AI and strategy, others with research, systems, or branding. Top partners like Lazarev.agency lead the market with proven expertise across disciplines.
- The strongest outcomes come from aligned capabilities. UX strategy, AI-assisted design, and growth-ready execution work best when designed together.
Why digital product consulting matters for modern businesses
Even the top market players go downhill when their product decisions are made in isolation or without a clear view of scale. Digital product consulting helps prevent that.
A few latest insights that explain why businesses turn to digital product consulting:
- Cloud growth has raised the stakes of product decisions. According to Grand View Research, the global cloud computing market surpassed a value point of $943 billion in 2025 and is now expected to reach $3.35 trillion by 2033. As companies move away from on-prem systems, they must rethink how products scale and how data flows.
- UX is a focal growth factor. Fortune Business Insights reports that the global UX services market grew from $4.68 billion in 2024 to $6.40 billion in 2025. Companies are investing in UX research because usability defines most, if not all, business outcomes.
- Conversational AI changes how products interact with users. Grand View Research claims the conversational AI market reached $11.58 billion in 2024, with a prognosis to surpass $41 billion by 2030. Lower development costs, AI support, and omnichannel deployment are pushing teams to redesign how users ask questions and act inside digital products.
These numbers are only a small slice of the picture.
Digital product consulting is not one service or one discipline. Depending on your business goals, it may include a UX strategy glow up, an AI-powered design, a product vision relaunch, or Webflow development consulting (and as we often see, these do wonders when combined).
What to expect from digital product consulting across the product lifecycle
Digital product consulting is a layer running across the entire product lifecycle.
Here’s how that plays out in practice:
- Discovery. This is where assumptions get tested. Consultants help define the real problem, validate demand, and assess feasibility before anything else.
- Strategy. Strategy-related consulting presupposes shaping the product vision, prioritizing features, defining product roadmaps, and agreeing on what success looks like for your business.
- Design. Design is structure. User flows, interaction models, and system logic are shaped to support business growth.
- Delivery support. As teams build, consultants stay close to align design and development, validate decisions, and flag risks early, when they’re still cheap to fix.
Digital product consulting vs. design services vs. development services
Digital product consulting, design services, and development services do overlap, it’s true. Yet, the difference here is their underlying intent.
Consulting answers what and why. Design and development answer how.
In strong teams, consulting comes first. It tackles the earliest signs of ambiguity. That way, design and development specialists can step in later with no need to revise the strategic foundation of your product.
Digital product consulting services with the highest ROI: insights from Lazarev.agency’s case studies
Digital product consulting delivers the most value when assumptions carry real risk and decisions escalate fast. In these moments, clear structure and design thinking change outcomes.
Below are four areas where consulting helps businesses sharpen their value proposition. To show the tangible impact of having consulting support here, we introduce examples of our collaboration with clients across industries.
1. UX research
Many of us get trapped in thinking of user research as just asking people what they like. Our decade-long experience at Lazarev.agency, top AI UX agency, proves it‘s far deeper than that.
UX research services uncover how your target audience (be it casual users, potential investors, or business partners) makes decisions and evaluates the value of your offering.
⭕ Client problem: NODO builds advanced camera control hardware used in high-end film production. The challenge was communication. The product’s value was obvious to engineers, but harder to grasp for new or adjacent buyers discovering it online.
📝 Our digital product consulting in action: We ran focused user research to understand how cinematographers evaluate control and user feedback. Those insights shaped a story-driven content flow that mirrored how professionals reason about gear.
✅ Result: A landing experience that felt hands-on and intuitive. Post-launch, NODO generated a strong waitlist featuring 41% of new customers, a clear indicator that digital consulting is a shortcut to successful customer onboarding.
2. Mobile app strategy
Mobile apps live or die on repeat use. Strategy matters long before UI. Without clear audience segmentation and behavioral insight, apps become crowded feature sets no more no less.
⭕ Client problem: Mappn entered a saturated entertainment and location-discovery market. The founders needed a product people would keep using.
📝 Our digital product consulting in action: We started with market demand analysis to identify distinct user groups with different motivations. That insight informed the app’s core structure: personalized discovery, smart filtering, and interaction patterns that rewarded exploration.
✅ Result: A mobile experience built around core principles of emotional design. The app encouraged habitual use by aligning features with real-world decision-making, thus improving engagement and long-term retention.
3. AI-powered design
AI products fail when intelligence stays hidden and obscure. AI-powered design takes on the mission to frame assistive interaction models.
⭕ Client problem: Accern was building Rhea, an AI-driven financial research tool for analysts and investors working with massive datasets. Traditional chatbot interfaces couldn’t support the depth and trust these users required. They needed a smart chatbot UI that gets human–AI interaction right.
📝 Our digital product consulting in action: Our team designed a hybrid interaction model combining natural language input with structured UI controls. This included adaptive responses, dataset management, and report-building modes. These features let users explore and validate insights without losing context.
✅ Result: Rhea set a new standard for AI research tools. The product helped move Accern from Series B to acquisition and fueled $40+ million in fundraising.
4. Generative AI consulting
Generative AI changes expectations. Users want answers, context, and speed. Consulting here means rethinking the experience from the very first interaction point.
⭕ Client problem: Pika AI set out to build a new type of search engine, one that curated high-quality sources and reduced time-to-insight. The risk was clear: without a familiar yet improved UX, adoption would drain.
📝 Our digital product consulting in action: We designed a clean search experience, then layered in an AI-powered chat system positioned directly within the search flow. The interface guided users naturally from query to conversation, across desktop and mobile — a genuine example of chatbot digital transformation in action.
✅ Result: A search product that felt both new and familiar. Users could move faster and rely on AI without a hint of doubt.
17 digital product consulting companies to keep on your radar
The companies below stand out because they help businesses make hard decisions and deliver products that work in the real world.
1. Lazarev.agency
A best-fit digital product consulting partner for companies building complex, AI-driven products. Our team is known for crafting category-defining UX before the market catches up.
- Location: San Francisco, USA (serving clients globally)
- Years in industry: 10+
- Minimum project size: $50,000+
- Key services: Digital product consulting, AI UX/UI design, conversational AI consulting, UX audit, MVP product redesign, Webflow development, web design consultancy.
- Industry recognition: total of 120+ awards, including 3× Webby Awards Winner, 2× Webby Awards Honoree, 2× Honoree & 5× Red Dot Awards, CSS Design Awards Nominee.
- Best use cases: AI/ML products, fintech, enterprise SaaS, complex digital platforms.
- Clutch rating: 5.0 ⭐
🔎 Learn more by exploring our clients’ outcomes and portfolio.
2. Euvic
A large-scale digital consultancy with deep technical roots and enterprise muscle, often brought in when systems are the real problem.
- Location: Gliwice, Poland
- Years in industry: 20+
- Minimum project size: $25,000+
- Key services: IT strategy consulting, software development, mobile app development, digital transformation.
- Best use cases: Enterprise modernization, system integration.
- Clutch rating: 4.8 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
3. Andersen Inc.
A global engineering-led consultancy trusted for long-term digital transformation programs where execution discipline matters.
- Location: Warsaw, Poland
- Years in industry: 18+
- Minimum project size: $50,000+
- Key services: Custom software development, mobile app development, IT strategy consulting, AI development, and enterprise platforms.
- Best use cases: Large-scale platforms, regulated industries.
- Clutch rating: 4.9 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
4. Clockwork
A consultancy that blends strategy, UX, and engineering. The agency often steps in when organizations need strategic clarity before committing to building their digital offering.
- Location: Minneapolis, USA
- Years in industry: 23+
- Minimum project size: $75,000+
- Key services: Digital strategy, UX design, custom software development, web design, mobile app development.
- Best use cases: Mid-market digital transformation.
- Clutch rating: 5.0 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
5. Supercharge
A product-focused consultancy with a strong track record in mobile and emerging tech, especially where speed-to-market matters.
- Location: London, UK
- Years in industry: 15+
- Minimum project size: $50,000+
- Key services: Digital product consulting, mobile apps, UX/UI design, AI development, web design.
- Best use cases: Healthtech, fintech, startups scaling fast.
- Clutch rating: 4.8 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
6. Dotlogics
A digital consultancy that combines business thinking with strong UX and development execution for growth-focused brands.
- Location: Huntington, USA
- Years in industry: 17+
- Minimum project size: $25,000+
- Key services: Digital strategy, UX/UI, web platforms, branding.
- Best use cases: Marketing-led digital products.
- Clutch rating: 5.0 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
7. Urban Insight
Known for complex content-driven platforms, especially in education, culture, and public-sector digital ecosystems.
- Location: Los Angeles, USA
- Years in industry: 25+
- Minimum project size: $50,000+
- Key services: Digital strategy, UX, CMS consulting, web design and development.
- Best use cases: Museums, universities, public institutions.
- Clutch rating: 5.0 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
8. CyberOptik
A pragmatic digital consultancy focused on usability, performance, and long-term maintainability.
- Location: Elmhurst, USA
- Years in industry: 23+
- Minimum project size: $1,000+
- Key services: UX consulting, digital strategy, search engine optimization (SEO), web development.
- Best use cases: B2B platforms, professional services.
- Clutch rating: 4.9 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
9. Fuzzy Math
A UX-first consulting firm that lives deep in research, systems thinking, and design rigor.
- Location: Chicago, USA
- Years in industry: 15+
- Minimum project size: $25,000+
- Key services: UX strategy, research, product design, AI consulting.
- Best use cases: Enterprise UX transformation.
- Clutch rating: 4.9 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
10. Imarc
A digital consultancy built around clarity, structure, and execution. This team is often hired when organizations outgrow their current platforms.
- Location: Boston, USA
- Years in industry: 28+
- Minimum project size: $75,000+
- Key services: Digital strategy, AI development, UX design, web design and development.
- Best use cases: B2B, higher education, healthcare.
- Clutch rating: 4.8 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
11. Culture Foundry
A consultancy that excels at complex digital ecosystems where content, governance, and UX intersect.
- Location: Seattle, USA
- Years in industry: 15+
- Minimum project size: $25,000+
- Key services: Digital consulting, UX, CMS platforms, web design and development, conversion optimization.
- Best use cases: Enterprises with content-heavy platforms.
- Clutch rating: 5.0 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
12. Wunderdogs
A brand-led digital consultancy that brings sharp positioning and product storytelling into digital strategy.
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Years in industry: 8+
- Minimum project size: $25,000+
- Key services: Brand strategy, digital consulting, UX design, content marketing, graphic design.
- Best use cases: Startups, brand-driven digital launches.
- Clutch rating: 4.9 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
13. Taoti Creative
A digital consultancy blending strategy, design, and technology for organizations with complex stakeholder needs.
- Location: Washington, DC, USA
- Years in industry: 15+
- Minimum project size: $25,000+
- Key services: Digital strategy, UX, development, advertising, content marketing, web development.
- Best use cases: Nonprofits, associations, public sector.
- Clutch rating: 4.9 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
14. Momentum
A Salesforce-centric digital consultancy focused on aligning CRM platforms with real business workflows.
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Years in industry: 9+
- Minimum project size: $50,000+
- Key services: Digital consulting, CRM strategy, IT strategy consulting, AI development.
- Best use cases: Salesforce-driven organizations
- Clutch rating: 4.9 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
15. Visceral
A purpose-driven digital consultancy specializing in emotionally resonant, mission-focused platforms.
- Location: San Diego, USA
- Years in industry: 19+
- Minimum project size: $25,000+
- Key services: Digital strategy, UX, storytelling, web design and development, logo design, SEO, branding.
- Best use cases: Nonprofits, social impact organizations.
- Clutch rating: 5.0 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
16. Emote Digital
An Australian digital consultancy combining performance marketing insight with product and platform strategy.
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Years in industry: 24+
- Minimum project size: $1,000+
- Key services: Digital consulting, UX, web design and development, social media marketing (SMM).
- Best use cases: Growth-focused mid-market brands
- Clutch rating: 4.7 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
17. 97 Switch
A consultancy known for clean execution, strong UX fundamentals, and long-term collaboration.
- Location: Chicago, USA
- Years in industry: 12+
- Minimum project size: $10,000+
- Key services: Digital consulting, UX/UI, web design, branding, SEO.
- Best use cases: B2B platforms, professional services.
- Clutch rating: 5.0 ⭐
🔎 Explore the agency’s portfolio.
Who should hire which digital consulting firm?
By now, you’ve seen that these firms don’t all solve the same problems even if they sound similar. Some lead with AI and product strategy, whereas others showcase mastery in market research.
Instead of comparing agencies one by one, use the table below as your decision support system. Start from your situation first. That’s how good partnerships are sealed.
Here’s how to use this table:
- Identify your primary challenge, aka primary need: left column.
- Scan the recommended firms: don’t aim for quantity, aim for fit.
- Notice repeat appearances: if one agency shows up multiple times, it signals alignment with your situation.
Make the right call early
What does all this tell you?
Let’s put it this way. While most agencies are excellent at doing work, very few know how to prevent the wrong work.
If your challenge spans AI, product strategy, UX risk, or complex systems, Lazarev.agency appears repeatedly for a reason. It combines strategic depth with execution literacy across multiple scenarios.
If this article surfaced even one uncomfortable “that sounds familiar” moment, don’t ignore it. Get in touch and let’s pressure-test your product direction before the next sprint locks it in.
.webp)
.avif)
.avif)
