Strategic advice needs a different operating model. An Amazon agency decides to
By Simon Ellicott · October 14, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Strategic advice needs a different operating model.
An Amazon agency decides to become more strategic.
It updates the website.
Adds strategy to the proposal.
Asks account managers to bring more recommendations to client calls.
But the account load stays the same.
The fee stays the same, senior input remains ad hoc, and the client still shares little beyond Amazon performance data.
Where is the strategic work supposed to happen?
A client asks whether they should increase advertising spend, the account manager can assess campaign performance ...
But a commercial recommendation may also depend on product margin, available stock, replenishment lead times, cash and priorities across other channels.
Without that context, the advice has limits.
Even with the right information, someone needs the experience and time to interpret it, and access to the people who can act on it.
That is why moving towards strategic consultancy requires more than asking the team to think harder.
It requires choices about how the relationship works.
Who owns the commercial diagnosis?
What information must the client provide?
Which decisions need senior involvement?
When is time protected for analysis?
How are recommendations challenged and agreed?
Does the fee fund that level of engagement?
These are service-design decisions, they belong in qualification, scope, pricing and delivery.
A strategic relationship also asks more of the client.
If they want advice on profitability, they need to share the relevant economics.
If they want direction, the people setting priorities need to participate.
If they want challenge, there needs to be room for a recommendation they did not expect.
Dependable functional account management remains valuable.
But promising senior commercial advice creates a different obligation.
It cannot depend on the founder joining a difficult call or someone finding spare time between operational tasks.
If your agency sells strategy, where does that work sit in the calendar, the fee and the client relationship?