Getting Your Fair Share

For Professional Service Providers

Agenda

How Clients Buy?How Clients Buy?

PositioningPositioning

DifferentiationDifferentiation

Marketing Professional Service FirmsMarketing Professional Service Firms

How Clients Buy?How Clients Buy?

How Clients Buy

Professional services are purchased as a result of the providing firm’s:• Reputation

• Business relationships

Thus reputation and business relationships are the key enablers of professional service purchases.

Thus reputation and business relationships are the key enablers of professional service purchases.

PositioningPositioning

Positioning

Positioning is the specific idea that comes to mind when people think of a company, product or service.

For example if I say:• Rolex – Class• Volvo – Safety• Arthur Andersen – ?

Positioning is important, because besides being a key enabler, a good reputation is a “position”.Positioning is important, because besides being a key enabler, a good reputation is a “position”.

Positioning

Positioning is determined by the messages communicated to the public.

Any message, intentional or not, can affect positioning.

Positioning

Positioning professional service firms tends to be difficult because they:• Bring value that is often intangible and thus difficult to

prove

• Bring value that is often complicated to communicate

• Target more sophisticated markets

• Have services and offerings similar to that of many competitors

How to Build a Professional Service Firm’s Reputation

Exhibit the firm’s knowledge and expertise publicly and often.

Leverage positive customer and expert testimonials as much as possible.

DifferentiationDifferentiation

Differentiation

There are multiple ways to differentiate a professional services firm.

Successful firms tend to differentiate themselves in more than one way.

Convenience

Business Referrals

ExpertiseServices

Specialization

Specialization is powerful because it communicates a level of skill or knowledge not associated with general competitors.

Specialization can be in nearly any area a client might seek:• Market segment (Energy, Telecom, Biotech)

• Specific service (Security Audit, IT Audit, Sarbanes Compliance, Commercial Litigation)

• Type of service (UNIX, Novell, Mergers & Acquisitions, Governmental Accounting)

Services

Professional service providers often attempt to differentiate themselves by adding unique services.

This is most effective when designed around unique market knowledge and/or specific business relationships.

Innovation

Professional service providers using innovation as a differentiator add intellectual property or a tangible product to their services so as to offer unique value.

Innovation is extremely powerful when it adds value that cannot easily be duplicated.

Client-Focus

Client-focus is overall the most powerful differentiator available.

Professional service providers differentiate themselves based on client focus by continuously helping clients reach their goals – even when it brings no revenues to the firm.

“… superior marketing and selling occur when the buyer is better off because of the experience, regardless of whether the seller ever makes a sale.”

Larry Smith, Inside Outside

“… superior marketing and selling occur when the buyer is better off because of the experience, regardless of whether the seller ever makes a sale.”

Larry Smith, Inside Outside

Client-Focus

Examples of the way professional service providers might help clients include:• Providing Leads

• Providing Contacts

• Making Introductions

• Acting as an Advocate

• Business Consulting

Marketing Professional Service Firms

Marketing Professional Service Firms

Ask Me About The Give Away!Ask Me About The Give Away!

Marketing Professional Service Firms

Things to know about professional services marketing:• Reputation and business relationships are everything

• Traditional branding techniques generate low ROI unless they also build the firm’s reputation

• No one buys a $21,000 accounting service because of an advertisement

• Marketing should be focused on generating leads, not closing sales

• Clients tend to hire people not firms

Integrated Marketing

Effective marketing programs utilize multiple outreach methods. This allows each method to reinforce the others

Public Relations

Public Relations

Direct Marketing

Direct Marketing

Referral MarketingReferral

Marketing AdvertisingAdvertising

A marketing program for professional service firms nearly always includes

A marketing program for professional service firms nearly always includes

A marketing program for professional service firms often includes

A marketing program for professional service firms often includes

Advertising

Use broadly focused advertising when:• To promote events,

people or things

• The firm has a consumer practice

• The firm is in transition

Tightly focused advertising such as Google AdWords are good but depend on the type of services being offered.

Public Relations

Educational articles and seminars positioning people within the company as experts in specific areas should be placed. This will help build the firm’s reputation.

Articles and seminars should include an offer for a related educational piece only available by accessing a website.

Direct Marketing

Educational mails and emails positioning people within the company as experts in specific areas, should be sent out on a routine basis. This will help build the firm’s reputation.

Mail and emails should include an offer for a related educational piece only available by accessing a website.

Attorneys note, expertise can be promoted WITHOUT violating the Texas state bar’s canon of ethics.

Attorneys note, expertise can be promoted WITHOUT violating the Texas state bar’s canon of ethics.

Referral Marketing

Implement a systematic approach to leveraging business relationships at a firm level:

• Teach staff how to network for referrals effectively

• Establish monthly targets for the number of business relationships that must be developed by each staff member

• Review relationships every month. Determine how the firm can help them, and how they can help the firm. Provide help, and ask for help

Thank YouQuestions?

Next Steps

1. Develop a marketing plan. It can be SIMPLE but should contain:• The desired position

• The message that will be communicated to build that position

• The specific marketing activities used to communicate the message

2. Execute the plan

3. Track what works and what doesn’t

4. Based on #3 adjust plan

5. Back to #2