Promoting a professional services firm is one of the most difficult challenges in marketing. Whether you're selling legal services, marketing services, accounting, IT, insurance, benefits, payroll or consulting, it can be tough to create a marketing strategy that differentiates your company from everyone else who does what you do.
Here's the usual approach: "We have great capabilities and we deliver great service." No offense, but you must do these things or you wouldn't still be in business. Plus, all your competitors are going to say the same thing.
Is that really what makes you stand out? Is that the real reason clients choose you over your competitors? I think not. In my experience as a marketing consultant, I have come to the conclusion that professional services firms can skip over most of the blather about what they do and how responsive they are.
The real value professional services firms sell is their expertise and their ability to use that expertise to solve clients' problems. Here's how to create a smart marketing strategy by selling your smarts.
Set your firm apart by showcasing what you know. The knowledge you bring to whatever problems you solve for clients is what makes your professional services firm different from everyone else's. You've acquired that knowledge through your education and experience, which is uniquely yours. You want to build a marketing strategy around the value of your intellectual capital.
