The M-Word

It was a real eye-opener to hear the perceptions people have about what it means to market professional services, as well as the anxiety the "m-word" (marketing) conjures up. It reminded me that, just because professional service providers have a lot of expertise in their chosen field, it doesn't mean they have the same level of understanding about the business of growing a practice.

As a matter of fact, expertise can get in the way of being a good marketer. As a highly-trained professional, it's easy and natural to communicate about what you know and how you do it. But it falls on deaf ears and glazed-over eyes when you use words, images, and language that are about your expertise, not about the problems you solve for your target audience.

What Marketing Professional Services Is Not

The most common misperception is that marketing is about wowing prospects with your expertise using slick brochures, advertising, websites, logos, press releases, flyers, networking, and "communications programs." You are wasting your firm's time and money if your approach to marketing starts and stops here. Why? Because unless you've clearly nailed (and tested!) your message to intended clients, investing prematurely in these things will only accelerate how much you'll confuse them!

Logos, brochures, websites, and ads are mere tools that help you communicate your message in a way that builds and sustains relationships with your target market. The expensive and frustrating mistake I see professional service firms make over and over again is that they jump to develop the tools of marketing before they've clearly identified the right things to say, to the right audience, with the right timing, in the right combination of ways, using the right tools.

It's actually a bit more complicated than that, since each of these tools should be thought of as a strategy (i.e., your online strategy, your networking and referral strategy, your direct mail strategy, your PR strategy). All of these strategies, then, get woven together in a sequence and combination -- an integrated system -- that makes sense for your firm and your market, based on your business objectives and your resources. More on that later, but first, let's look at what marketing your professional services really is.

Marketing Professional Services IS...

...all about building trust. Getting people to buy your expertise as a professional service provider is an intangible sale. As sales guru Harry Beckwith says, it's "selling the invisible." Sure, you may have "consulting services" or "IT services" or "financial planning services" that seem pretty tangible to you. But for your intended client, it's about trusting that your firm is their best choice -- out of all others offering the same service (so it seems from your client's perspective!) -- for solving their problems. Period.

So how do you do this? Through a 2-phased approach to creating a "system of strategies" that reaches out to, learns from, and educates your target audience. Do it right, and you'll create a buzz that attracts more clients to your firm than you ever thought possible. For specific tips on what to consider in building your firm's system of marketing strategies, keep reading...

Here's what you need to consider before you spend another dime on brochures, business cards, a website, or flyer (ditto for the time you spend networking or giving talks -- these tips apply to any method of communication, written or verbal!).

Think of this in two phases: Phase 1 is about building the case for your intended clients to trust you, as a basis for deciding that your firm is the best one to solve their problems. Phase 2 is about building relationships through the strategies that makes sense for your firm, given your unique goals, needs, resources, etc. This month, you'll get tips on Phase 1...next month, we'll look at Phase 2.

During Phase 1, you must...

* be crystal clear about who your intended client is and is not. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, the more niched your services are, the easier it is to communicate with them in specific ways, and the faster you'll attract clients. If you try to sell your services to "small business" or "homeowners," guess what...so are a lot your competitors. Look different through your clients' eyes by defining your unique niche. Linda Falkenstein's "Nichecraft" is a great book to learn more, also available on our website, under Books.

* develop language to talk or write about your firm that focuses on your intended clients' problems, not your services, or worse, the processes you use. This solution-based language is the foundation for any packaging and promotion you do verbally (i.e., during sales meetings, telephone calls, networking events) and in writing (i.e., online through your website and newsletter; offline through brochures, direct mail, etc.).

* for every single encounter you have with your target market (i.e., through your written materials, online, in person), answer the questions "where is the reader or listener's head right now? what's in it for them to pay attention to us? what is their burning problem right now that we can help resolve?"

* develop a core "solution statement" that tells who you serve and the problem you solve. This becomes the "magnetic north" of your marketing strategy. For example, ours is "TurningPointe Marketing helps professional service firms attract more clients, stabilize their business, and take their practice to the next level." Whether it's at a networking event, on my website, this core statement drives everything we do and keeps us focused.

Whether it's in a letter of introduction, how we introduce ourselves, who we do and do not consider a prospect, where we spend our time, it's all about helping professional service firms grow their business. By the way, this core statement usually gets an "interesting...how do you do that?" response, which gets the conversation going. Notice we don't say "We do marketing strategy." That more typical response is about us, not them, and does nothing to invite further dialog.

* articulate and demonstrate your "case" for why intended clients should trust you. This is done through articles and talks that share your expertise, case studies illustrating your results with clients, third-party recognition in the press, awards, testimonials, and so on. These things become the building blocks for strategies you'll use in Phase 2.

* "productize," package, and price your services in ways that make it easy for your intended clients to buy from you. High-end consulting services is only one way to work with big companies. What other smaller, less expensive, short-sales-cycle offers can you make?

Next month, we'll look at what's involved in Phase 2 of your "system of strategies" to market your professional services. Remember, the key is to see marketing professional services as a relationship-building process, not tactics, that begins with a client-centric mastery of how you communicate with your target audience. Like any solid relationship that lasts, your relationship with intended and current clients must be based on trust. Start with that objective in mind, and the m-word you'll start to enjoy is "more" in the form of more clients, more results, and more return on your marketing dollars.

© 2003 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. We encourage sharing and publication of Your Monthly TurningPointe in whole or in part if copyright and attribution, including live web site link and email link, are always included. Please let us know where and when it will appear. Thank you!

(c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.
Marketing educator, Kelly O'Brien, is creator of the "Create a
TurningPointe!" Marketing Bootcamp. To learn more about this step-by-step
program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and 20-page marketing
guide, visit http://www.turningpointemarketing.com

---

Behold the Power of the Tip

You are an expert. You have lots of content -... Read More

The Seven Keys to Marketing Genius: The Complete Guide to Increasing Your Marketing IQ

How smart is your marketing? Do you follow the crowd... Read More

CRM Star Wars: When Marketing is from Venus and IT is from Mars

Inherent tensions exist between marketing and IT. This is often... Read More

The M-Word

It was a real eye-opener to hear the perceptions people... Read More

10 Packaging Tips That Will Make Consumers Buy Your Product

The customer is king/queen. We have all heard this mantra.... Read More

Read Your Markets Mind - 3 Great Market Research Resources

Starting a new online business, developing a new product, launching... Read More

How Price Gouging Can Hurt Your Business

"Price gouging" is an emotional, inflammatory term. Everyone is against... Read More

The 4 P s of Marketing: Effective Marketing Programs Depend On Them

There is no shortage of marketing programs, many with great... Read More

Online Communities - A Marketers Wildest Dream and Worst Nightmare!

Online Communities are all over the Internet and attract lots... Read More

Increase Your Response with Multi-Step Marketing

"There is only one way to judge the effectiveness of... Read More

Seven Secrets For Building Customer Loyalty In Your Restaurant

Imagine how much your sales and profits would increase if... Read More

Do You Have This Important Tool in Your Marketing Arsenal?

Many business owners do not understand the authenticity and validation... Read More

The Beginners Mail Order Business Guide

No claim is made that the steps outlined would be... Read More

Mortgage Marketing - How to Find Your Niche

Ann Landers, Dr. Phil and Roger Ebert take pleasure in... Read More

How to Measure the Benefit Your Product or Service Offers

Measuring the benefit of your product or service means putting... Read More

Business Marketing Strategies

For many small business managers, finding the time and commitment... Read More

Market Your Identity

One of the most critical but overlooked parts of business... Read More

Slogans: Creating and Using Them In Life, Career and Business

Information is coming at us from all directions nowadays. This... Read More

Using Demographic Data For Your Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

Targeting high potential markets with a direct mail marketing campaign... Read More

Marketing Hesitation Costs Dearly

Timing is everything. Hate to be late? The early bird... Read More

How To Create Urgency So People Buy Now

..products or services now. They may not revisit your web... Read More

Web Site Marketing: 10 Little Known Upsell Strategies That Will Magnify Your Profits

What is Upselling?It means pre-selling any additional features of your... Read More

8 Ways to Fill a Workshop in a Bum Economy

Yes, you can fill a workshop when spending is down... Read More

How to Avoid Giving Away Free Consulting

After spending 30 minutes in a coffee shop with a... Read More

Six Ways To Attract New Customers To Your Restaurant

Without new business, your restaurant won't be able to grow.... Read More

Increase New Customer Traffic to Your Business

One person tells another, who tells another, who tells another... Read More

Gaining Business Intelligence

A white paper on how companies should analyse customer data... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Hurricane

I step outside my back door and look at some... Read More

Sell Big Ticket Items Now! - 1 Simple Step To Keep Your Fears From Holding YOU Back

First, some background on today's topic. I've had a terrible... Read More

Big Money With Folios

One of the easiest, if not the easiest, ways of... Read More

Moving a Business Relationship from Free to Fee: Power of Freebies - Part 2

In the last issue we looked at 5 reasons why... Read More

Getting Ideas for Your Postcards

If you're going to do postcard marketing on an ongoing... Read More

What Are People Buying Online?

Benefits, that's what!Whether you're selling in print or in person,... Read More