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Squirrels, shame, ski jumps and advice for leaders at professional services firms
When Colin Powell was national security adviser in the Reagan Whitehouse, he met regularly with President Reagan. During one meeting Powell was sharing a significant national security problem that had the military, the State Department and Congress up in arms. As...
Have you set ambitious growth priorities for your firm? I suspect that you have, but are your sure that you have laid a strong foundations for their success? Several weeks ago, I wrote a blog post on the fallacy of professional services productization. The piece...
The Delusion of Managing a Professional Services Brand
Can you really manage a professional services brand? Sure, you can choose a positioning, manage brand architecture somewhat, write a great tagline and boilerplate and control the visual identity, but those things really aren’t what professional services brands are...
Are Your Industry Experts Competent?
Jeff here. Does your firm have an industry program? Most firms would answer affirmatively, but do they really have an effective and sustainable approach? I began my professional services marketing career at Arthur Andersen and led marketing for one of the firm’s...
Brand Architecture in Professional Services: Curing “I-didn’t-know-you-did-thatitis.”
Why do your clients buy services you offer from other firms? It happens time and time again. You learn through the grapevine or through a loyal client that another client has just chosen a competitor for a service that you provide. When you ask your client why he...
Pope Francis’ Message for Leaders of Professional Services Firms
Some might say that it wouldn’t be prudent to mix business and religion. I’d argue the opposite. On March 13, the Roman Catholic Church elected a new leader: Pope Francis. From the start, he has created quite a stir. As a Catholic, I have a vested interest in his new...
The Fallacy of Professional Services Productization
Next to cross-selling, “productization” (or the act of turning a successful engagement into a commercial product) is the holy grail of professional services firms. Productization allows firms to package repetitive processes, achieve scale, increase profitability, and...
Professional Services Brands and the Tiffany Blue Box
How many times has your firm rebranded? Maybe a downturn in business or the arrival of a new marketer has signaled to someone that it’s time for a new visual identity: new colors, a new logo, a new tagline. If you’ve been around for a while, you have probably traveled...
What is the “Optimal” Marketing Organization?
What is the "optimal" marketing organization? is a question that I get asked very often. It is a great question, but it misses a bigger issue. Marketing in professional service firms can be MESSY. Marketing departments are tossed hither and yon as firms wrestle with...
Why your marketer doesn’t “understand” your firm’s business.
I often hear partners and practice leaders complain: “Marketing doesn’t understand our business!” The first time I heard this, I thought it quite a remarkable comment. I wondered how people charged with identifying new markets, reaching new clients, launching new...
Are you squandering your business development investment?: A Muzeview podcast interview with Chris Aitken and Jeff McKay
Firms focused solely on lead generation risk squandering their marketing investment and sub-optimizing their business development efforts. Paul Gladen, President & CEO of Muzeview, leads a thoughtful discussion with Chris Aitken of Muzeview and Jeff McKay of...
Lead Nurturing: Professional Services Marketing Priority
Content marketing and its supporting platforms represent a fundamental shift in professional services marketing from a traditional “branding” focus to a new priority: lead nurturing. Lead nurturing is the process of building relationships with qualified prospects...