How Much Should a Professional Services Firm Spend on Marketing?
This is one of the most popular questions asked among practice leaders and marketers in professional services. An agency colleague told me recently that the correct answer from most marketers is always “more.” Yet, most partners and busines…
Stupid Sh*t Professional Services Marketing Should Not Do
If you’re a practice leader or partner, you’ve probably received your sales “number” for this year. Your primary goal is hitting it. If you want your marketing team to improve your chances of hitting it, then stop asking them to do stupid s…
How Professional Services Firms Can Evaluate Marketing Budgets
As firms divvy up budgets for next year, I thought it a good time to share a framework that firms and practices to evaluate and prioritize marketing programs before money starts flying around.
Don’t Make This Big Mistake With Your Brand Values: Branding Mistake No. 11
Many firms don’t formally define values until an agency tells them during a branding initiative that it is important to articulate “brand values.” Of course, all agencies have some methodology to facilitate brand values discussions and build consensus (See...How to Avoid Mismanaging Personal Brands: Branding Mistake No. 21
You can tell a lot about a firm when the topic of “personal brands” comes up. Among intelligent, driven people, discussions about personal brands can get a little heated. There are firms that quash personal brands and firms that buy them as a growth...The 3-in-1 Drivers of Brand Preference
Attributes that drive brand preference are akin to biblical laws. The Old Testament laws numbered 613. When Jesus was asked which of the laws was most important, he consolidated them all down to one; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul...How to Make Smart Decisions in a Professional Services Matrix
Making smart growth decisions in a professional services culture can be difficult, even more so with a complex matrix structure. Confusion often reigns in firms about who makes decisions that affect a firm’s growth. Is it the leadership team, practices,...Marketing Strategy or Marketing Calendar: How to Tell the Difference
As firms finalize accounting of last year’s performance, sort through bonuses and deliver employee reviews, partners are turning their sights to this year’s revenue bogey. Many are wondering where the revenue is going to come from and turning to their marketing...The Unnatural Act of Cross-selling Professional Services
by Jeff McKay and Ted Harro The whiz kids from your expensive strategy consultant will often tell you that cross-selling is the solution to a professional services firm’s growth challenges. “If clients like and trust your tax, they will like your IT...When It’s Time to Reinvent the Firm
At some point, the capability, service or consulting model that built your brand becomes commoditized, trite or simply out of fashion in the business world. You have stopped growing and redesigning your logo isn’t going to fix it. It happened to actuaries at the HR...What is Marketing’s Role?: 2 Schools of Thought on Professional Services Marketing
What is Marketing’s Role in Your Firm? Every year about this time cyclists ramp up an enduring argument. If you are a cyclist, you know where I am going; it’s the great base-building debate. There are two schools of thought. The first is traditional, laid...About the Author
Listen to Latest Podcast Episodes
- Loving Your Clients with Fred Reichheld, Bain Fellow and Creator of Net Promoter
- Strong POV, Strong Partners, Strong Growth with Michael Burton, CEO of Stitch
- Breaking Through Growth Ceilings with Dev Patnaik, CEO of Jump Associates
- Brand Breakdown – Clarkston Consulting
- Selecting Your Ideal Client In 5 Steps
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