Keeping Your Message Straight: The Three Levels of Your Professional Services Marketing Message

 By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Over the last couple of weeks we have had the opportunity to discuss branding and marketing messaging with several professional services management teams. I was again struck by how so many firms struggle with their messaging and how to convey it to others in the firm. Besides the confusion and inconsistency this generates within a firm, it also makes it harder for the marketing team to maintain a disciplined message in the marketplace.

In trying to clarify the hierarchy of messaging for several management teams I found myself using a simple model that helped clarify the issue. It also puts the routine documents that one might use to capture your branding and messaging strategy in context. I’m sharing my model here in case you find it useful.

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Launching a Brand New Brand: 5 Steps That Will Make It Better

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

You are starting a new firm from scratch.  Or perhaps you are launching a new product or service with its own distinct identity.  What exactly does it take to get your brand new brand right?

It’s a good question and not a small challenge.  With so many options available, it’s sometimes hard to know where to begin. You face the tyranny of a blank sheet of paper.

The natural inclination is to start making decisions about the brand name, the logo or the look and feel of the website.  Stop.  Step back and focus on these five steps first.

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What You Say Matters More Than What You Do

By Aaron Taylor

Behind every successful business is a seduction of words. Without the persuasive powers of carefully-chosen words nobody would even know about your firm or buy your services. I would even argue that the words we choose — the messages we craft — matter more than services we perform.

You see, most professional services firms are extraordinarily difficult to differentiate from their competitors. That’s because meaningful differences between most firms in the same industry are difficult to find, if they exist at all. In fact, most professional services are commodities — until they are elevated to a higher plane and endowed with greater significance … using words.

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Hand to Mouth Marketing

By Lee W. Fredericksen, Ph.D.

Every once in a while you come across a phrase that really captures the essence of what a business situation is all about.  “Bootstrap Financing” or “Gorilla Marketing” are a couple of examples that come to mind.  I just heard a new one that I can’t resist sharing.

It’s “hand to mouth marketing.”  When I heard it from my son Nathan, I asked him where he had first heard it.  He responded that he had “just made it up” to describe the story I had been regaling him with. Of course, I immediately told him that I was stealing it. (So if you’ve heard the term somewhere else, Nathan, you are so busted.)

Here is the story that defines the term.  I had just received a call from a prospect that had just awarded us a major rebranding project.  It was notable for a couple of reasons.

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Thought Leadership?

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Here’s a sobering true story.

A well respected government contractor offered a well attended series of seminars showcasing their thought leadership. They received rave reviews from attendees, who left the seminars with a lot of enthusiasm and ideas. However, when we spoke to attendees later, many were surprised to learn that the firm that put on the seminars actually provided those services.

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