If you aspire to be a Visible Expert^®, you will enjoy greater success if you are known as both a writer and a speaker. Public speaking often gets easier with time and experience. But writing—at least good, thoughtful writing—can feel like a painful chore even after decades of experience.

Luckily, all that’s changed. Thanks to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot, your writer self gets to retire to Florida. (Which pool floatie will it choose today?) All those ideas that stubbornly won’t shake loose from your coconut, all those words that spill onto the page like old, crystallized honey, all that editing and rewriting, all that frustration… has vanished.

The word robots are here to save the day.

Everything in the previous two paragraphs, of course, is nonsense. The word robots are ingenious machines that love to do your bidding. And they are amazing at a lot of tasks. But ask them to draft an original blog post that doesn’t read like a cardboard box, and you’ll likely feel that old frustration on the rise again.

No bot is you. You can feed your chatbots examples of your work for style and a detailed outline for ideas and structure. But in the end, the output is, well, awkward. You’ll see all the AI tells: bullet points, bolded terms, cliches, mixed metaphors and those weird, clumsy phrases that would never have come from your fingertips. The problem is them, not you.

Bots don’t have your years of experience. They don’t know what will and won’t play with your audience. And they aren’t creative thinkers. Only you have the bottle of special sauce.

There’s nothing like engaging with the material as it forms from your head. Like clay figures, the ideas and imagery appear a little disturbing and misshapen at first. But with some tweaking here, some carving there, some burnishing here, the piece comes to life. Out of nothing appears a well-articulated idea or well-defended position!

Now, what if all this writing craft isn’t for you? What if you don’t have the time to play Geppetto once or twice a month?

Assuming you are an expert with your own ideas and a point of view, there is another approach. One that has a long history of success. You can hire a ghostwriter.

I know what you are thinking. How is a ghostwriter different from ChatGPT? They don’t have your bottle of special sauce, either.

The answer has three parts:

1. They are human like you.
2. They (presumably) can write interesting copy.
3. They can ask probing questions along the way.

You can spend a half hour briefing your writer—what you want to say, what facts you want to use to support it—and let them go off and do the hard work. Then the collaboration begins to produce a piece that presents your point of view and sounds reasonably like your voice.

A freelance professional writer isn’t cheap. Expect to pay $80 to $150 per hour for a good one. Many firms that value thought leadership will cover the cost. The benefits of Visible Expertise make it all worthwhile.

To many AI evangelists, what I’ve written will be dismissed with an eye-roll emoji. “What a Luddite!” And if I didn’t believe AI tools can play a pivotal role in writing, they would be right. In fact, AI is an exceptional tool to help writers be more productive. AI can help you come up with ideas, support them with evidence and check your work. It can be used to test your argument and strengthen your case. It can even draft short, specific passages of text—just be prepared to revise them.*

In the end, AI is a tool. A powerful tool. Like your computer. And your brain. Only don’t forget to keep using that last one.

*I’m speaking specifically here about thought leadership content like blog posts and articles. AI can produce insightful long-format pieces, such as reports and analyses, when presenting an individual point of view and style is less important.

The post Is AI the Write Answer for You? appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

However, not all marketing plans perform alike. A marketing planning process that works well for consumer products, industrial goods, or not-for-profits is not well suited for professional services organizations. Buyers of professional services have unique characteristics and behaviors that demand a particular approach. What’s more, most professional services are expensive, so buyers take a much longer, more deliberate approach to selecting a firm.

With these issues in mind, let’s take a look at what it takes to put together an effective marketing plan specifically for a professional services firm like yours.

Of course, there’s more to a marketing plan than a list of ideas to promote your firm. You need to follow a specific process—one that produces a plan tailored to your needs and your team’s talents and limitations.

Before we get into that process, however, let’s clarify a few key marketing planning concepts for professional services.

Marketing Planning Process Defined

A marketing planning process is a systematic approach to developing marketing goals, strategies, and implementation tactics. It may be adapted to a wide variety of situations, from the launch of a new firm or practice area to the repositioning of an existing firm—and, of course, the planning of a firm’s ongoing marketing program.

Depending on your specific situation, certain phases of the process may be more or less important. For example, when launching a new practice area, it’s prudent to focus on its strategic components. This is sometimes referred to as developing a go-to-market strategy. 

If you are repositioning your firm in the marketplace, often as part of a larger rebranding initiative, you will likely need to determine both your strategy and what tactics will be needed to increase the visibility of your new brand.

Most firms update their marketing plan and marketing budget once a year, spending the majority of their time evaluating current performance and adjusting tactics. While they may take a look at the bigger picture, few firms retool their entire marketing strategy each year.

Why Marketing Planning is Important

How important is marketing planning for professional services? Some would make the case that marketing planning, and indeed any marketing, is a waste of time and resources. They would argue that professional services marketing is based entirely on referrals, personal contacts and repeat business. Marketing, therefore, is a non-essential activity, a “nice to have” when there is available money and time.

This view is held by some executives, usually in senior management positions, who have long histories in professional services. The only problem with this view is that the data doesn’t support it. In other words, it is wrong—and short sighted.

Two lines of research support the importance of marketing planning. The first is an ongoing study by the Hinge Research Institute into professional services buyers’ behavior.

This study shows that while referrals remain important, their significance has been in steady decline for a number of years. The research also shows that buyers value firms that can demonstrate superior relevant expertise over those with a strong referral. And importantly, the visibility of most professional services firms has waned over the years. So from the perspective of your buyers, the marketing process is more important than ever before—to differentiate you, raise your market profile and make the case for why your firm is a superior choice.

The second line of relevant research comes from our annual studies of the fastest growing and most profitable professional services firms. In this research series, we seek to answer the question, “What do the fastest growing firms do differently than their slower growing peers?”

We’ve learned that firms that don’t actively track marketing results, or that base their plans on older historical data, tend to grow more slowly and have lower profitability. Conversely, firms that track marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) and the return on investment (ROI) of their marketing activities are more likely to be in the high-growth (which we define as exhibiting 20% or greater compound annual top-line growth) and high-profit (25% or greater profitability) categories.

Advantages like these do not arrive by accident. If you want to enjoy superior growth and profitability, the marketing planning process is essential. Now let’s focus on the specific benefits of a systematic professional services marketing planning process.

Benefits of the Marketing Planning Process

It’s important to take a thoughtful, step-by-step approach to your marketing plan. When done right, marketing planning can yield a number of valuable benefits that can jumpstart your success:

1. Marketing planning encourages you to revisit old habits and assumptions. In a changing world, you have to be prepared to adapt—continuing to do things the way you’ve always done them is not a winning strategy. A good marketing plan should take you, to some degree, outside your comfort zone. As you develop each year’s plan, you’ll get in the habit of questioning everything you’ve done to date and why you thought it would work. Just because you’ve always done something a particular way doesn’t mean it still works.

2. It reduces risk by introducing new facts. The process of developing a marketing plan forces you to reexamine your marketplace, competition, target audience and value proposition. Conducting research on these areas reduces your risk because it compels you to evaluate your business model and marketing program before you commit time and money to them. According to our studies of professional services marketing, firms that conduct systematic research into their target audiences grow faster and are more profitable.

3. It provides accountability. Marketing planning forces your marketing and business development teams to set specific targets and measure their progress against those goals. In turn, management is accountable for providing enough resources to ensure the marketing plan has a reasonable chance to succeed.

4. It is proactive rather than reactive. Planning ahead puts you in control of your marketing so you can maximize its impact. However, it’s important to be agile enough to react to changing circumstances. Having a well-documented plan makes it easier to adjust it along the way.

5. It can become a competitive advantage. High-growth firms build differentiation into their marketing strategy. By giving some thought to what makes your firm unique, you should be able to develop compelling differentiators—one or more clear reasons to select your firm over an otherwise similar one.

The 7-Step Marketing Planning Process for Professional Services

There are many ways to approach marketing planning. After testing and developing plans for hundreds of firms, we have some strong opinions on the subject. Follow the seven steps below, and you will not only cover all your bases, you will uncover new opportunities to build engagement and visibility.

1. Understand the business situation your firm is facing. The purpose of marketing is to equip a firm to achieve its business goals. If you do not start with a clear understanding of those goals and any constraints that limit your ability to achieve them, you are less likely to succeed.

Look closely at the factors that affect your standing in the marketplace:

• Has an influx of new competitors slowed your growth?
• Is price sensitivity squeezing the margins on your existing services?
• Are you competing in a commoditized market?
• Are you poised to lose key players to retirement?

These are just a few of the key business drivers of marketing strategy.

Often, you can use a SWOT analysis to organize and evaluate your business drivers. Within this framework, observations about the firm or practice are categorized as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats. You want to do everything you can to root your planning process in reality. While that may seem obvious, many firms spend little time on their SWOT analysis, relying instead on personal beliefs and anecdotal experience.

There is a better way. Start conducting regular, systematic research into your marketplace. Firms that do this kind of research at least once a year grow faster and are more profitable.

Different types of research apply to different stages of the planning process. For example, opportunity research compares the viability of different markets or target audiences. Client or persona research helps you get a better understanding of your target clients and how they select a firm. When we assist clients with the planning process, we often combine several types of research into a comprehensive package we call brand research that can be applied throughout the planning process.

2. Research and understand your target clients. It’s rare to meet practicing professionals who do not believe that they fully understand their clients, their needs, and their priorities. Sadly, they are almost always wrong about some key element of their clients’ thinking, decision-making or real priorities, and they rarely understand how clients choose new providers.

For example, you may realize that your clients value you as a trusted advisor. What you may miss, however, is that almost no potential client goes looking for a trusted advisor. Instead, they are almost always looking for someone to solve a specific business problem.

If you understand that key distinction—and build your marketing plan accordingly—you will win more new clients, and then evolve into their trusted advisor. Remember this every time you see a competitor position their firm as trusted advisors. They’ve got things backward.

When you are doing research, focus on your best, most desirable client segments. Which ones do you want more of? This will help you isolate which important benefits you derive from them and equip you to find more clients like them. It will also help you learn where your clients get information and how they search for new providers. These insights will help you in subsequent steps.

3. Position your brand in the marketplace. Successful positioning rejects conformity. At its best, positioning elevates a brand above the fray so that people can’t help but take notice. The human brain instinctively looks for things that are different and unexpected. So a brand that stands in stark contrast to its competition will attract people’s attention and have a distinct advantage in the marketplace.

This starts with identifying what makes you different. These are called your differentiators, and they must pass three tests. Each must be:

• True— You can’t just make it up. You must be able to deliver upon your promise every day.
• Provable— Even if it is true, you must be able to prove it to a skeptical prospect.
• Relevant— If it is not important to a prospect during the firm selection process it will not help you win the new client.

Aim to uncover three to five good differentiators. If you have fewer than that, take heart. Sometimes one great differentiator may be enough.

Next, use your differentiators to write a focused, easy-to-understand positioning statement. This is a short paragraph that summarizes what your firm does, who it does it for, and why clients choose you over competitors. It positions you in the competitive market space and becomes the DNA of your brand.

Of course, you have to actually be different. Read over your positioning statement and make sure it actually separates you from your key competitors. At the same time, check that your most important points of differentiation are simple to understand. Prospective buyers should be able to describe how you are different in just a few words.

Each of your audiences (e.g., potential clients, referral sources, potential employees) is interested in different aspects of your firm. As a result, you may need to develop different messages for different audiences. Each of your messages should be consistent with your firm’s overall positioning, but they may focus on different benefits or address different objections. 

4. Define and refine your service offerings. Marketing and service innovation are inextricably intertwined. Often overlooked in the planning process, your service offerings can get stale. Evolving your services over time is how you develop and hone a competitive advantage.

As clients’ needs change, you may want to create entirely new services to address those needs. Your research may uncover issues clients are not even aware of yet, such as an impending regulatory change that might suggest a range of possible service offerings. Or you might change or automate part of your process to deliver more value at a lower cost with higher margins.

Whatever these service changes turn out to be, they should be driven by your business analysis and your research into clients and competitors.

5. Identify which marketing techniques you will be using. This starts with understanding your target audiences and how they consume information. Once you gain insight into how, where, and when your prospects look for information about their solving business problems, you can begin appearing in their preferred channels. It’s all about making your expertise more tangible and visible to your target audience. We call this Visible Expertise.

Achieving high-level visibility requires a balanced approach to marketing. Our research has shown that a roughly 50/50 blend of offline (traditional) and online (digital) techniques often works best.

In addition to balancing your marketing techniques, you’ll need to create content that addresses each level of the sales funnel—attracting prospects, engaging them and turning them into clients. To keep things as efficient as possible, you can use content in multiple ways. For example, content you develop for a webinar could be repurposed as blog posts, guest articles, and a conference presentation. This saves you a great deal of valuable time.

6. Identify the new tools, skills, and infrastructure you will need. New techniques often require new tools and infrastructure. Here are some of the most common:

• Website – Modern marketing begins with your website. Your strategy should tell you if you need a new website or if adjusting your current messaging or functionality will be sufficient.
• Marketing Collateral – You may need to revise your marketing collateral to reflect your new positioning and competitive advantage. Common examples of collateral include brochures, firm overview decks, one-sheet service descriptions, pitch decks and trade show materials.
• Marketing Automation – Software allows you to automate your marketing infrastructure. In fact, marketing automation tools can be a game-changer and essential to building a competitive edge.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)  – Online search has transformed marketing. Today, every firm that conducts content marketing needs a solid grasp of SEO fundamentals—from keyword research to on-site and off-site optimization.
• Social Media – You may need to create or update your firm’s social media profiles. And don’t forget to see if the profiles of your subject matter experts need a revision.
• Video – Common ways to use video include firm overviews, practice overviews, case stories, blog posts, and educational presentations. If your subject matter experts have limited time to devote to developing content, video may be an efficient way to use the time they have.
• Email – You’ll need a robust email service that allows you to track reader interactions and manage your list—it may even be built into your CRM or marketing automation software. Also, take a look at your email templates and decide if they need a refresh.
• Speaker Kits – If your strategy involves public speaking or partner marketing, you may also need to develop a speaker kit. A speaker kit provides everything an event planner might need to evaluate one of your team members for a speaking event: a bio, professional photo, sample speaking topics, a list of past speaking engagements and video clips.
• Proposal Templates – Proposals are often the last thing a prospect sees before selecting a firm, so make sure yours sends the right message. At the very least, make sure you’ve included language that conveys your new positioning and differentiators.

Don’t forget the skills you will need. Even the best strategy will accomplish little if you don’t fully implement it. Many leaders find it challenging to build a full marketing strategy that achieves just the right balance. And it can be even more challenging to keep teams trained and up-to-date on today’s ever-changing digital tools. That’s one reason the fastest-growing firms use more outside talent.

7. Document your operational schedule and budget. This is where your strategy gets translated into specific actions that you will take over time. Your written plan should include detailed timelines and deadlines so that you can measure your progress against them. Did a task happen as scheduled? Did it produce the expected results? These results will become the input for the next round of marketing planning.

You will need two key documents: a marketing calendar and a marketing budget. The marketing calendar should include every tactic you will use to implement your plan. It can cover the upcoming quarter or even the entire year. Begin by entering any events you know about, such as annual conferences and speaking events. Include regularly scheduled blog posts, emails, trade shows, webinars—everything in your plan. Recognize that you may need to adjust your calendar from time to time. The purpose is to establish consistency and predictability. Leave room for last-minute changes, but don’t get too far away from your plan and budget.

To build a budget, start with the tools and infrastructure we just mentioned. For recurring elements such as advertising, estimate the cost for a single instance then multiply by the frequency. Use benchmarks when available, and don’t forget to allow for contingencies, typically 5–10% of the overall budget.

Examples of Marketing Planning for Professional Services

To help you understand the marketing planning process in more detail, let’s look at each step in the process through the lens of two real-life firms. We’ve changed a few details to keep them anonymous, but in all other respects these stories capture the process in action.

The first story is about a small technology consulting firm that has grown through referrals from current and former clients. The second is about a large accounting firm with multiple practice areas and industry verticals. We’ll walk through each of the steps in the planning process to compare and contrast how planning is done at firms of different sizes.

Step 1: Understand your business situation

Our small technology firm has reached the limits of its referral base. Growth has slowed and they are not sure how to revive it. Their clients come from multiple industry sectors, with the highest concentration in manufacturing.

The large accounting firm has many audiences with little concentration in any industry. Its goal is to grow its advisory practice, as its traditional tax and accounting service lines are becoming progressively more commoditized.

Step 2: Research your target audience

Our small consulting firm is faced with a decision. Who should its target client be? To answer this question, its management team looked at their manufacturing clients and compared them to their other clients. After conducting brand research, they learned that the manufacturing segment was a better match with their experience and this segment valued their services more highly because of their industry experience and understanding.

Our large accounting firm sampled its advisory clients—which were their highest business priority—as well as clients from other segments. They learned that among clients that had used their advisory services they were highly regarded, but few clients were aware that the firm even offered this service.

Step 3: Position your brand

Our technology consulting firm had few differentiators. “We do great work” just wasn’t going to cut it. They made a decision to focus on their area of greatest strength and repositioned themselves as specialists in manufacturing firms. While they would continue to accept work from existing non-manufacturing clients, they would focus their marketing on this narrower target market.

The accounting firm decided to position itself primarily as an advisory firm that also supports their clients with tax, audit and other services. While this was a somewhat aspirational goal at the time, their business priority moving forward was to focus on selling advisory services to their existing tax clients. They would, with time, grow into their positioning.

Step 4: Define your service offerings

Our technology consulting firm realized that it would have to offer a broad range of services to the manufacturing community. Its research suggested that process automation was a service that was especially in demand by its clients. This required hiring a new staff member with that experience and skill set.

The accounting firm was already offering advisory services so did not feel a need to broaden their portfolio of services. What they did need was to cross train their existing tax professionals to pitch and deliver basic advisory services.

Step 5: Identify your marketing techniques

There are a wide variety of marketing techniques to choose from. The primary goal is to use the techniques that will get you in front of prospective clients where they are looking for business advice and insight. But where do you get this information? From your research.

Our small consulting firm is focused on techniques that help them be found during web searches. This involves producing valuable content that easily can be found online. The firm invested in search engine optimization (SEO) and paid digital advertising to make sure their valuable thought leadership would be discovered by people searching for this information on Google and other search engines. In addition, to build visibility among their key audience they also began attending two key manufacturing conferences.

The large accounting firm can afford to employ more marketing techniques. They are focused on developing more valuable educational content around advisory services. This content includes a series of webinars on issues that can be addressed with ongoing advisory services. The webinar series is accompanied by an executive guide that describes how to make best use of advisory services. These materials target existing tax clients and new prospects.

Step 6: Identify new tools, skills and infrastructure

The technology consulting firm needed several new tools. The website needed a total upgrade to reflect the firm’s new focus. And their marketing collateral and case studies had to be reconceived. In addition, they set up new SEO and digital marketing campaigns, as well.

The accounting firm required a training and skills development program to equip their team to cross sell and deliver services. They also needed new webinar infrastructure and training to facilitate the transition to this new marketing strategy. They would also need an advisory brochure to use in the selling process.

Step 7: Document your schedule and budget

In this step we consider the timing of your marketing efforts (your marketing calendar) and their cost (your marketing budget). Consider both one-time and ongoing costs separately.

Our technology firm laid out the one-time costs and estimated the time and budget needed for ongoing marketing efforts. As a small firm, its marketing expenses are higher as a percentage of revenue than at most larger firms. Also, since this was their first real marketing plan, there were also more set-up expenses than in organizations with established marketing functions.

Our large advisory-oriented accounting firm went through the same process. There were a number of one-time expenses to set up the infrastructure, train people and produce the needed content. After the initial materials were produced, however, the implementation expenses were much lower. Their marketing calendar laid out the schedule and the budget captured the costs.

These two examples show how professional services firms of different sizes can produce specific, actionable marketing plans using the seven step process. Now let’s turn our attention to some of the top marketing planning tips. These may help you solve common planning challenges.

Top Marketing Planning Tips for Professional Services

The planning process can be daunting. Here are a few tips to make it go more smoothly.

1. Start with a review of how the marketplace has changed since your last planning process. This will put needed changes into context and prepare your team to consider new ideas. For example, what marketing strategies have your competitors put into place and what new competitors, if any, have emerged? Have your sales and revenue changed? Have you introduced new services? Any change in your marketing environment requires a change in marketing plans.
2. Focus on the problems you solve and the value you can bring, not the services you provide. Remember, prospects will not care about you and what you have to offer until they realize the value you can provide them. That means focusing on what their problems are and how you can solve them. They’re not buying your services. They’re buying your solutions.
3. Always lead with research. Knowledge is power. The more you know about your market, your clients, your prospects and your competition, the better you can address them in your marketing plan. Research reduces risk. Invest in it and you won’t be sorry. But remember, professional services are different. Consumer-style research won’t work for B2B professional services.
4. Expertise wins new clients and attracts top talent. Potential clients don’t want to hire amateurs—they want to hire the best talent their money can buy. By making your expertise visible and compelling, you’ll ensure that prospects talk to you first. Also, the best employee talent wants to work for the top firms. If your firm is seen as true experts in its area, you’re more likely to attract the best employees, too.
5. Expertise is best conveyed by visibility and making complicated topics understandable. The more your firm’s experts are seen and heard—and the more prospects rely on their writing and speaking to understand the complex issues that affect them—the more new business you’ll attract.

We call these people Visible Experts^®, and our research shows that buyers seek them out when they have a specific problem or challenge that requires a solution fast.

6. Use proven marketing techniques. Once again, a little homework goes a long way. As discussed earlier, find out how prospects like to receive their information and then include those channels in your marketing plan. Don’t waste time and money using channels that potential clients aren’t using. Above all, make sure your website is up-to-date, is easy to navigate and contains the kind of valuable content that attracts the right target audience.
7. Most marketing does not work because it is incorrectly implemented. Even the best-laid plans can go awry if they are under-resourced, under-funded and poorly implemented. Make sure you have the right plan in place and the resources and talent needed to implement it correctly. If you don’t have enough resources or expertise in-house, partner with an outside firm that does.
8. Select fewer initiatives, but fully resource those you do. Focus on the quality of your efforts rather than trying to do too many things. If you want to try a new technique, decide which old one you are going to stop (or pause). It’s far more effective to focus on a few highly targeted techniques than take a shotgun approach and implement a dozen half-baked marketing initiatives.
9. Make sure you can attract the talent you will need. Your employer brand is an often-overlooked but crucial element in any marketing program. Professional services firms that can attract and retain the right talent have a major strategic advantage.
10. Track each stage of the marketing pipeline. Do not measure short-term results only. Your marketing plan should align with your firm’s overall business development strategy. We’ve seen good results from marketing plans that contain specific milestones, offering a long-term roadmap to grow your firm.

The right marketing plan and tools give professional services firms the power to expand their horizons and reach audiences in distant markets. But your marketing plan has to be flexible. Online marketing gives you the power to recognize what is working and what isn’t, and you need to be prepared to make adjustments on the fly. But don’t discard traditional tactics that have been working for you just because they are old. Carefully consider every technique’s role and value in your marketing, then use research and your best judgment to select the best ones for your plan. Just don’t bite off too much, or you may drown in a sea of possibilities.

Happy planning!

Key Takeaways

• Essential Process: A marketing planning process for professional services is critical for sustained growth and profitability.
• Research-Driven: Systematic research into your target audience and marketplace leads to better decision-making and reduced risk.
• Differentiation: Identifying and communicating clear differentiators sets your firm apart in a competitive landscape.
• Balanced Techniques: Combining online and offline marketing techniques enhances your firm’s visibility and reach.
• Continuous Improvement: Regularly reviewing and refining your marketing plan ensures ongoing effectiveness and adaptability.

Conclusion

To succeed in a competitive marketplace, every professional services firm should implement a robust marketing planning process. By following a systematic, research-driven approach, firms can achieve greater visibility, attract ideal clients, and drive long-term growth.

FAQ

What is the marketing planning process for professional services?

The marketing planning process for professional services is a systematic approach to setting goals, developing strategies, and implementing tactics tailored to the unique needs of professional services firms. It ensures that marketing activities are aligned with business objectives and client expectations.

Where can I find resources to help create a marketing plan for my professional services firm?

You can access guides, research, and templates from reputable sources such as Hinge Marketing and other marketing consultancies specializing in professional services. These resources provide step-by-step frameworks and actionable insights.

How do I implement a marketing planning process for professional services?

Start by assessing your business situation, conducting research on target audiences, defining differentiators, refining service offerings, selecting marketing techniques, identifying necessary tools and skills, and documenting your schedule and budget. Following these steps ensures a structured and effective plan.

What should I consider when comparing marketing planning approaches for professional services?

When evaluating different marketing planning processes, consider factors such as the firm’s size, industry focus, available resources, and the specific needs of your target audience. Choose a process that emphasizes research, differentiation, and continuous improvement to maximize results.

The post Marketing Planning Process for Professional Services: A Comprehensive Guide appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

That said, it helps to build your plan upon solid ground. That means doing a little background work first.

Understand Your Market and Yourself

Before you even think about tactics and budgets, it can be very useful to take a fresh look at the market landscape. At Hinge, we encourage our clients to do three things:

1. Reassess Your Business. Take a look at your firm from 30,000 feet. What are your big-picture business goals for the coming year? Are you trying to enter a new market? Become more profitable? Hit an ambitious revenue goal? Outmaneuver sleepy competitors for new clients? Your marketing goals must be tied directly to these business objectives. This might also be a good time for a classic SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). Try to be as honest as you can—it’s easy to overestimate your advantages. Or work with a marketing partner who will bring the objectivity you need.
2. Talk to Your Clients. Most firms think they know their clients, but the reality is often quite different. Our research has shown there’s only a 25% overlap, on average, between the companies a firm thinks it competes against and those that clients and prospects consider its competitors. Yikes! How do you close this gap? By conducting research. Ask your best clients about their biggest challenges, how they find and select firms like yours, and where they go for information. Also ask who they considered, and why they selected your firm. This isn’t just good intel. It’s a goldmine that will tell you exactly where to focus your marketing.
3. Figure Out What Makes You You. In a sea of look-alike firms, you have to give buyers a reason to choose you. This is your key differentiator or unique selling proposition. Maybe you specialize in a niche industry or solve a very specific problem. Maybe you’ve developed a groundbreaking new process or technology. Whatever it is, it must be true, provable, and relevant to your audience. Don’t just say you have “the best people”—a claim that anybody can make. Dig deeper to find the thing that only you can claim.

If you don’t have time to do all the due diligence, don’t panic. You can still get a useful, if not entirely complete, read on your situation. Sit down with your leadership team for an hour and walk through the three items above. Remind each other to be as objective as possible.

What Should You Put in Your Plan?

Now it’s time to start building the plan itself. It doesn’t need to be a 100-page document. In fact, short plans are more likely to be put into action. You just need to provide enough detail to guide your team through the coming year. Nor is there a specific format you have to follow. Write it to be easy-to-use and practical. Here are some elements you might want to include:

Target Audience: Who, specifically, are you trying to reach? The more narrowly you can define your audience the better. It’s far easier to market to a single audience that has a defined set of challenges than ten or twenty segments, each with different needs. If your firm is large, however, you likely have multiple audiences. Just be sure you understand what each needs to hear.

Key Messages: Based on your differentiators, what are the core ideas you want to communicate? Craft a simple, powerful “only” statement that captures your unique value.

Strategies & Tactics: How will you reach your audience with your message(s)? Your strategies are the broad strokes (e.g., “become a thought leader in our niche”), and your tactics are the specific actions you’ll take to carry out a strategy (e.g., “publish weekly blog posts, speak at two industry conferences, and launch a quarterly webinar series”). To help you choose activities that actually work, we’ve prepared a list of tactics most favored by the best-performing professional services firms. Don’t worry. You don’t have to use them all. It’s far better to do a small handful of them well.

Source: 2026 High Growth Study

Content Marketing: If content marketing, such as blogging and public speaking, is part of your plan—and it should be—create a spreadsheet that plans out each post, speaking engagement and webinar. Get specific. Include titles or topics for each item, keywords (if applicable), who is responsible, internal deadlines and publication or presentation dates. Then hold people accountable for delivering. If your experts don’t have time to write, consider hiring a professional ghost writer to help them.

Budget: What will it cost to execute your plan? Be realistic. High-growth firms, on average, invest 10% of their revenue in marketing (not including salaries), though this number varies by industry. Are you investing enough to get superior results?

Goals & Metrics: How will you know if it’s working? Define specific, measurable goals. Instead of “increase website traffic,” try “increase organic traffic by 15% in the next six months.” Track your progress, measure what matters, and be prepared to adjust or change tactics if they aren’t performing.

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s this: Not all of your marketing activities will go according to plan. A marketing plan is an educated guess. So expect bumps and adjustments along the way. While you will put your plan in writing, it will change along the way. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep notes that document where things went wrong, how you adjusted and whether those changes moved the needle.

Writing a marketing plan doesn’t have to be like folding a fitted sheet. It can be a fulfilling—even fun—exercise. And one with tremendous upside for your business.

The post Could Your Marketing Planning Use a Reality Check? appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

Well, that world is gone.

Today, we live in a strange new era, and the strategies that worked for the last decade are fast becoming, if not irrelevant, less relevant. If you’ve noticed your website traffic taking a nosedive, you’re not imagining it. One recent analysis found that about 70% of searches today end without a visit to a website. Ouch.

So, what in the digital world is going on?

The Great Click-Through Heist

The main culprit is the very search engine we’ve all been trying to please. Google’s relatively new AI Overviews and Search Generative Experience (SGE) are now answering many of users’ questions directly on the results page.

Why is this a problem? Because your prospects no longer need to click your link to get their answer.
This has led to a terrifying new term—zero-click searches. Early data shows this shift could cause an 18-64% drop in organic clicks for some queries.

In short, Google is becoming an answer engine, not a link engine. The rules of the game are shifting. The goal isn’t just to rank #1 anymore. It’s also to be the source for the AI’s summary. This new discipline even has a name: generative engine optimization (GEO).

And how do you win at GEO? Google itself has given us the answer. They call it E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness).

Google’s AI is learning to value true expertise. It doesn’t just want a blog post. It wants a blog post written by a recognized authority.

This is where the entire marketing playbook pivots.

Welcome to the New PR

If you can’t rely on your website to be found, you have to go where your audience already is. This is where public relations (PR) comes in, but not the PR you’re used to.

The old PR model is also breaking. Traditional media is shrinking—mass layoffs and media consolidation mean there are fewer journalists to cover businesses like yours. At the same time, the number of PR specialists has ballooned, creating more competition for fewer media slots.
The new, smart PR strategy isn’t about chasing a feature in a shrinking national paper. It’s about digital PR and micro-media.

This might mean generating visibility in outlets like these:

• Niche industry podcasts
• Respected newsletters
• Guest spots on influential YouTube channels
• Speaking at virtual webinars
• Relevant, high-authority blogs

These are just a few general examples. In fact, the best way to find out exactly where you should be promoting yourself is to ask your clients what they read, watch and attend. The challenge, of course, is finding, reaching out and pitching these outlets. Many firms hire or outsource this specialized function—the digital PR specialist.

This new form of PR is less about getting coverage and more about building awareness and authority. It’s a content and thought leadership play, and it leads directly to the most powerful asset you have.

Your Superpower—The (Very Visible) Expert

If your corporate website is losing traffic and traditional media is too crowded, what’s left?

Your people.

The new world of professional services marketing is about building the personal brands of your top experts.

Buyers of professional services don’t trust a faceless firm. They trust experts. The more you can make your experts the face of your firm, the greater your potential to grow. While this may sound like a return to the traditional professional services marketing of yore—where relationships were built on the golf course and at networking events—it’s not.

The new marketing mandate is to stop hiding your experts and turn them into “Visible Experts.” This means:

1. Empowering Them: Encourage them to build their own followings on platforms like LinkedIn.
2. Promoting Them: Use your new “micro-media” PR strategy to get them on podcasts and webinars, not just your CEO.
3. Connecting Them: Their authority is your firm’s authority. Their visibility is your firm’s new SEO.

The old model was to drive traffic to a website. The new model is to build a following around your people.

That’s not to say your website is unimportant, or that in-person networking doesn’t work. In fact, these—and many other traditional techniques—remain critical components of many firms’ success. However, it’s time to change the way you think about what builds engagement in a world of declining personal referrals and buyers’ increasing reliance on social media, micro media and AI to find and vet service firms.

In this strange new world, the firms that win will be the ones that stop marketing their services and start marketing their brains.

The post The Strange New World of Marketing appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

But that’s just part of the story.

In fact, I write for a variety of reasons. Really good ones. And for the same reasons, I think you should become a writer, too. Let me walk you through some of them.

Writing Is Thinking, Only Better

Sometimes I don’t know what I think on a topic. I might have a general idea, even a strong opinion. But it’s not always fully baked. Writing is my test kitchen. It’s the place where I bring a concept and maybe a few initial ingredients that I think will produce something interesting. Then I assemble everything, adding and subtracting ingredients until I have a confection that not only holds together but leaves people wanting more.

The process of writing about a topic forces you to think through a problem. To see the flaws in your argument. To recognize the gaps you need to fill with fresh research. When you are done, you’ll know more than you did before, and you will be able to speak on that topic with greater authority and confidence to clients and prospects.

Writing Sharpens Your Expertise

I’ve written before on the benefits of becoming a Visible Expert^®. Whether or not your expertise is highly visible, you need to keep your expertise sharp. Sometimes this happens through continuing education programs, certification training or conferences. But often it’s up to you to hone your skills.

When you write on a regular basis, you’ll find yourself addressing a wide range of topics in your area of expertise. If you want to be recognized as someone on the leading edge of your field, you can’t always fall back on the knowledge in your memory banks. Your readers—including those who might someday hire you—are looking for signals that you have a strong grasp of the latest trends, techniques and technologies. The writing process is a great opportunity to reach out to other experts or do some professional reading and bring your expertise up to speed and up to date.

It Makes You to Take a Stand

When experts speak, people listen. Why? Because they have a perspective that is authoritative and pointed. If you aren’t taking a stand when you write about an issue, you aren’t positioning yourself as a true expert.

Writing Creates a Connection with Your Audience

In the end, writing is about developing an audience. (This newsletter is a perfect example.) When you write about things your target audience cares about—when you address challenges they experience in their businesses—you begin to forge a bond. They start to trust you. They may even look forward to your next installment. Soon, some of your readers will think of you as the expert in your field. And that’s where this investment can really pay off.

What If You Can’t Write?

People have a lot of reasons for why they don’t write. For instance, you may have the gift of gab, but you just aren’t a skillful writer. Maybe writing is difficult for you, requiring more patience or attention than you can reasonably give it. Or perhaps you simply don’t have enough time in your schedule to plan, draft and edit blog posts, articles and other pieces of content.

Only you can know whether your reason is real, or if it’s an excuse. Before you throw in the towel, think long and hard about the reasons you don’t write. Each of the obstacles I described above can be overcome—if you make them a priority.

You can, with diligence, teach yourself enough grammar and style to write clear, easy-to-understand sentences and paragraphs (here’s a short book on the topic that I recommend). Or take a shortcut. Put your words and ideas down on paper without worrying about how they sound. Just make sure your argument is valid and that you support it with specific details and examples. Then hire an editor to clean everything up.

If you have trouble concentrating on writing, there are a variety of techniques to make it more manageable. For instance, you can start by outlining your piece. Then tackle one small part at a time. Spread these chunks out over a few days if that makes the process less intimidating. Here’s an article that offers a few other ideas to help you overcome a lack of focus.

Don’t have time to write? You may not realize it, but this is often a factor you can control. For instance, try setting aside a block of time each week for writing. You may be amazed how flexible your schedule actually is.

You might also experiment with a large-language-model tool like ChatGPT or Copilot to do the writing for you. Just be sure you include a detailed outline of your argument and supporting information in your prompt. Your goal is to produce a piece that has a point of view that is your own—rather than a synthesis of material that’s already on the internet. In the end, you want your expertise to shine through.

Sometimes, however, your challenges are very real, and none of these solutions will work for you. Maybe you don’t have the energy to change your habits. That’s okay. There’s still a way forward.

Here’s how it works. Use your role as a subject matter expert and let a ghost writer do most of the heavy lifting. You will still need to take some time to organize your thoughts—a rough outline may be enough. Include your main point or theme, a list of supporting points and evidence, and what next steps, if any, you want your reader to take. Then schedule an interview with your writer. Walk through your outline in detail and answer any questions. When the writer has finished the first draft, go through it together. Rinse and repeat until you have a final product you are happy with. This approach to writing is very common in the professional services, so don’t hesitate to use it if it fits your style and budget.

Are you ready to build a following of loyal fans? People who trust you and your advice? Whether you blog, produce a regular column in an industry publication or publish high-quality content on social media, there’s no better way to accomplish this goal than to write. Take it from me—building a lasting relationship with clients and prospects through the written word can be a beautiful thing!

The post Why I Write. And Why You Should, Too. appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

We conduct research like this for five reasons:

1. To learn about the firms that buy our services
2. To position ourselves as thought leaders
3. To differentiate our firm
4. To provide a well of ideas for content
5. To implicitly make the case for our services

In a moment we will describe each of these reasons. But first let us explain what we mean by research.

When we say research in this context, we mean formal research on your target audience. There are many other kinds of research—market viability research, client satisfaction research, pricing research, to name just a few. While each of these can answer specific questions you may have, they can’t be used in as many ways as audience research.

Why? Because when you conduct research on your audience, you can collect data that will also be interesting to the people you serve.

For example, suppose you are an accounting firm that wants to understand how prospective clients in your region are feeling about the economy. That’s very useful information for you as you plan for growth or decide whether to enter a new market. But those are valuable insights for your clients, as well. Because you are surveying organizations just like them, the information is relevant and meaningful as they do their own planning.

Now let’s turn to the reasons Hinge conducts research. We suspect your reasons would be no different.

Why We Conduct Research (And Why You Should, Too)

1. We learn about the firms that buy our services – Buyer behavior and preferences–how they build their lists of firms to consider, how they whittle down those lists, and how they make their final selection–are always changing. By conducting regular research on our audience, we can see those changes, as well as emerging trends. Equipped with this intel, we can adjust our marketing accordingly.
2. It positions us as thought leaders on a topic our audience actually cares about – When you publish original research you elevate yourself to a different level. At Hinge, our research gives us the data and credibility to claim we understand how high-growth firms market themselves differently. As a result, we are perceived as pioneers and thought leaders in the type of marketing and branding that leads to profitable growth.
3. It differentiates us – Conducting research like this isn’t easy. That’s why so few firms do it. It’s also why the market leaders do. When you offer something valuable that your competitors don’t, it can be a very tangible way to separate your firm from the rest. At the same time, our professional advice and services are supported by real data. Hinge’s research is a pillar of our differentiation strategy.
4. It provides a well of ideas for our content – Content marketing can be difficult for some firms to sustain. When you do audience research, however, you have a deep pool of insights you can dip into to inspire a stream of blog posts, webinars and speeches. Thank you, research!
5. It makes the case for buying our services – Often, prospective clients know they need services like yours, but they struggle to convince the stakeholders in their companies. We hear over and over again how useful our data was in making the case to hire us. And even if a buyer wasn’t considering our firm at first, the fact that we were the ones with the data often put us on the list.

You don’t have to conduct as much research as we do at Hinge to make a difference. Some firms put out a study once a year, or even less often. Like publishing a book, research gives you an opportunity to talk about your firm in a different way—and can change the way people perceive your business. That’s powerful!

The post Why Every Firm Needs Research appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

Well, there is. And the idea is simplicity itself. Literally!

Instead of writing and speaking on a wide range of subjects, narrow your sights to just a very few. Over time, people will begin to associate you with your areas of subject matter expertise, and your firm can develop a reputation as leading experts in those areas.

But the key is having the discipline to stay focused. Tackle too many themes and your audience won’t be able to form a mental connection between your firm and your ideas.

Like it or not, people’s tendency is to simplify the world, especially in today’s overactive info-verse. Unless they are deeply engaged with your firm, they don’t have the headspace to take a nuanced view of your expertise.

People aren’t dovecotes. They only have one to three pigeonholes in their minds to slot you into. That’s why you need to think carefully about the big issues that give your thought-leadership content definition and focus.

Introducing Issues and Topics

“Issues” and “topics” are the heart of a modern, differentiated content marketing strategy. More than an organizational scheme, they can fundamentally shape the way the outside world perceives your firm.

Issues are the big, overarching themes you want to be known for. They are broad, complex subjects without simple answers. Examples could include “How Technology is Transforming the Legal Industry” or “Strategic Planning in an Uncertain World.”

The more you can present a distinctive point of view, however, the more likely it is to stick in people’s heads. For instance, “Embracing the ‘Dumb’ Building Revolution” has a counterintuitive, even contrarian, point of view that makes it particularly interesting and memorable.

A good issue is one that you can explore from countless angles, captures your audience’s intense interest, and is directly relevant to the services you provide. Most firms typically focus on two or three major issues, though very large organizations may require more to cover their diverse practice areas.

Journalists seek out the firm or expert best known for the particular thing they are writing about. They are looking for people with a deep understanding of a subject. Selecting the right issues can help them notice you.

Topics, on the other hand, are the narrower ideas that fall under each issue. Topics become the titles of your blog posts, webinars, and speeches—or any other educational piece you produce. For example, one of our clients, Earnest & Associates, regularly produces content around the issue of “The Future of ERP in Manufacturing & Distribution.” One topic they might write on is “Predictive Analytics for Manufacturers and its Role in Generating Profitable Growth” Another topic could be “Rethinking Your Pricing Strategy Framework to Optimize Performance.”

You should be able to generate dozens, even hundreds, of topics from a single issue. Topics can be timely, addressing recent events, or evergreen, covering enduring concepts that build your reputation. Ideas can come from your store of knowledge or interactions you have with clients. Or you can do a little research to explore territory you are less familiar with.

This structured approach allows you to plan your content weeks or even months in advance, so you can deliver a dependable flow of valuable insights to your audience. And it steers your content toward a specific goal.

Three Things to Consider as You Create Your Issues and Topics

When developing your issues and, later, your topics, you should focus on the intersection of three key areas:

• What is important to your clients? This means understanding their high-priority business challenges.
• What are you good at? What are the kinds of problems your services and expertise can effectively solve.
• What can you say that is different from the rest of the field?

Keep in mind that your issues do not have to be set in stone. As the marketplace evolves and your original thinking is adopted by others, you might determine it’s time to move on to a new issue. Periodically revisiting and refining your issues and topics ensures your expertise remains sharp and relevant—and in high demand.

If your content marketing lacks a clear strategy, a thoughtful set of issues and topics can give it a potent boost.

The post How to Simplify Your Content Strategy appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

What I didn’t know then was that this framework would become the single most powerful lens through which to view one of professional services marketing’s greatest challenges: getting your company’s subject matter experts (SMEs) to participate in marketing.

We often think of marketing as our responsibility alone. But the most impactful professional services marketing today is a heroic quest, and your firm’s experts are the reluctant heroes.

Let’s explore this hero’s journey deeper and identify our role in the story.

The Dilemma at the Heart of the Ordinary World

The “Ordinary World” of a professional services firm is defined by a clear, powerful rhythm: billable work and business development. Your engineers are designing, your consultants are strategizing, or your lawyers are litigating. It’s a world of deadlines, client demands, and the constant hum of productivity.

In this world, a marketer’s call to action—to write a blog post, record a video, or network more on LinkedIn—is often met with a “Refusal of the Call.” It’s not that your experts don’t believe in the value of marketing. It’s that they are facing a profound dilemma. The time spent on marketing feels like it comes directly at the expense of their billable work.

They see marketing not as an integral part of their career, but as an extra chore—homework to be squeezed in around their “real” work. They feel a legitimate tension between serving the client they have today and trying to attract the client they need tomorrow. The dilemma is real, and it’s why a simple request for a 800-word blog post can be met with crickets.

As marketers, we can’t simply push harder. We can’t get frustrated with a hero who is rightfully concerned about their responsibilities. Our role isn’t to force them to cross the threshold into our “Special World” of marketing. Our role is to be their guide. We are the mentor who helps them see that the journey isn’t a distraction, but a vital part of their transformation.

The Marketer as Mentor

In Campbell’s work, the hero always meets a mentor who provides wisdom and equips them for the journey ahead. For us, this means shifting our approach from demanding participation to guiding perspective. This is a critical step because a guide doesn’t command; they show the path forward.

Our first task is to understand our heroes. What are their unique motivations? What are their career ambitions? What kind of clients do they love working with? What do they genuinely want to be known for? Like Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the relationship is built on trust and a shared understanding of the goal. The goal isn’t just to “do marketing”; it’s to build a reputation, attract better opportunities, and grow their personal brand—which, in turn, grows the firm’s brand.

Once you understand their passions and ambitions, you can tailor your marketing requests to align with their deepest desires. Instead of asking for a generic blog post on a topic, you might say to them: “I know you’re passionate about the future of AI in manufacturing. I have an idea for an article that could position you as a thought leader on that topic. Would you be open to a 30-minute chat to discuss your unique insights?” This approach demonstrates that you’ve listened and you respect their expertise. It makes the task feel less like a chore and more like a strategic step on their personal and professional journey.

Making the Expert Journey Efficient

A hero’s journey is a dangerous, time-consuming quest. A mentor’s job is to make that journey as efficient as possible. This is where our responsibility as marketers moves from changing people’s minds to clearing the path forward. The goal is to make it so easy for our experts to participate that the “Refusal of the Call” is replaced with an enthusiastic “let’s do this.”

This is where the principles of a modern, efficient marketing engine come into play. We must do everything in our power to reduce the effort required from our subject matter experts.

• Become the Content Engine: Don’t ask your experts to write a full blog post from scratch. Instead, schedule a 30-minute interview and record it. Use that conversation as the source material. You can then work with professional writers, AI tools, or both to turn their spoken insights into a polished article, complete with an engaging headline and supporting visuals.
• Streamline the Process: The hero needs an effective “talisman” or “weapon” to help them on their quest. For us, this is a clear, repeatable process. Once the article is drafted, the expert’s role becomes simple—review, edit, and polish. This cuts down their time commitment dramatically.
• Build the Promotion Machine: The hero’s return is only celebrated if the community knows what they’ve accomplished. It’s our job as the guide to ensure their content gets the visibility it deserves. For instance, use the blog post to create a series of LinkedIn updates, an internal newsletter mention, and a clip for social media. The expert’s only job is to provide the initial content and be ready to engage with the praise and questions that follow.

This approach isn’t just about making things easier; it’s about respecting an expert’s time and billable responsibilities. It’s the difference between asking them to single-handedly slay a dragon and handing them a sword, a shield, map, and logistical support.

The Return with the Elixir

In Campbell’s framework, the hero’s journey culminates in a “Return with the Elixir.” The hero comes back to the Ordinary World, transformed by their experience, and they bring with them a treasure—a new tool, a new wisdom, or a new perspective—that benefits their community.

For a subject matter expert, the “elixir” is their reputation as a Visible Expert. They return to the Ordinary World of their practice, but they are no longer just an engineer or a consultant. They are a thought leader. The marketing journey we guided them through has become a gravitational force, pulling in new opportunities, strengthening client relationships, and establishing their authority in the marketplace.

When you can show your experts the direct return on their investment—a new lead who mentions an article the expert wrote, a speaking invitation they received because of their public profile, or a client who says, “I already feel like I know you because of your videos”—they have successfully completed the journey. You have helped them transform their perspective and see marketing not as a chore, but as the heroic quest it truly is.

So, the next time you need to engage your team, don’t think of your experts as obstacles to overcome. See them instead as the heroes of your firm’s story. Your job is not to write their journey for them, but to provide the guidance, tools, and perspective they need to embark on a quest that will ultimately lead to glory for them and for your firm.

The post The Expert with a Thousand Faces: How to Guide Your Firm’s Heroes to Marketing Glory appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

Let’s get started!

If you pay attention to your website metrics, you’ve probably noticed that fewer and fewer people are visiting your website—and this decline has likely been happening for a year or longer.

Source: Similarweb, as reported by Digiday

The reason for this decline, as some of you already know, is because of a fundamental change in the way search results are delivered. According to one ongoing study, over half of Google searches provide an “AI overview”—a detailed AI-generated answer to a search query (Google launched this feature in May of 2024). And this percentage is only going to grow larger.

Most searchers find the answers in these AI overviews sufficient and never click on a website link. This behavior is a leading driver of traffic declines across the internet. Today, two out of three Google searches end without a single click.

In fact, the situation is a lot worse than it appears. Half of your traffic isn’t real people at all! It’s bots, many of which are scraping the internet for fresh content to train the AI engines and feed generative AI results, including AI overviews.

Earlier this month, things got interesting. Cloudflare—a company that provides infrastructure and security services to over 20% of the websites on the internet—announced it will begin blocking all AI bots by default on new websites. That means that AI engines won’t be able to read those websites at all unless the site owners specifically allow it. They will even allow some publishers to require bots to pay to index their pages. The robot wars begin!

If all this feels like the wild west, you’re right. The rules are changing fast, the bullets are flying and the dust is so thick it’s hard to know which way to turn.

So what does this mean for your content marketing program? And what can you do about this distressing and confusing situation?

If your answer is to double down and generate more search traffic, sorry—you are on a fool’s errand. That traffic is never coming back. And if you believe the folks at Google (you should at least take them seriously), sending search traffic to your website is a “necessary evil,” one they are actively working to eliminate.

Does this mean you should abandon SEO? Should you stop blogging?

The short answer is absolutely not. But…

It’s Time to Rethink Your Marketing

If you believe your blog is going to continue to reach and attract new audiences the way it used to, you are in for a heap of disappointment. Google isn’t playing that game anymore.

Now, you can still use traditional SEO to position a page at the top of Google’s search results. And these same techniques will even help your content be referenced in AI overviews.

But don’t get too excited. The return on ranking #1 in Google or Bing is diminishing. As organic search results are pushed further down the page, fewer people will even see those links, and even fewer will click on them. When it comes to AI overviews, your firm’s name will almost never be mentioned. Your content will be sampled, rewritten, anonymized and aggregated with relevant content passages from other websites. While you might get a reference link in the AI overview, almost nobody will click on it.

To make things worse, in May, Google added AI Mode to AI Overviews. AI Mode allows you to dive deep into the search query, as if you were typing it into Gemini, ChatGPT or another large-language-model chatbot. It takes your question and creates dozens of related synthetic queries, selects passages from hundreds of pages it believes are most authoritative and relevant, then constructs a detailed answer.

Similar to AI overviews, AI Mode provides scant reference links next to the answer. Beyond those few links, it provides no insight into what pages it visited. Nor are there any tools available today that will tell us what keywords or phrases people used to search in AI Mode (or ChatGPT, CoPilot, Perplexity or any other AI chatbots).

Google has made it clear that it considers AI Mode the future of search, and traditional search results links will become even less prominent—or superseded entirely:

“AI Mode is where we’ll first bring Gemini’s frontier capabilities, and it’s also a glimpse of what’s to come. As we get feedback, we’ll graduate many features and capabilities from AI Mode right into the core Search experience.”

And because Google is the dominant search platform today, it has a built-in advantage over competitors when it comes to driving AI-driven search.

Where Does This Leave Content Marketing?

All of these developments have significant implications for your content marketing program—and your entire marketing strategy.

Even a year ago, a combination of blogging and SEO could drive significant, dependable traffic to your website. Today, that’s still possible, albeit at a diminished scale. Many people don’t trust their answers. That means quite a few people are still using Google the old way and clicking on links.

So traditional content marketing still works, but a little less well each month. Between Google’s stated intentions, the rise of generative AI search and the erosion of search-generated website traffic, content marketing is entering a moment of crisis.

So what’s the answer?

A New Marketing Strategy for the AI-verse

Buyers in the professional services still want free access to expertise and thought leadership. They continue to need a way to find firms that can deliver the services they want—firms that can solve their business problems and will be a good fit for their culture. AI isn’t erasing those paths, it’s just delivering them in different ways. That means firms need to adapt their marketing strategy to fit the new roadmap.

Here’s a framework any firm can use to build a marketing program that not only works today, but will function efficiently tomorrow as AI search becomes more dominant.

1. Stop worrying about web traffic as a solitary metric and start measuring quality, engagement and brand awareness. We have noticed that while overall traffic has declined for most businesses, the quality of visitors who reach their website is better than ever. In other words, the people who make the effort to click on links are much more likely to turn into leads and opportunities. Unfortunately, you aren’t able to tell where many of your visitors come from. But a few Google Analytics 4 metrics can help you get a general sense of your marketing program’s success and monitor engagement. These include metrics such as landing page visits, branded search and average engagement time. But a top goal of your marketing program should be to achieve exceptional brand visibility and awareness. Using tools such as Google Alerts, BuzzSumo and Meltwater, you can track brand mentions, engagement, influencers and more across multiple channels. The ultimate measures, of course, are the ones you can capture directly: high-quality leads, opportunities, new clients and revenue.
2. Identify your audience’s interests and learning behavior. Determine where your audiences go to learn about the problems you solve—and what topics they are searching for. Audience research can answer many of these questions, including insights into their top business challenges, what publications they read and which social media platforms they use. A host of tools are also available that can help you see what topics they are interested in and where they are searching for them.
3. Choose a few key issues that your firm will be known for. You increase the chances of your firm’s expertise being featured in AI answers if it addresses a relatively narrow range of issues. In our experience, three issues is the perfect number for most firms, though large enterprises with many practice areas may need more. Each issue should be broad enough that you can write dozens or hundreds of blog posts on subtopics that address the issue from different angles. At the same time these issues must be of deep interest to your clientele AND related to a service you offer. Use the information you gleaned in #2 to help you think about issues. The ultimate goal is to build a library of expertise that demonstrates experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). These are the attributes that AI Mode, ChatGPT and other AI tools look for when constructing their answers.
4. Write your content for people… but don’t forget the bots. Use easy-to-understand language and short sentences. Summarize key points so that humans and AI bots can easily digest them. Consider including a key takeaways or FAQs section at the end. When possible, include video, charts or images in your content. If you can include original data, so much the better. Publishing and citing research of your own is one of the best ways to build authority—with Google and your prospects. Perhaps most importantly, feature your expertise. While it’s okay to use ChatGPT or Gemini to help you produce a better piece more quickly, be sure that your own thinking, opinions and perspectives shine through. Otherwise, you are just adding to the noise.
5. Lean into video. Google can now “watch” and “understand” video content. And it is increasingly featuring video in its search results and AI overviews because so many people prefer to consume content that way. Ideally, whenever you write an important blog post, for instance, you would also produce a video that covers the same content. Each video can then be edited into medium- and short-format videos perfect for social media. Last but not least, set up a YouTube channel where people, and AI search, can find your videos and clips. In practice, producing video on a regular basis may be a challenge for many firms, especially those that have little video production experience. Whether you develop this expertise in-house, work with a video marketing firm or outsource some or all of the work to freelancers, video is an essential skillset in the modern marketing toolbox. Start developing your video chops now.
6. Make your brand name more visible. Remember E-E-A-T? AI is looking for well-known, authoritative brands. Use digital PR to get your firm in front of the media. Issuing press releases isn’t enough. Enlist a PR professional to help you get quoted in the media, appear on well-known podcasts, and publish articles in publications your audience reads. Speak at conferences that your buyers attend. And if you conduct original research on the industries you serve, it can make you a lot more interesting to the world. Set up your Google Business Profile and ask your clients to recommend and rate you on Google. Engage with your audience where they are. Google is increasingly interested in community-style sites such as Reddit. See if there is a subreddit on your area of expertise. If so, join the conversation. If not, consider starting your own. Use your client research to determine where else you can converse with your audience. Wherever you engage people, always be helpful, not salesy. While it is okay occasionally to link to a relevant piece of content on your site, be very careful not to come across as self-serving. Finally, a classic—and still powerful—way to build both your visibility and reputation is to write the authoritative book on your area of expertise.

Expertise-driven firms like yours are a perfect fit for today’s new marketing paradigm. Your team has knowledge and original thinking to impart. You have prospects who are hungry for that knowledge. So make the most of that expertise and turn your experts into your biggest marketing asset.

Right now, most of your competitors either aren’t aware of these changes or have no idea how to adapt. That means there is a golden opportunity right now to build an advantage. It’s up to you to exploit it.

Change is never easy. And these days, it always seems to come at breakneck speed and with little warning. But to those willing to invest in change will go the spoils. Your time is now. Are you up to the challenge?

Happy marketing!

The post AI’s Effect on Professional Services Marketing appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

For years, professional services have been marketed through personal relationships, referrals and a variety of networking and educational events. It was all about who you knew.

But all that is beginning to change. There is a new generation of buyers on the scene who have grown up with the Internet at their fingertips. They expect to be educated for free. They expect transparency from their professional services providers. And they expect to find a firm that perfectly fits their needs, whether they work in Bangor, Maine or Bangkok, Thailand.

As a result, marketing today is no longer about who you know, but what you know. And how well you can spread the word.

The Rise of the Expert Through Content Marketing

This trend has provided fertile ground for a new, Internet-fueled incarnation of an old concept: the high-profile industry expert. More and more experts are rising from obscurity to become well-known names in their fields. We call these stars Visible Experts®, and they are using content marketing to power their rise to prominence.

Interestingly, the rise of content marketing has also driven the development of outsourced marketing. Today, the skills required to market a firm are vast and varied. And because many of them are driven by technology, they require a great deal of expertise to keep up with the pace of change. Many firms don’t want the headache of keeping on top of all this change. So they turn to outside marketing firms to fill in the gaps, or even take the reins. In fact, we’re seeing evidence that firms are spending roughly 3 times as much on outsourcing today than they were two years ago.

Before we dig into this phenomenon and its implications for you, let’s answer the question, “What is outsourcing in marketing?”

Outsourced Marketing Defined

Outsourced marketing is the practice of contracting an organization’s marketing functions to an outside firm. Both strategic and operational functions can be, and often are, delegated to a third-party marketing partner, which has the specialized expertise, tools and professional staff to provide a complete suite of marketing services. And because it is responsible for the program’s performance, the outsourced partner usually reports regularly on the program’s performance.

Of course, professional services firms rely on different degrees of outsourced marketing, from handling everything in-house to outsourcing every function (see Levels of Outsourced Marketing Activities below).

For example, one marketing function commonly outsourced by professional services firms is website design. Very few firms have the expertise in-house to design and develop a complex website. It is a task best suited to a firm that designs and builds websites every day.

Some businesses, on the other hand, outsource every aspect of their marketing. This allows their leadership and professionals to focus intensely on their core business. They rely on their marketing partner to propose the strategy, implement it and report on its progress. Their marketing firm is a critical partner in their success.

Who Uses Outsourced Marketing, and Why?

Outsourced marketing is common in professional services firms of all sizes and across all industries. Even individual experts and practices within larger firms often seek outside marketing expertise.

There are many reasons firms outsource some or all of their marketing. Here are a few of the most common situations:

1. A firm can only devote a limited number of hours each week to marketing and they want to improve the quality and consistency of their marketing.
2. A small firm has no budget for a full-time marketer. Outsourcing frees up valuable, often billable, time they can spend serving their clients.
3. A large firm understands that outsourcing certain functions, such as content marketing, can be cheaper and higher quality than doing it themselves.
4. A marketing department uses an outside marketing firm to take over routine, repetitive or tedious tasks, such as designing and setting up email campaigns, so that they can focus on more strategic tasks.
5. A firm wants top-drawer marketing. Outsourcing to a reputable partner provides access to a team of highly skilled experts across a wide spectrum of marketing disciplines.
6. A firm’s partners are tired of investing in marketing yet never knowing if they are getting results. Their new outsourced marketing firm provides full accountability, reporting and advice.
7. Leadership believes their marketing department is out of fresh ideas. So they hire an outside firm to provide marketing strategy, as well as implementation support in areas the in-house team is weak. Everything is handled by professionals who keep up with the latest trends, technologies and techniques.

For more reasons, check out the section below on the 5 Benefits of Outsourced Marketing

Levels of Outsourced Marketing Activities

Many firms outsource marketing functions in a haphazard way. Often, outsourcing decisions are reactive — filling unexpected gaps in resources. Firms don’t always understand that outsourcing can be a strategic asset, one that can vastly improve the efficiency and quality of their marketing. But to make the most of it requires at least some advance planning.

To help you better understand your situation, we have developed a scale of outsourced marketing maturity. Marketing tasks tend to be either specialized or routine. Specialized functions are needed infrequently and require a relatively high level of skill. Routine operations are conducted on a regular basis and require less skill, though they are not necessarily easy to implement or manage.

This scale is a tool you can use to determine your firm’s level of investment in outsourced marketing. It is not a measure of marketing sophistication (for instance, a Level 5 is not necessarily better than a Level 1), nor do individual levels correspond to firm size. But if you are evaluating outsourcing as a strategy, this scale can help you understand how you compare to other firms.

Level 1 – All functions in-house. This level tends to apply to firms at both extremes of sophistication — those that do little marketing at all and those with large, highly skilled marketing teams.

Level 2 – Some specialized functions outsourced. Usually this approach is used by firms that try to handle most of their marketing inside the firm even if they aren’t expert at them. These firms outsource only when they don’t have the skills to carry out a particular task (such as designing and coding a website).

Level 3 – Outsource specialized functions. Retain routine operations. These firms want experts working on the most technical aspects of their marketing. A relatively low-level in-house marketing team takes care of the more straightforward tasks.

Level 4 – Most specialized functions and some routine operations outsourced. Firms at this level maintain a small marketing team to handle a few tasks that they want to keep close to home. But the majority of their marketing is conducted by an external firm that coordinates with the in-house team.

Level 5 – All functions outsourced. At Level 5, all marketing, including much of the strategy, is handled by a third-party team. This team works closely with management to align the marketing strategy with overall business objectives. Firm management is kept apprised of performance at frequently, regular intervals.

5 Benefits of Outsourcing Marketing

Why is outsourced marketing so popular with professional services firms? As it turns out, the reasons are rooted in the changing nature of professional services marketing, itself. Here are five compelling reasons that firms invest in outside marketing:

1. Marketing is not a core function of most professional services firms. Professional services firms tend to be run by accountants, attorneys, management consultants, engineers, or other professionals in their fields, not marketers. These professionals are often unfamiliar with the latest marketing trends and techniques — and they may not be inclined to become experts in yet another specialty.
2. Effective content marketing requires a growing, diverse skill set. Once upon a time, firms could get by with home-grown talent. Scheduling networking events and attending an occasional trade show require few specialized skills. Today’s marketing, however, requires highly developed technical expertise such as search engine optimization, landing page design, offer development, website analytics, persuasive writing and marketing automation — to name just a few.
3. Outsourced marketing is less expensive. While the fees for outsourcing may seem high at first, they can, in fact, be quite cost effective. You get access to a very diverse, high-quality set of skills without having to hire, train and supervise a team of specialists. You are only paying for what you need when you need it. And since you are using the talents of experienced specialists, they are also likely to produce better outcomes.
4. It helps keep your most valuable resources focused. Traditionally, professional services firms have relied on their most valuable people to write thought-leadership content and do the networking required to generate new business opportunities. But these demands take away from a professional’s billable time — an unending source of frustration for marketing directors everywhere. Outsourced marketing is changing that balance. An hour-long interview with an expert can provide enough information for an entire content marketing campaign. This can save many painful hours that experts might otherwise spend writing content themselves. Further, the outsourced marketer typically produces a superior outcome.
5. Outsourced marketing provides a single point of accountability. With the ascent of content marketing comes the rise of trackable marketing. Modern analytics and marketing automation tools let you track results very accurately. Accurate monitoring allows for clear accountability. In short, your outsourced marketing partner is accountable for results. That should be music to every managing partner’s ears.

3 Risks of Outsourced Marketing

Like any investment, outsourced marketing comes with certain risks. Here are three of the possible costs associated with outsourced marketing:

1. Internal morale and accountability issues. Depending on what functions you will be outsourcing, your existing marketing staff may feel threatened when you bring on a new marketing partner. In addition, your team may not be used to the pace and pressure of a results-oriented marketing program. To manage these problems, you will need to clearly define people’s roles, let staff know that they are part of a larger team now and explain that success depends on everyone doing their part.
2. Less on-site access to the marketing team. In most, but not all, outsourcing situations the team performing the marketing function is located off site. This arrangement may or may not be new to you, depending on your firm’s remote work policies. Getting used to working with off-site partners on a daily basis may be frustrating and a difficult adjustment.
3. Potential higher cost. Most outsourcing advocates report that outsourcing costs less. After all, it allows you to avoid the long-term costs associated with hiring and supervising new personnel. You pay for only the services you need. Some firms, however, find that outsourcing increases their marketing costs. We believe this happens when firms do not sufficiently fund marketing to achieve success. At the beginning of an outsourcing program, costs are higher because you are paying for the resources it takes to generate results. Soon, if the resources are high quality and the marketing strategy is sound, new revenue will easily offset those additional costs.

Typical Outsourced Marketing Services

We turn now to the core marketing functions of a marketing department — all of which can be outsourced. Keep in mind that there are many different ways to describe the wide range of marketing functions. For example, you can outsource a senior marketing executive or a particular operation, such as telemarketing. Core functions include the following:

1. Research — Includes researching your marketplace, competitors and clients. Research can uncover a wealth of insights into market opportunities, buyer personas, service relevancy and pricing. It can also help you understand your employer brand and recruiting strategies.
2. Strategy — Covers a wide range of high-level guidance for every level of the organization, such as overall firm-wide growth strategies, go-to-market strategies for specific practices, personal development strategies for individual professionals and succession planning. It also includes developing differentiators, positioning and messaging to different audiences.
3. Creative — For the most part, this function encompasses graphic design, writing and video production. It includes logos and brand identity, marketing materials, website design and development, marketing copy, signature content pieces and anything else that requires a creative touch.
4. Training — Building business development skills is a continual challenge at many firms. This category includes training relevant staff in business development techniques, CRM and marketing automation technologies, networking, social media and other marketing- and sales-related skills.
5. Operations — This consists of running day-to-day marketing operations. Examples include content production and editing, public relations, social media support, events, webinars, email campaigns and database support.
6. Analysis — You can’t fix what you can’t measure. An effective modern marketing team has to be able to track, analyze and report on every aspect of its program — such as online analytics, email performance, lead generation, opportunities, proposals and wins/losses. Armed with this information, your team can adjust your plan as needed.

Inside the Outsourced Marketing Department

How is a typical outsourced marketing department structured? I’m not talking here about individual freelancers — they require direct supervision from your team and often have limited strategic value. I’m referring instead to Level 3, 4 and 5 engagements on the outsourced marketing maturity scale. How would such an arrangement function?

To keep everything running smoothly, you need an account person (or team) that handles ongoing communications and manages your engagement. Competent project managers can make a tremendous difference in the quality of your partnership.

Of course, the outsourced marketing team will include individuals who do the work. Typically, these will be specialists in critical areas: research, strategy, design, social media, SEO, writing and so on.

There should be a QA process that double checks all work before you ever see it. It’s far too easy for embarrassing mistakes to sneak through without it.

A critical component of the engagement is reporting. You and your account team should be meeting on a regular basis — usually once a month, though it can be as often as once a week — to review work in progress, go over performance metrics and discuss any adjustments or changes in course. Reporting not only provides an opportunity for the teams to collaborate and monitor progress, it establishes accountability on both sides, as well.

Should You Outsource Your Marketing?

Is outsourced marketing right for you? It’s a question more and more professional services firms are asking. Most firms already outsource at least a few tasks, such a graphic design and writing.

In many industries, competitive pressures like AI, automation, legislation and market changes are forcing them to revisit every aspect of their operations, including marketing. Other firms want to move away from staffing non-core functions in which they don’t necessarily excel, focusing on the things they do best, instead. There is also a well-established and growing trend of offloading key tasks to subscription-based services.

As you review your marketing program, look at each piece and ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is this activity central to what we do?
2. Do we know how to find and manage the talent it requires?
3. Can we commit to the training required to keep up with evolving ideas and technology?
4. Does managing this function feel natural?
5. Can we afford the fixed overhead?

If you can answer yes to all five questions, that function should probably remain in-house. A single “no” puts a function on the fence, and you should think about how good a fit it is for the talent and time you have on your team. Could a specialist do it better? If so, is the extra quality worth the potential cost? What would your internal resource do instead?

If you answer with multiple “no’s” to the five questions, then it’s a good candidate for outsourcing.

Conclusion

Outsourced marketing is an important way that professional services firms today keep up with the pace of change in the marketplace. While some firms use it to address distinct, short-term needs, others turn to outside marketing firms to deliver the sophistication, power and performance they could never attain with in-house resources alone.

If you aren’t already, chances are you will be using outsourced marketing resources yourself in the near future. As you consider your needs, use this post to guide your conversations, and be sure to check some of the valuable resources we link to in this piece and the Additional Resources section below. Happy marketing!

The post Outsourcing Marketing for Professional Services Firms appeared first on Hinge Marketing.