Business Development Defined

Business development (BD) is the process used to identify, nurture, and acquire new clients and business opportunities, driving growth and profitability for organizations. A business development strategy is a document that describes the approach you will use to accomplish that goal.

The scope of business development can vary significantly from organization to organization. Consider the model professional services organizations use to get new business shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The three stages of the business development funnel

The first two stages of the model, Attract Prospects and Build Engagement, are traditional marketing functions. The final stage, Turn Opportunities into Clients, is a traditional sales function. In its traditional role, business development would be looking for new channels of distribution or marketing partners.

However, roles are changing and naming conventions evolve. In today’s world, many firms refer to the entire marketing and sales process as business development. We know, it can be confusing. So let’s sort it out a bit.

Business Development vs. Marketing

Marketing is the process of determining which products and services you will offer to which target audiences and at what price. It also addresses how you will position and promote your firm and its services in a competitive marketplace. The result of all this activity should be greater awareness of your firm among your target audience — and a stronger flow of qualified leads and opportunities.

Historically, business development has been a subset of the marketing function that was focused on acquiring new marketing or distribution relationships and channels. While this role still exists in many companies, the business development title has become interchangeable with many marketing and sales functions.

Business Development vs. Sales

Sales is the task of converting leads or opportunities into new clients. Business development is a broader term that encompasses many activities beyond the sales function. And while there is some overlap, most traditional BD roles are only lightly involved in closing new clients.

Business development is often confused with sales. This is not too surprising because many professionals who are clearly in sales have taken to using the title of Business Developer. Many organizations likely believe that the BD designation avoids the stigma sometimes associated with sales.

Nowhere is this practice more prevalent than in professional services. Accountants, lawyers, and strategy consultants do not want to be seen as “pushy sales people.” This titular bias is deeply rooted despite the fact that developing new business is an important role of most senior members of professional services firms. Also, the many aspects of the traditional business development role (finding new distribution channels, for instance) don’t translate easily to the professional services environment.

Since clients want to meet and get to know the professionals they will be working with, the seller-doer role is well established in many firms. The preference for seller-doers also tends to discourage firms from fielding a full-time sales force.

To alleviate the burden on fee-earners’ time, however, some firms have hired one or more Business Developers. In professional services, these individuals are often involved in lead generation and qualification, as well as helping the seller-doers close new clients. In other organizational contexts, this role might be thought of as a sales support role.

The result of this confusing picture is that many professional services firms call sales “business development” and make it part of every senior professional’s role. They may also include some marketing functions, such as lead generation and lead nurturing, in the professional’s BD responsibilities.

This expanded role—in which business development includes the full range of lead-generation, nurturing, and sales tasks—is what we will concentrate on in this post.

Business Development Strategy in Practice: Examples

To clarify what the professional services business development role entails, let’s consider this example:

Bethany is the Director of Business Development at a mid-sized architecture firm. She is not an architect herself. Nor is she involved in any aspect of delivering client projects. Instead, her role is focused on signing new business for her firm, including new and repeat clients.

For new clients, Bethany spends much of her time responding to RFPs, communicating directly with inbound leads generated by the marketing team, and nurturing potential clients that she met at a recent industry conference. Bethany also collaborates with the marketing team to develop any materials she needs to sell to new accounts.

When it comes to existing accounts, Bethany also plays a major role. She meets monthly with delivery teams to understand whether current client projects are in scope or if change orders are needed. She also maintains a relationship with clients’ key stakeholders. If an opportunity for more work arises, she knows that her relationship with the client is an important component of the potential deal.

In this example, Bethany is the primary driver of business development, but that does not mean she is doing this alone. Her colleague, Greg, is a lead architect at the firm. While Greg’s primary focus is working with clients, business development—and even marketing—is also an important part of his professional life. Greg often attends industry conferences with Bethany, where he is a speaker and subject matter expert and she is the primary networker. The business development dynamic does not end with Bethany. In fact, it permeates the whole organization.

In this business development example, you can see that the range of roles and responsibilities is extensive. This is why business development has to be delivered strategically. Let’s talk about what that means.

Strategic Business Development

Not every business development activity has the same impact. In fact, many are opportunistic and tactical in nature. This is especially true for many seller-doers.

Caught between the pressures of client work and an urgent need to bring in new business, seller-doers cast about for a quick and easy win—maybe a small piece of business at a low price point—that will produce short term results. Of course, this is no real strategy at all.

Strategic business development is the alignment of business development processes and procedures with your firm’s strategic business goals. The role of strategic business development is to acquire ideal clients—the kind that are highly profitable and aren’t overly demanding—for your highest priority services using brand promises that you can deliver upon.

Deciding which targets and strategies to pursue can be a high stakes decision. A good strategy, well implemented, can drive high levels of growth and profitability. A poorly conceived strategy can stymie growth and frustrate valuable talent.

Yet many firms falter at this critical step. They rely on habit, anecdotes, and fads—or worse, that innovation killer, “This is how we have always done it.” In a later section, we’ll explain how to develop your strategic business development plan. But first, let’s explore some of the strategies that might go into that plan.

Top Business Development Strategies

Let’s look at some of the most common business development strategies and how they stack up against what today’s buyers are looking for.

1. Networking

Networking is probably the most frequently used business development technique. It’s built on the idea that professional services buying decisions are rooted in relationships, and the best way to develop new relationships is through face-to-face networking.

It is true that many relationships are established in this way. And if you are networking with members of your target audience, you can develop new business. But there are limitations. Today’s buyers are very time pressured, and networking is time consuming. It can be very expensive, if you consider travel and time away from the office. Your business development potential is also limited to the relatively small number of people you can meet in person.

Newer digital networking techniques can help. But even networking on social media requires an investment of time and attention.

2. Referrals

A close relative of networking, referrals are often seen as the mechanism that turns networking and client satisfaction into new business. You establish a relationship, and that person refers new business to you. Satisfied clients do the same.

Without question, referrals are common, and many firms get most or all of their business from them. But referrals are passive. They rely on your clients and contacts to identify good prospects for your services and make a referral at the right time.

The problem is, referral sources often are unaware of all of your services or the range of ways you can help a client. So many referrals are poorly matched to your capabilities. Other well-matched referrals go unmade because your referral source fails to recognize a great prospect when they see one. Finally, many prospects that might be good clients rule out your firm before even talking with you. One study puts that number at over 50%.

Importantly, there are new digital strategies that can accelerate referrals. Making your specific expertise more visible is the key. This allows people to make better referrals and increases your referral base beyond clients and a few business contacts.

3. Sponsorships and Advertising

Can you develop new business directly by sponsoring events and advertising? It would solve a lot of problems if it works. No more trying to squeeze time from fully utilized billable professionals.

Unfortunately, the results on this front are not very encouraging. Studies have shown that traditional advertising is actually associated with slower growth. Only when advertising is combined with other techniques, such as speaking at an event, do these techniques bear fruit.

The most promising advertising strategy seems to be well-targeted digital advertising. This strategy allows firms to get their messages and offers in front of the right people at a lower cost.

4. Outbound Telephone and Mail

Professional services firms have been using phone calls and mail to reach potential clients for decades. Target the right firms and roles with a compelling, relevant message and new opportunities abound. At least, that’s the theory.

There are a couple of key challenges with these strategies. First, they are relatively expensive, so they need to be just right to be effective. Second, if you don’t catch the prospect at the right time, your offer may fall flat—delivering no impact on your business development goals.

The key is to have a very appealing offer delivered to a very qualified and responsive list. It’s not easy to get this combination right.

5. Thought Leadership and Content Marketing

Here, the strategy is to make your expertise visible to potential buyers and referral sources. By writing and speaking about issues relevant to your audience, you can demonstrate your expertise and how it can be applied to solve their business problems.

Books, articles, and speaking engagements have long been staples of professional services business development strategy. Many high-visibility experts have built their practices and firms upon this strategy. It often takes a good part of a career to execute this approach.

But changing times and technology have reshaped this strategy. With digital communication, it is now easier and much faster to establish your expertise with a target market. Search engines have leveled the playing field so that relatively unknown individuals and firms can become known even outside their physical region. (Though with the rise of AI, this landscape is evolving quickly.) Webinars have democratized public speaking, and blogs and websites give every firm a 24/7 presence. Add in video, podcasts, and social media, and the budding expert can access a vastly expanded marketplace.

But these developments also open firms to much greater competition, as well. You may find yourself competing with specialists whom you were never aware of—raising the stakes on your business development strategy.

6. Combined Strategies

It is common to combine different business development strategies. For example, networking and referrals are frequently used together. And on one level, a combined strategy makes perfect sense. The strength of one strategy can shore up the weakness of another.

But there is a hidden danger. For a strategy to perform at its peak, it must be fully implemented. If you attempt to execute too many different strategies, you will never completely implement any of them.

Good intentions, no matter how ambitious, are of little real business development value. Under-investment, lack of follow through, and inconsistent effort are the bane of effective business development.

It is far more effective to fully implement a simple strategy than to dabble in a complex one. Fewer elements, competently implemented, produce better results.

Next, we turn our attention to the tactics used to implement a high-level strategy. But first, there is a bit of confusion to clear up.

Business Development Strategy Vs. Tactics

The line between strategy and tactics is not always clear. For example, you can think of networking as an overall business development strategy or as a tactic to enhance the impact of a thought leadership strategy. Confusing to be sure.

From our perspective, the distinction is around focus and intent. If networking is your business development strategy, all your focus should be on making the networking more effective and efficient. You will select tactics that are aimed at making networking more powerful or easier. You may try out another marketing technique and drop it if it does not help you implement your networking strategy.

On the other hand, if networking is simply one of many tactics, your decision to use it will depend on whether it supports your larger strategy. Tactics and techniques can be tested and easily changed. Strategy, on the other hand, is a considered choice and does not change from day to day or week to week.

10 Most Effective Business Development Tactics

Which business development tactics are most effective? To find out, we conducted a study that looked at 770 professional services firms. The research identified those firms that were growing at greater than a 20% compound annual growth rate over a three-year period.

These High Growth firms were compared to firms in the same industry that did not grow over the same time period. We then examined which business development tactics were employed by each group and which provided the most impact.

The result is a list of the ten most impactful tactics employed by the High Growth firms:

1. Networking at conferences, trade shows, and events
2. Hosting a conference or event
3. Traditional advertising (print, radio, billboards, etc.)
4. Promoting thought leadership on social media
5. Marketing video (firm/service/product overviews, testimonials, company culture, etc.)
6. Conducting and publishing original research
7. Marketing partnerships with other organizations
8. Providing free assessments or consultations
9. Pay-per-click/digital display advertising (not including social media advertising)
10. Business development materials (pitch decks, proposal templates, etc.)

There are a couple of key observations about these tactics. First, these techniques can be employed in service of different business development strategies. For example, number seven on the list, marketing partnerships with other organizations, can easily support a networking or a thought leadership strategy.

The other observation is that the top tactics include a mix of both digital and traditional techniques. As we will see when we develop your plan, having a healthy mix of digital and traditional techniques tends to increase the impact of your strategy.

Business Development Skills

Now that we have identified some key business development strategies and tactics you might incorporate into your business development plan, it is time to consider the skills your team will need. Business development requires a broad range of technical skills, but there are some that make a particular difference.

When the Hinge Research Institute studied marketing and business development skills in another recent edition of the High Growth Study, we found that the firms that grow fastest have a skills advantage within their marketing and business development teams.

In Figure 2 below, we see which business development skills are the most important for the high growth firms:

Figure 2. Skill ratings by marketing function (High Growth vs. No Growth firms)

Let’s dive into the top three skills from this list. 

High growth firms’ number one business development skill is strong project management. And for experienced business development specialists, this makes good sense. Staying organized, accurately tracking business development activity, and managing accounts are essential for building and maintaining strong business relationships. Sound project management practices also allow the business development team to produce stronger proposals more quickly without sacrificing quality.

The next most important skill is simplifying complex concepts. In business development conversations, it is vital that team members are able to communicate your firm’s service offerings and capabilities in a way that prospects can understand. Speaking in industry jargon or presenting overly complicated charts creates unnecessary confusion and friction. Therefore, it is no surprise to see that the fastest growing professional services firms have an advantage in communicating complex information in a way that buyers understand.

The third most important business development skill is data analytics. Firms that make a habit of regularly monitoring key metrics have a real advantage. They can see what marketing techniques are working and which are having problems. This allows them to make course corrections in near real time. Firms that rarely or never look at data are running blind, relying instead on potentially misleading anecdotal evidence.

Review the other business development and marketing skills in the figure above and determine if there are any skill deficiencies in your business development team. Developing these skills should be a key priority.

How to Create Your Strategic Business Development Plan

A Business Development Plan is a document that outlines how you implement your business development strategy. It can be a plan for an individual, a practice, or the firm as a whole. Its scope covers both the marketing and sales functions, as they are intertwined in most professional services firms.

Here are the key steps to develop and document your plan.

1. Define your target audience

Who are you trying to attract as new clients? Think about your “best-fit” clients, not all possible prospects. Focus on a narrow target audience. But don’t go so narrow that you can’t achieve your business goals.

2. Research their top challenges and buying behavior, as well as your competitors

The more you know about your target audience, the better equipped you will be to attract their attention and communicate how you can help them. What are their key business issues? Is your expertise relevant to those issues? Where do they look for advice and inspiration? What is the competitive environment like? How do you stack up?

3. Identify your competitive advantage

What makes you different? Why is that better for your target client? Are you the most cost-effective alternative? Or the industry’s leading expert? However you position your firm, your claims need to be true, provable, and relevant to your target audience. It is very useful to document this positioning as you will use it over and over again as you develop your messages and marketing tools.

4. Choose your overall business development strategy

Pick the broad strategy or strategies you will use to reach, engage, and convert your prospects. You can start with the list of top strategies provided above. Which strategy best fits your target audience’s needs and preferences? Which ones best convey your competitive advantage? For example, if you have superior industry expertise, a thought leadership/content marketing strategy will likely serve you well.

5. Choose your business development tactics

A great place to start is with the list of the most effective tactics we provided above. Make sure that each technique you select fits your target audience and strategy. Remember, it’s not about your personal preferences or familiarity with a tactic. It’s about what will create a connection with your audience.

Also, you will need to balance your choices in two important ways: First, you will need tactics that address each stage of the business development pipeline shown in Figure 1. Some techniques work great for gaining visibility but do not address the longer-term need to nurture prospects over time. You need to cover the full funnel.

Second, you need a good balance between digital and traditional techniques (see figure 3 below). Your research should inform this choice. Be careful about assumptions. Just because you don’t use social media doesn’t mean that a portion of your prospects don’t use it to check you out.

When, how often, which conferences, what topics? Now is the time to settle on the details that turn a broad strategy into a specific plan. Many plans include a content or marketing calendar that lays out the specifics, week by week. If that is too much detail for you, at least document what you will be doing and how often. You will need these details to monitor the implementation of your plan.

7. Specify how you will monitor implementation and impact

Often overlooked, these important considerations often spell the difference between success and failure. Unimplemented strategies don’t work. Keep track of what you do, and when. This will both motivate action and provide a great starting place as you troubleshoot your strategy. Also monitor and record any results you see. The most obvious effect will be how much new business you closed. But you should also monitor new leads or new contacts, at the bare minimum.

Finally, don’t neglect important process outcomes such as referrals, growth of your list, and downloads of content that expose prospects and referral sources to your expertise.

Follow these steps and you will walk away with a fully documented business development strategy and a concrete plan to implement and optimize it.

Free Resource

The Business Development Guide

Learn More

Key Takeaways

Business Development Defined: Business development (BD) is the process used to identify, nurture, and acquire new clients and business opportunities, driving growth and profitability for organizations. A business development strategy is a document that describes the approach you will use to accomplish that goal.

Strategy vs. Tactics: From our perspective, the distinction is around focus and intent. If networking is your business development strategy, all your focus should be on making the networking more effective and efficient. You will select tactics that are aimed at making networking more powerful or easier.

Digital and Traditional Mix: Combine digital and traditional business development techniques for greater impact, taking inspiration from what High Growth firms have found to be most effective.

Essential Skills: Build project management, communication, and data analytics skills for a high-performing business development team.

Plan Implementation: Monitor and document your business development strategy for continuous improvement.

Conclusion

A comprehensive business development strategy aligns your marketing and sales efforts, leverages the right skills, and combines digital and traditional tactics to drive sustainable growth for your firm.

FAQ

What is a business development strategy and why is it important?

A business development strategy is a documented plan outlining how a firm will identify, attract, and convert new clients and opportunities. It is essential for driving long-term growth and profitability in professional services organizations.

Where can I find resources to help build my business development strategy?

You can access guides, research, and case stories from Hinge Marketing in our resource library. In particular, we recommend the Business Development Guide linked within this post.

How can I implement a business development strategy in my firm?

Start by defining your target audience, researching their needs, identifying your competitive advantage, and selecting the most effective tactics. Regularly monitor your progress and adjust your approach based on measurable results.

How do I compare different business development strategies before choosing one?

Evaluate strategies based on your firm’s goals, target audience preferences, and available resources. Consider combining approaches such as networking, thought leadership, and digital marketing to create a comprehensive and effective business development strategy.

The post Business Development Strategy: How to Build a Plan for Growth 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.

For many professional services firms, a website redesign project is driven by two hopes: an impressive visual experience and clearly written pages that describe the firm and its services. While those are important, they overlook the most valuable opportunity a redesign affords: a system that generates a steady flow of high-quality leads.

Referrals are still the dominant engine of growth in our industry, but they’ve changed. Our research shows that for every ten prized referrals you receive, eight of them will visit your website and never pick up the phone. That’s an 80% whiff rate on your best leads because your site failed the credibility check.

It’s time to move beyond the digital brochure. Here is how to transform your website into a dynamic, lead-generating engine.

Why Your Website Isn’t Generating Leads (and How to Fix It)

Most professional services websites function as digital business collateral, a few staff headshots, a list of services and a contact page. This is a passive approach in a world where buyers look to the internet and social media first to solve their business challenges.

To fix this, you need a mindset shift. At Hinge, we always advise our clients that your website isn’t a cost center, it’s your hardest-working employee. It needs to perform three critical jobs:

• Pass the Credibility Check: You have about five seconds to prove to a visitor that they are in the right place. Validation of referrals, recommendations or (increasingly) search or AI platform results.
• The Digital Handshake: It should start a conversation and build a relationship through thought leadership before you ever meet.
• The 24/7 Listening Post: It should use analytics to provide real-time business intelligence (such as audience interests and engagement data) on what your audience actually cares about.

Stop treating your site as a megaphone and start seeing it as a lead generation ecosystem. The goal isn’t just to inform, it’s to convert.

Core Components of Lead Generation for Professional Services Websites

A high-performing website is a finely crafted tool designed for a specific job. When planning your site, focus on these five pillars:

1. Audience-Centric SEO & GEO: Traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about traffic, but the rise of AI search means you must also optimize for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) that leans into what your human audience actually cares about: intent and trust. Focus on helpful, insightful content for your specific niche rather than just stuffing keywords.
2. High-Value Educational Content: You need a mix of flow content (like blogs or videos) to attract an audience and premium content (like guides or research) to convert them into leads.
3. Clear Conversion Paths: Guide visitors with digital breadcrumbs. Use a mix of soft offers like newsletters or webinars for researchers and hard offers for consultations or direct contact for those who are ready to talk.
4. Trust and Credibility Markers: Don’t just claim expertise; prove it. Use detailed case stories—not just boring project lists—and rich expert profiles that link your people to the content they’ve authored.
5. Analytics and Measurement: Your site must be connected to your CRM and marketing automation systems so no lead falls through the cracks.

Using SEO and Content to Attract the Right Audience

In professional services, you aren’t just selling a service, you’re selling expertise and solutions. To attract the right audience, your content strategy must align with the issues your clients are trying to solve.

• The Issue-to-Content Map: Instead of writing about yourself, identify your audience’s biggest business challenges. High-growth firms use research to understand these challenges and then produce original insights to address them.
• Long-Tail Content: Focus on narrow, specific topics. Long-tail content is particularly well suited for AI search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
• The Power of Video: Many people—some studies say most—prefer video. Video builds a deeper, more personal connection and allows Google to watch and understand your expertise.
• E-E-A-T: AI models hunt for the most authoritative and trustworthy sources. By consistently publishing insightful thought leadership, you build a definitive source of truth that attracts both humans and bots.

How Can I Convert Anonymous Visitors into Qualified Leads?

A visitor who doesn’t take action is just a number in your analytics. To generate leads, you must give them a reason to raise their hand.

The Offer-CTA-Landing Page Model

Every blog post should lead somewhere. Use clear Calls-to-Action (CTAs) that invite the reader to take the next step.

• The Offer: Provide something valuable, like a compact primer on a single topic (a guide) or original research.
• The CTA: Replace generic “Learn More” buttons with specific invitations: “Download the Industry Report” or “Register for the Webinar.”
• The Landing Page: Use dedicated pages to sell the value of the offer. Keep forms simple—asking for just a name and email reduces friction and increases conversion.
• Expert Tip: Clearly attribute every piece of content to an individual expert. When you turn your people into Visible Experts™, you also generate invisible referrals. People who actively refer potential business to your firm because they follow and trust your experts, even if they’ve never been clients or interacted directly with your experts.

How Do I Measure and Improve Lead Generation Performance?

Your website project isn’t finished at launch, it’s a strategic growth initiative that requires ongoing optimization. Based on Hinge’s ongoing benchmarking studies, high-growth professional services firms (20% year over year growth or better) are over three times as likely to be highly proficient in using marketing metrics compared to their no-growth peers.

Essential KPIs to Track:

• Landing Page Conversion Rate: Are your premium content offers actually compelling visitors to fill out forms?
• Visitor-to-Lead Rate: What percentage of your total traffic is turning into actionable business opportunities?
• Visibility and Engagement: Track which articles are read most often and what topics people are searching for on your site. They should align with your organization’s growth and branding priorities.

Mistakes to Avoid:

• Undifferentiated Imagery: Stop using generic stock photos of people shaking hands. Authentic photography of your actual team builds much more trust.
• Decision Fatigue: Don’t jam every service into your navigation. Keep it simple and guide visitors effortlessly to the proof they need. An extreme example is Accenture’s streamlined navigation menu. We don’t all have the brand positioning of Accenture, but the aspiration is still relevant.
• Ignoring the Technicals: An audit should ensure your site is fast, secure, and mobile-friendly. If it’s held together with digital duct tape and toothpicks you’re starting with a disadvantage.

When you combine a smart offer strategy with seamless technology, you get a predictable, measurable, and scalable engine for growth.

Key Takeaways

• Credibility Matters: Your website must pass the credibility check to convert referrals into leads.
• Content Drives Engagement: Educational, niche-focused content attracts and nurtures the right audience.
• Conversion Paths Are Critical: Clear CTAs (calls to action) and streamlined landing pages increase lead capture rates.
• Expert Authority Builds Trust: Showcasing individual experts and using authentic team photos enhances trust.
• Measurement Fuels Growth: Tracking KPIs and ongoing optimization are essential for sustainable lead generation.

Conclusion

To maximize lead generation for professional services websites, focus on credibility, educational content, clear conversion paths, expert authority, and continuous measurement. This methodical approach can transform your website into a reliable growth engine.

FAQ

What is lead generation for professional services websites, and why is it important?

Lead generation for professional services websites is the process of converting website visitors into qualified business leads. It is essential because it drives growth by turning online interest into actionable opportunities.

Where can I find the core strategies for lead generation on my website?

The core strategies for lead generation for professional services websites are summarized in the sections on content creation, conversion paths, and analytics within this post. For more detail and actionable guidance, check out the Lead Generating Website Guide here.

How can I start implementing lead generation tactics on my professional services website?

Begin by optimizing your website with educational content, clear calls-to-action, and simple landing pages. Connect your site to CRM and marketing automation tools to ensure no leads are missed.

How does lead generation for professional services websites compare to other industries?

Lead generation for professional services websites relies heavily on trust, expertise, and relationship-building, compared to product-based sites. Demonstrating authority, contextual fluency (knowing your audiences) and credibility is especially critical for success in this sector.

The post How to Maximize Lead Generation for Professional Services Websites 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.

Techniques like these certainly have a place in your marketing tool belt. But the world of B2B marketing strategies has expanded, and the behavior of professional services buyers has changed. Today’s buyers are nearly as likely to turn to search engines for answers to their work-related challenges as they are to ask a colleague or connection for a referral.

This evolving marketplace has broadened the range of B2B marketing strategies at your disposal. So staying competitive today means taking full advantage of a wide spectrum of strategies.

You may wonder, though, which ones actually work in today’s hyper-competitive environment? In this article, we will explore ten fundamental B2B marketing strategies that will not only help your firm keep up, but help you get ahead. First let’s define exactly what we mean by B2B marketing strategy, including examples of how one can be deployed at different stages of the marketing funnel.

What is B2B Marketing Strategy?

B2B marketing strategy is the carefully selected set of techniques a firm uses to reach, nurture and sell its products and services to businesses in its target audience. Buyers are often c-suite or director-level professionals at other companies. This makes B2B marketing different from other kinds of marketing.

One key difference is that when businesses buy from other businesses the sales cycle tends to be longer—often weeks or months, and sometimes years. Buyers are trying to solve complex business challenges, and the solutions can be expensive, often requiring a great deal of time and customization to complete. As a result, many companies approach the selection process with care and deliberation. So a B2B marketing strategy needs to address all stages of the buyer journey. Let’s explore how this looks practically with some examples.

B2B Marketing Examples

We simplify the concept of B2B marketing by thinking of it as a three-tiered funnel. In this section we’ll explain each tier and provide examples of how B2B marketing techniques fit into the mix.

At the top tier of the marketing funnel you have a potential universe of buyers who are generally unaware of your product and service offerings. B2B marketing activity at this top tier employs techniques that broaden the visibility of your brand and attract the right kind of leads to engage further with your brand. These leads could be potential buyers, referral sources, or other influencers who could amplify your visibility.

An example of B2B marketing at the top of the funnel might be having one or more experts from your firm attend, network at, and speak at a top industry conference where your firm’s potential buyers gather. Another example is submitting a series of articles to an online publication that’s widely read by your target audience. Remember, the goal of B2B marketing at the top of the funnel is not to start closing deals! The objective is to increase your visibility, expose new people to your expertise and provide a pathway for leads to take the next step of engagement.

Speaking of engaging your potential buyers, that’s what the middle tier of the B2B marketing funnel is all about! If there is one section of the funnel that is underutilized, it’s this one. Marketers can be tempted to rush potential buyers into a sales pitch. But not all buyers are ready to make a purchasing decision today—in fact, many will be months or years away. So the middle of the funnel is where B2B marketers focus on engaging and nurturing their audience over a long period of time.

A common middle-funnel B2B marketing approach is to supply interested parties with insightful and practical educational materials. Webinars are a great example of middle of the funnel B2B marketing. In a live webinar, a potential buyer can experience your firm’s leading experts in a no-pressure environment where they can learn and ask questions. If they are ready to take the next step, it’s easy to reach out and speak to someone on your team. Another common middle-funnel tactic is email marketing. To demonstrate your thought leadership and nurture your contacts over time, you can send them relevant educational material—topical e-newsletters, blog posts, white papers and guides. If you are able to segment your list by industry or area of interest, this technique becomes even more powerful. Most people are more receptive to receiving helpful information like this than a hard offer (though there is a time and place for those, as well).

Finally, a buyer reaches the bottom of the B2B marketing funnel when they are ready to buy—though not necessarily from you! More often than not, they are evaluating a variety of options. Often they raise their hand and indicate that they are ready to speak with a representative from your firm about one or more of your services. We consider this moment a true B2B marketing lead. At this stage of the funnel, B2B marketers are responsible for preparing those who close business deals in their organization with the materials they need to communicate clearly and persuasively to the buyer. Examples of these materials might include pitch decks, qualifications packages and case studies.

Now that we’ve defined what B2B marketing is and how a B2B marketer needs to consider all three tiers of the funnel, let’s explore the ten essential B2B marketing strategies you can implement to help your firm get ahead of the competition.

Top 10 B2B Marketing Strategies

1. Research

Research is the bedrock of any modern marketing program. From marketplace research to brand research, detailed scientifically conducted studies will help you make more informed decisions. They’ll give you an objective basis for your marketing and provide valuable baselines for measuring your results.

By conducting research, you’ll know your clients better—which positions you to serve them better. Market research also gives you insight into how your processes are performing. You’ll discover which aspects of your firm are performing most successfully and develop a better understanding of which services you should offer.

The impact of research is clear. Our own studies on the impact of research have shown that firms that conduct systematic research on their prospects and clients grow three to ten times faster and are up to two times more profitable than peers that don’t pursue research.

2. Niche-driven Strategy

One of the most powerful marketing strategies is specialization and niche targeting. Our research has repeatedly shown that the fastest-growing firms tend to be specialists in a carefully targeted niche. Target an area of the industry that you understand thoroughly, a space in which you can become an indisputable expert and leader.

Specialization makes all of your marketing efforts easier, because it helps you define exactly what you do and tangibly distinguishes you from the competition. A specialization is a differentiator that proves itself.

3. A High Performance Website

In today’s professional services marketplace, your firm’s website is one of your most crucial assets. It is much more than a digital billboard or brochure, as some firms believed in the past. Instead, a successful modern website is the hub of a firm’s online presence and a place where visitors can sample a firm’s expertise before even talking with anyone.

Your website is a critical tool for building visibility. Buyers today go online to find service providers. To have a chance at winning their business, you must have a website that can be found in search. At the same time, your website must demonstrate your firm’s expertise and have clear, differentiated messaging that convinces visitors that your firm is credible, impressive and a good fit.

Our research paints a clear picture of the importance of a professional services firm’s website. In fact, 80% of people look at website when checking out service providers—the most commonly used information source by far.

And as new visitors reach your site, robust educational content and carefully targeted offers can drive leads closer and closer to a buying event, eventually bringing qualified leads straight to you. The process of nurturing leads through content is illustrated in the funnel graphic we discussed earlier in this article.

A second component of your website you need to consider is design. The look and feel of your site can influence your audience’s perceptions, aid recall, and differentiate your firm from competitors.

The power of design to engage audiences is often under appreciated — which means it offers a tremendous opportunity to set firms apart and convey the credibility firms needs to thrive.

Finally, another increasingly essential consideration for your website is its usability across a wide range of devices, including mobile. Responsive design, which allows your website to adapt to suit a user’s device, has become a key feature as more people use mobile devices to do business.

Free Resource

The Lead Generating Website Guide for Professional Services

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4. Search and Generative Engine Optimization (SEO & GEO)

As we alluded to in #3 above, your target audience has to be able to find your website for it to be effective. That’s where search engine optimization plays an important role.

In our studies of the best performing organizations, most high-growth firms rate SEO as a critical digital marketing technique. And in a recent High Growth Study, we saw that higher levels of SEO maturity was correlated with a greater proportion of digital leads. This same study showed a similar connection between higher SEO maturity and increased profitability, most likely because digital leads usually cost less to produce.

Though SEO is a complex and evolving discipline, especially due to the rise of GEO in recent months, both practices ultimately consist of two primary components.

On-site optimization incorporates targeted keyword phrases into your content to communicate concepts that you want prospects to associate with your firm—and use to find you in online search. These keyword phrases typically focus on ideas related to your services and expertise.

The purpose of on-site optimization is to communicate to search engines and other platforms what your website is about. This allows those engines to produce more relevant results to searchers. And when audiences search for some area of your expertise, they’ll be more likely to find you.

Off-site optimization takes the form of links to your website, either through outside engagement or guest articles in other publications, for example. Think of these links as votes of confidence in your site (though some votes—from highly reputable sources, for instance, count more than others). These links work to increase your site’s authority as a widely recognized leader on your topic.

As more high-authority and relevant websites link to your website, search engines and AI platforms will begin to see your site as more credible—resulting in higher rankings and more frequent mentions.

5. Social Media

If you need any more proof that social media is here to stay in the professional services industry, we’ve got you covered. Our research has found that over 60% of buyers check out new service providers on social media, making it a more commonly used source of information than formal referrals and recommendations.

Even the nature of referrals has changed in the wake of social media. A study on referral marketing has found that 17% of expertise-based referrals are made on the basis of interactions on social media. In short, social media can accelerate the reach of your reputation, expertise, and content. It also allows you to network and connect with valuable contacts and influencers, as well as monitor your brand’s reputation through social listening.

6. Advertising

There are a number of platforms on which your firm can advertise effectively:

• Industry publications and websites
• Social media (especially LinkedIn)
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – Google Ads, as well as Bing and Yahoo
• Retargeting – A cookie-based technology that uses a simple JavaScript code to anonymously “follow” your audience across the Web and serve relevant ads

Advertising doesn’t just promote your services—it can also play an important role in driving content downloads, increasing both your expertise and visibility.

It’s important, however, to use forms of advertising well-suited to professional services. LinkedIn, retargeting, and other industry-focused advertising tend to work best because they allow you to most directly target appropriate industry audiences, which leads to more conversions, higher click-through rates, and lower cost per download.

Search engine marketing can be an effective way to speak to hard-to-reach audiences. For instance, if you can’t compete for an important keyword, Google ads provide a convenient way to access people who search for it. Just keep in mind that getting good results usually requires testing different headlines, copy and offers.

It’s important to remember there are many variations of each of these advertising types. Professional services firms might find them more or less successful depending on budget, ad purpose, targeting, and industry niche.

7. Referral Marketing

Earlier we explained that the nature of professional services referrals has changed—and this has major implications for your B2B marketing strategy. Our studies of referral marketing strategies in professional services have revealed an important new facet of the practice: over 81.5% of providers have received a referral from someone who wasn’t a client.

Where do these referrals come from? The vast majority are based on a firm’s reputation for specific expertise.

By using content marketing in conjunction with the rest of the tactics in this list, you can build a brand with a widespread reputation for specialty in your area—and an understanding of your expertise even among audiences that haven’t worked with you directly. This brand recognition can lead to referrals and new business.

8. Marketing Automation, CRM, and Lead Nurturing

Marketing Automation: Marketing automation replaces high-touch, repetitive manual processes with automated ones enabled by technology solutions. It brings much or all of your online marketing together in one centralized system for creating, managing, and measuring programs and campaigns.

As with any technological tool, selecting the right marketing automation software for your firm is critical. Make sure the tool’s size, complexity, and scalability is a good match for your needs.

CRM: Another essential software is a Customer Relationship Management System (CRM). Many firms use a CRM platform to track and organize opportunities and client information. It will help you stay organized and connected, no matter how sophisticated your operations grow.

Your CRM serves as the database for all the information you collect about opportunities and clients, including specific interactions with them. The information can be entered, stored, and accessed by employees across a firm’s departments, providing a centralized repository for all leads, business development activities and historical data.

Lead Nurturing: But CRM isn’t the end of the story. Remember the lead-nurturing middle of the content funnel? Your website is one critical piece of that puzzle, and email marketing is another. Targeted, analytics-driven email marketing campaigns allow you to deliver relevant content, as well as soft and hard offers for specific buyer roles, tailored to a buyer’s particular place in the buying process.

Similarly, drip email campaigns provide a hands-off way to send targeted offers to segments of your audience over a set period of time. This produces better educated prospects and builds deeper engagement by delivering a carefully curated selection of relevant content and offers.

9. Testing and Optimization

We started with research, but that’s only the beginning of the science in modern marketing strategy. Testing and optimization allow you to monitor and refine your marketing efforts—so you can make in-flight decisions based on hard data rather than intuition.

Just as research is the bedrock of your marketing, testing and optimization is your steady guide. You should never stop testing your marketing campaigns and adjusting them accordingly. This includes:

A/B testing of emails, landing pages—Using A/B testing tools (like Optimizely or Unbounce), learn which of two emails or landing page variations produces more conversions. You can test variables like language, design, imagery and color.

Email and landing page rendering—Using tools such as Email on Acid, you can test how emails will render on different devices and platforms, ensuring that they look and function as you intended.

10. Analytics and Reporting

To improve your marketing program over time, you need to monitor the right metrics, analyze what you find and make sure the right people see these insights. You will need the right suite of tools in place to collect accurate data on all your marketing and business development activities, from your website to social media to SEO.

Google Analytics is an essential tool for measuring and analyzing your site traffic. Many third-party tools are available, such as Moz and Semrush, can help you study and improve your SEO results, while platforms like Hootsuite and Zoho Social provide detailed social media analytics.

Analytics and testing help you truly understand what is working and what is not. Embrace them, use them. They will help you turn your marketing efforts from an art form into a science.

The online marketing world is evolving at a faster and faster rate, but today, the firms that diligently data on their performance—across a wide range of marketing efforts—then act on this information are situated to win.

A Final Thought

No two B2B marketing strategies are the same, nor should they be. That’s because as every firm strives to say something different to their clients, they need to develop a unique suite of messages, tools and techniques to reach and persuade their audience. As you use the ideas in this post to shape your own business’ marketing strategy, you may discover that some resonate with your audience better than others. Or you may uncover new ones that you want to test out along the way.

B2B marketing is evolving. Organizations that equip themselves to understand how the marketplace is changing and how their audience buys their services and products are positioned to thrive in any economic environment.

Marketing Planning Guide - Third Edition

The Marketing Planning Guide for Professional Services Firms

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The post 10 Essential B2B Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Professional Services Firm appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

Let’s begin by clearing up some basic confusion: what is the difference between sales and marketing?

Sales vs. Marketing in Professional Services

Sales is about convincing your prospects buy your services. It’s about closing business opportunities.

Marketing is about offering the right services with the right benefits to the right prospects. It’s about creating demand.

There are some functions within professional services settings that may be a part of either marketing or sales. Lead generation is perhaps the best example. In some firms, lead generation is a key part of the sales function. In other firms where the marketing team is more active, lead generation falls on their shoulders. The same is true for proposal preparation.

Sales and marketing strategy is different for professional services. And there is more to this difference than your target audience alone. After all, professional services can be B2B or B2C, although most fall into the former category.

The true difference arises from the nature of the services themselves and the relationship between the provider and the client.

Expertise, Trust and the Professional Services Sale

Most professional services clients are buying your expertise. It is the top criterion in most provider searches. Further, some form of expertise is overwhelmingly what tips the scale when the final selection is made.

But the professional relationship is not only about expertise, it’s also about trust.

In all sales and marketing relationships there is a need for at least some level of basic trust. After all, we won’t do business with someone who is likely to take advantage of us or provides a product that doesn’t work.

In professional services, trust is a central, defining issue — even more important than it is to B2B products and services. In professional relationships clients often have to share sensitive or embarrassing information. They rely on us for advice and counsel. That’s why we call them clients rather than customers.

As Charles Green has so eloquently argued, many professional services providers can even become trusted advisors. But that trust must be earned and maintained over time. It is essential to a productive professional relationship.

It is this dual need for trust and expertise that drives sales and marketing strategy. And as we will see below, having a good understanding of how prospective clients view their relationship with you will help you plan your marketing and sales strategy.

A Word About Terms

As many politicians and pundits are fond of saying, “words matter.” And one of the most loaded words in many firms is “sales.” For many professionals, the term itself conjures up unethical manipulation and unbecoming practices.

In many firms, the term “sales” is never used. The act of closing a new client is referred to as “business development” or even “marketing.” However, for our purposes we want to set aside those considerations and be very specific about the concepts we are discussing.

This definitional challenge is made worse because there are no widely held common practices that cut across firms. Even two firms in the same industry may approach their sales and marketing strategies very differently.

So let’s start with some definitions.

Sales Defined

Sales is the process of assessing the suitability of potential new clients, educating them about your firm and its services and persuading them to buy.

Other activities around new business development, such as generating new opportunities or preparing a proposal may or may not be included in the sales role. What is or is not a part of the role will depend on the strategy you select.

Today, firms recognize that effective sales performance goes beyond strategy; it depends on how well teams are trained, coached, and onboarded.

Marketing Defined

Marketing is the process of understanding your marketplace and competitors, defining appropriate positioning and services, promoting the firm to your target audience and explaining how they might benefit by working with your firm.

In some firms, marketing may also serve the role of educating and nurturing potential clients and referral sources, identifying potential new business opportunities and preparing new business proposals. How these responsibilities are allocated between sales and marketing is a key component of your strategy.

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing and Your Sales Strategy

As you evaluate potential sales and marketing strategies, you need to understand the difference between inbound and outbound marketing.

Outbound marketing is the traditional approach to marketing. It is what firms do when they advertise or try to educate potential clients about what they do and persuade them to use their services. The firm has near-complete control over an outbound campaign — when it begins, who will see it and what it says. It primarily relies on marketing or advertising materials to persuade the prospect.

Inbound marketing relies on creating a stream of original, non-self-promotional educational content that demonstrates a firm’s expertise to prospects that encounter it. This approach is also called content marketing or thought leadership marketing. Often, the content is optimized for online search so that it can be easily found and reach a wide audience. Inbound marketing works because it makes your expertise visible to potential clients and referral sources, and it builds trust over time because prospects find the materials practical and insightful.

As we’ll see as we explore different strategies, which approach you use helps make some configurations possible and others impractical.

The New Business Pipeline and Your Sales and Marketing Strategy

To develop a feel for how alternative strategies might be configured, start with the notion of a new business pipeline or funnel. This can provide a model of the client journey and a way to illustrate similarities and differences among approaches.

The pipeline has three sections. The top section attracts prospects to the firm. It is typically a core marketing function. It assumes that you already know how you are positioned and the nature of your target audience and their needs.

The second section nurtures prospects and builds engagement. It starts with the identification of a potential client (sometimes called a prospect or suspect) and ends when a prospect has an actual opportunity to use your services. This middle section of the pipeline may belong to either marketing or sales.

Inbound marketing is especially useful in the top and middle sections of a new business pipeline. In firms with a strong inbound program, the marketing function is usually in charge of lead generation and opportunity identification.

Finally, the bottom section begins with the identified opportunity and is completed when the prospect becomes a client. Most people refer to this process as “closing,” and it is almost always a sales function.

Now, let’s look at some common approaches to sales and marketing.

Top Sales and Marketing Strategies

1. Seller-Doer Strategy

In the seller-doer model, the person making the sale is also the person doing the work. It is perhaps the most common strategy, especially for small firms.

It has the distinct advantage that the potential client has full knowledge of who they will be working with. This arrangement has the added advantage of building familiarity and trust during the course of the business development cycle.

In some firms the seller-doer may also be charged with finding new prospects and nurturing them until they become sales opportunities. This poses several disadvantages. The seller-doer has a split mandate. When they are selling they feel like they should be doing client work. When they are doing client work, selling suffers.

The predictable result is either continual switching between roles or a sine wave effect in which periods of heavy work are followed by periods of heavy business development. Feast or famine is the way it feels.

In some larger firms where partners oversee teams of professionals, this effect can be less extreme because much of the work can be handed off to subordinates. Even in this case, however, the friction is always there.

2. Traditional Seller Strategy 

In the traditional seller model a sales person is responsible for generating and closing the opportunity. When the sale is closed, the doer enters the picture to perform the work. The seller often maintains an ongoing relationship with the client to uncover and close other opportunities.

The big advantage is that you have dedicated roles that assure focused and uninterrupted effort. Doing the work does not interfere with ongoing business development.

This strategy is not widely used in professional services firms. The big reason is that it does not allow the client to evaluate an individual’s expertise or establish trust. There are situations where the model can work. For instance, if there is another path to establishing trust — or if expertise can be assumed — the model can be made to work. Think commodity services, for example.

3. Seller and Expert Strategy

There are some situations where the nature of an engagement requires an extensive proposal and contract negotiation phase. Federal government contracts and large engineering and construction projects are two examples that jump to mind.

In these situations, it is often desirable to have a dedicated capture specialist working the sale. While there is also a need for the expert who will be doing the work to be an active participant there is recognition that another role is needed.

This model has the advantage of allowing prospects to experience a firm’s expertise while also having a dedicated sales professional. In that sense, it represents the best of both worlds.

This approach is not more widely used because it requires more highly trained, highly compensated staff. So unless opportunities are large enough to warrant the added expense, this strategy can be unsustainable. 

4. Business Developer and Closer-Doer Strategy

In this model a sales-oriented professional is involved in generating, qualifying and nurturing leads. However, they do not provide a technical perspective or close the sale. To distinguish this role from a traditional sales person, we’ll call this individual a “business developer.”

Like the seller-doer arrangement, this strategy involves a subject matter expert who will close the sale and do the work. We call this role the “closer-doer” because part of the seller role is performed by the business developer.

Like the seller and expert strategy, this configuration has the advantage of specialization. Also, because they are not closing the sale, the business developer may need fewer advanced skills.

There is a third advantage. Because the professional closing the sale is also the one doing the work, the client can establish a working relationship during the sales process, and there is no information lost in the transition from prospect to client.

The disadvantages come from the need for two professionals in the sales process. Although this need is less intensive than in the seller and expert strategy, you still have added expenses with the second person.

How to Develop Your Sales and Marketing Strategy

Developing your sales and marketing strategy is perhaps one of the most important priorities for a firm’s overall growth and financial health. With the right plan growth and profitability are predictable and controllable. With the wrong strategy, firms often struggle. For this reason, it’s important that senior management fully buy in to the strategy.

Developing a smart plan is a process. And from our perspective it is a process that requires strong marketing leadership. Why marketing? Because the required research and analysis is a core marketing function.

What if you do not have that level of marketing talent in your firm? The simple solution is to retain an outside resource who can help you through the process.

Whether you develop your plan yourself or engage professional help, the process is the same.

1. Target Client and Brand Research

The strategy should start by taking an objective look at your target client and the marketplace you operate in. Don’t make the mistake of focusing at the beginning on the services you offer or the way your firm is organized.

Why?

First, the best strategies revolve around the marketplace as it really is, not the way we think it is or wish it were. In the absence of objective information it is too easy to fall into a pattern of wishful thinking.

Second, client needs evolve quickly, so you may miss a major shift if you do not start with a clean slate. Firms that do regular research on their target client group grow faster and are more profitable.

If done correctly this research will give you a clear idea of client needs and priorities, their buying process, the competitive landscape, how you firm brand is perceived and the real benefits clients receive from working with you. This knowledge can dramatically reduce your risk and lead to a much better strategy.

2. Overall Business Strategy and Plans

Once you know how your firm measures up in the marketplace, it is time to take a look at your firm’s internal situation. What does your firm want to accomplish? Are you interested in growth? Are you contemplating a major leadership change?

Answers to questions like these provide the business context for your sales and marketing strategy. They inform what your strategy will need to accomplish and how it will be evaluated.

So why not start with the firm’s overall strategy and plans before doing market and brand research? In our many years of experience, we’ve found that leading with research has a way of grounding plans in reality and makes them more likely to be successful.

3. Assess Current Resources

To get a handle on what your firm can actually achieve, you’ll need to ask yourselves lot of questions.

What internal resources are available to execute a strategy? What sort of talent is already on board? What level of training do they have? Do the doers understand sales? Does the marketing staff understand the services you offer?

How about tools? Do you have the marketing infrastructure you need to pull off an inbound strategy? How about sales tools such as marketing collateral or case study videos?

We have found that answering questions like these will give you real insight into what is both possible and practical. It also adds a level of specificity that makes the sales and marketing strategy easier to execute. In the absence of this information, strategies are often under-resourced or simply not feasible.

4. Settle on the Overall Strategy

In all likelihood you already have a model in place. At this point, you will evaluate the approach you’ve been using and select the overall model you will use for sales and marketing going forward. Will it be a seller-doer model? Or perhaps a seller and expert approach? Will you be using inbound or outbound marketing? How will your firm be positioned in the marketplace? What are your key messages?

In this phase, making decisions on the full range of issues and documenting them are your key activities. While this may seem like a daunting task, it is made much easier if you have completed the earlier analyses. 

5. Implementation Plan

Once the strategy is set you can work through the steps to begin implementing it. Some of the key considerations include:

• Sales and marketing tools
• Infrastructure such as a CRM or marketing automation system
• Talent that needs to be hired or outsourced
• Training required
• Marketing calendar to schedule and coordinate activities
• Metrics that will allow you to evaluate and adjust the strategy
• Implementation schedule, budget and responsibilities

This implementation plan is very useful in making your new strategy a reality. Firms often stumble at this part of the process. They may develop an excellent strategy, only to watch it fail because it was never fully implemented. Don’t let that happen to you.

The post Sales and Marketing Strategy for Professional Services: What Every Firm Needs to Know appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

Source: 2024 High Growth Study

As you can see, LinkedIn—used by nine out of ten High Growth firms—commands the field. It’s used 55% more often than the second most popular platform, Facebook. Not only is it the largest social network for professionals, almost everyone you want to become a client, hire or connect with is on it.

If you are going to use just one social media platform, make it LinkedIn. In fact, you would be far better off putting all your social media into LinkedIn than dabbling in several social channels. Granted, Facebook and YouTube are useful for specific tasks (promoting your culture and hosting video, respectively), but they can’t hold a candle to LinkedIn when it comes to versatility and reach.

Profiles Come in Two Flavors

There are two types of LinkedIn profiles: company profiles and personal profiles. Both have their value, but I’m going to focus here on personal profiles. And you should do the same. Why? Because they have the most potential to build visibility, generate engagement and move the needle.

What makes personal profiles more powerful than company pages? Professional services firms are collections of experts. Sure, people hire firms. But they follow and listen to experts. Experts have faces and personalities. Interacting on LinkedIn with actual people feels more natural and productive.

How to Get the Most Out of Your LinkedIn Profile

I don’t have room here to teach you everything about LinkedIn. There are a lot of great resources online for that. But I can provide a few tips to help you build a successful LinkedIn program.

1. Update your profile

You probably already have a personal profile. But chances are, it’s not presenting you in your best or most differentiated light. People will check you out before reaching out, so be sure your personal profile is tidy, up-to-date and complete. Use a professional photo for your profile picture. And the headline is no place to be shy—if it fits your personality, write something provocative, pointed or at least interesting. Think beyond your title. What are you an expert in? Add that to the headline. Mine for example reads as follows:

Managing Partner at Hinge, Brand Strategy and Growth Expert for Professional Services Firms

The goal is to capture a visitor’s attention right off the bat and allow them to see how they can relate. Titles alone don’t do that.

In the About section, summarize your background, accomplishments and responsibilities. Include information about your firm, too. If you have written blog posts or online articles, share them in the Publications section. Don’t forget to address the Skills section so that clients and colleagues can endorse the things you are good at.

2. Make sure you’re connecting with the right people

As you build your network, consider the makeup of your connections. Do you reflexively add anybody who asks to connect with you? If so, you may have a high proportion of people who are more interested in selling to you than learning and buying from you. Instead, you want to connect with clients, prospects, other industry leaders, colleagues and teaming partners.

How do you change the mix? Start by asking current and past clients to join your network. Most will be happy to do so. And as you meet new prospects, make a habit of connecting with them on LinkedIn—and the sooner you do this after your contact the better. When you send your invitation, don’t use the default message. Write your own, instead. Show that you are genuinely interested in them as people. This is not the time to promote your services. Keep it simple and friendly.

3. Share content. Not just yours.

LinkedIn is a fantastic place to share the content that you produce. It can have been published anywhere, not just on the LinkedIn platform. Whenever you create a blog post or online article—or even a video—write a short post introducing the piece, and include a link. Add relevant hashtags if you like.

While it’s important to share your own perspectives, we recommend that you spend 80% of your effort engaging with content posted by others. Write thoughtful comments, share others’ articles, like posts and send happy birthday messages. Be helpful and generous with your expertise.

4. Post something thoughtful at least once a week

You can’t build a following if nobody hears from you. You don’t need to post every day, but consistency is important. What you write about is up to you. Share a positive experience you had with a client. Comment on a breaking news item in a client industry. Post an interesting piece of data and offer your perspective. Or, as I discussed above, share a piece of content.

There’s a lot more I could say about LinkedIn, but if you take these four tips to heart you will be doing more than 95% of your competitors. And that will give you a real leg up in the marketplace. How much time should you spend on these activities? An hour a week should be plenty, and you’ll use much of that time finding and reading other people’s content. Gradually, your LinkedIn connections will grow, and your followers will look forward to your next posts and interactions.

LinkedIn can play a big role in your transition from a professional working in relative obscurity to an expert with far greater exposure and status. And that can have huge implications on your reputation and earning potential!

The post The One Social Media Platform You Must Master appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

Featured below are three rounds of photo challenges. Each round includes one picture captured from an AI-generated video and one from a real-life photographer. Picture A is on the left-hand side, and Picture B is on the right-hand side. Do you think you have what it takes to successfully determine which pictures are real and which are AI? Make your guess, then scroll down to reveal the answers.

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Answers:

1. Picture A captured by Stephan Nell
2. Picture B captured by Alec Sills-Trausch
3. Picture B captured by Nazrin Babashova

How did you do? It’s hard to determine which pictures are real and which ones are fake, right? Let’s talk about why.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you remember the early days of the internet? Back when it was simply an expansive bank of knowledge to provide answers on everything from astrophysics and rocketry to the perfect substitute for all-purpose flour. A few clicks away lie information on the stock market, current international affairs, and that annoying piece of information that had been sitting on the tip of your tongue for days. Sure, websites like Wikipedia always encouraged a healthy dose of critical thinking, but at least we knew that we were reading a human’s work.

Without a doubt, these technological advancements were here to help us learn, grow, and solve our toughest challenges.

Then came the seismic shift of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing us to fully embrace technology. Suddenly, hybrid and remote work became the norm. Employees abandoned office gatherings and face-to-face meetings ceased to exist. Calendars became crammed with video chat invites rather than blocked-off time to spend with colleagues and friends.

This was when we really began to see the two sides of technology. The flexibility of work, elimination of long commutes, and ability to squeeze in a doctor’s appointment were undeniable benefits. But at what cost? We were so eager to move away from the isolation of cubicle farms to “open office” layouts designed to encourage collaboration, only to swap that for zero in-person interaction. Like most things in life, there was no clear perspective on the value of the shift, but it undeniably prompted us to think critically about our interaction with technology.

Veo 3: A Glimpse into the Hyper-Realistic Future

However, a new technology just entered the market, which Hinge discussed on a recent Spiraling Up podcast (embedded below), and it’s making us wonder about its implications for our relationship with the digital world. Google’s brand new Veo 3, a text-to-video AI tool, is truly groundbreaking. Launched in May 2025, Veo 3 marks a significant leap forward in the AI landscape.

This model can turn a simple text prompt, only a few sentences long, into a cinematic-quality video equipped with complex camera movement and dialogue in a matter of seconds. If that wasn’t enough Veo 3 can even generate video from a still image. That’s right. You can now turn any picture from your camera roll into a movie with a simple click.

We can all agree that Veo 3 is remarkable.

The platform’s creative capabilities are cutting-edge, opening new doors for content creation. However, this immense power also forces us to accept an extra layer of digital due diligence. The days of trusting a video simply because it features a “real person” or a “real event” are behind us. That “person” might not be human, and that even might be staged. As discerning fact from fiction becomes more difficult, the burden falls to us, the viewer, to constantly ask ourselves the crucial question: “Is this real?”.

The Erosion of Digital Trust and Its Impact

This shift not only impacts our personal interaction with technology but also the future of marketing and business development. As people lose confidence in what they read, watch, or listen to, what does that mean for attracting new clients? How will your audience know that what your company presents on its website, YouTube, or social media accounts is factual? How do you cut through the growing presence of fabricated content to establish digital trust?

This heightened skepticism in the digital realm is, fascinatingly, leading to a resurgence of traditional marketing techniques – the very ones that predate our current hyper-digital environment. In our recent edition of the High Growth Study, a comprehensive analysis of professional services organizations, we observed a striking trend: only two of the top marketing and business development techniques identified by firms were purely digital (webinars and SEO).

This isn’t to say digital marketing is obsolete, but it does suggest a powerful gravitation back towards methods that foster direct, undeniable human connection and demonstrate tangible expertise.

These current insights can be attributed to several factors. To begin, people are increasingly eager to interact face-to-face with prospective clients after years of virtual-only connections. There’s an undeniable human need for genuine interaction – a handshake, eye contact, smile, or nod – to gauge authenticity. Further, traditional marketing strategies continue to prove their effectiveness. Techniques such as speaking at industry conferences, publishing original research, and forming strategic marketing partnerships are proven ways to establish visibility, demonstrate thought leadership, and build credibility. When you hear someone speak live, watch them converse with industry experts on a video podcast, or engage with them at a networking event, the human element is undeniable.

Navigating the Future: Authenticity at the Core

With the rise of increasingly realistic visual AI models, such as Veo 3, which are completely transforming our digital landscape, it is challenging to predict how they will shape our lives, let alone the specific ways companies will need to adapt to stay ahead. Current research indicates that in-person meetings, events, and presentations are resurging as vital marketing tools. Therefore, establishing a strong event strategy will be key to leveraging these traditional marketing techniques.

Although the landscape is completely changing, we’d like to leave you with one piece of advice: stay ahead of the curve as much as possible. The best way to accomplish this is to keep learning. Marketers should follow technology–oriented influencers, such as @askchatgpt, to stay up to date with the current technology trends. Going a step further and challenging yourself to experiment with these tools is even better. Still, these new technologies do not have to revolutionize your marketing approach completely. Just because new ways exist does not mean that the old ways are bad. The key to success is to continue utilizing techniques with proven success, learn about new technology, and actively begin to incorporate relevant aspects into your marketing strategy.

For the sake of jumping back to embrace old trends,

KEEP CALM, AND MARKET ON.

The post Rethinking Digital Reality: Why Authenticity in Marketing Matters More Than Ever in the Age of AI appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

What Are Growth Killers?

Growth killers are major challenges that limit marketing effectiveness and business development, restricting a company’s growth potential. If left unaddressed, they can prevent even the best teams from succeeding.

They manifest in various ways, including an inability to adapt to market changes, internal inefficiencies that drain resources, and a lack of a clear voice in a crowded environment. The real danger is that these growth killers aren’t always obvious, which is why marketers need to be aware of what they are and how they can overcome them.

They can, and often will, erode market share and deter potential clients and employees. Ultimately, this reduces a company’s ability to increase its pipeline and charge premium rates.

This write-up serves as a roadmap to help organizations identify, understand, and, most importantly, overcome these critical growth inhibitors. We’ll outline the ten most common growth killers identified by Hinge’s research and explain why developing a strong video content strategy can be a great solution to each of these challenges.

1. Market Unpredictability

The Challenge: Economic volatility, buyer hesitation, and sudden shifts in demand have become increasingly commonplace in the professional services environment.

This unpredictability makes strategic planning even more difficult. Today’s buyers are significantly more cautious and risk-averse, taking longer to make even the simplest decisions. The resulting extended sales cycle means companies must work harder to build trust quickly and effectively.

The Stat: High-growth firms grew 4x faster than average companies despite facing the same external unpredictability.

How Video Can Help:

• Faster trust curve: Seeing and hearing real people builds an irreplaceable emotional connection.
• Real-time relevance: Quick-turn videos let you comment on market shifts in days, not months.
• Leadership clarity: Video makes it easy for buyers to see you as someone who can help them make sense of change.

Deep Dive: The Cost of Hesitation. Companies that wait for “certainty” before publishing new insights are getting left behind. Video accelerates the content cycle, ensuring you’re first to market.

First Step Move: Commit to a monthly “State of the Market” video—even if it’s just 5 minutes on a webcam or mobile phone. Recency beats perfection!

2. The AI Content Flood

The Challenge: Everyone can create content now. And most of it? Bland, forgettable, same-same noise.

The proliferation of AI tools has drastically lowered the barrier to content creation. While this might seem like a major opportunity, it presents a significant challenge: how will you stand out when everyone is generating “good enough” content?

The very traits that define thought leadership—unique voice, authentic insights, and niche perspectives—are missing from AI-generated content. That’s because AI-generated content is designed to be efficient and “broadly” appealing, which can lead to bland, generic, and ultimately forgettable material. However, in a market where buyers desire genuine expertise and a human connection, AI-generated content simply won’t cut it. Authenticity is now the scarcest and most valuable resource in today’s content ecosystem.

The Stat: 50.4% of high-growth firms note AI as a top business challenge.

How Video Can Help:

• You can’t fake presence: Buyers can sniff out generic content, but a real person speaking with authority is instantly different.
• Built-in differentiation: Your face, voice, and mannerisms—no one can clone them.
• Content velocity: A single 30-minute shoot can generate over 20 pieces of original, high-quality content.

Deep Dive: Why Buyers Trust Video Over Text. When buyers see you think out loud, answer questions live, or even make small mistakes, it signals realness. Perfect equals suspicious. Real equals trusted.

3. Budget Cuts and ROI Pressure

The Challenge: In today’s competitive economic climate, organizations face immense pressure to justify every expenditure. Leaders demand clear, quantifiable returns on investment (ROI), forcing marketing teams to demonstrate a direct link between their activities and tangible results. Traditional marketing is often difficult to measure and usually demands a significant initial investment.

The Stat: High-growth firms invest 10% of their revenue into marketing, double that of low-growth firms.

How Video Can Help:

• High-leverage content: A single recording session can fuel an entire quarter of posts, emails, and lead magnets.
• Direct tie to revenue: Video interactions (views, completions, clicks) map cleanly to pipeline stages, providing a clear connection to revenue.
• Compounding value: Good videos continue to work long after you hit “publish.”

Deep Dive: How Companies Waste Budget Without Realizing It. Endless PDFs, blog posts that never rank, brand videos rarely watched, and disconnected social media posts are common budget drains.

4. Overworked, Under-Resourced Teams

The Challenge: Marketing teams frequently face an increasing number of tasks, including social media management, data analysis, and multimedia content creation. This wide range of duties places a heavy load on individual marketers, forcing them to prioritize, often at the expense of quality or innovation. Organizations usually resort to reactive, rather than proactive, marketing, resulting in inconsistent content output and missed opportunities.

The Stat: High-growth firms have twice as many marketers per capita as low-growth firms.

How Video Can Help:

• Content multiplication: One interview can generate full blog posts, short clips, audiograms, carousel posts, and webinar snippets.
• Less design burden: Videos don’t need endless rounds of layout and formatting like traditional content.
• Asynchronous selling: Effective video assets work 24/7, even while your team is asleep.
• Outsourcing marketing: Video creation can be easily outsourced, providing access to specialized skills without the need to manage an entire in-house team.

5. Weak Differentiation

The Challenge: When everyone sounds competent, experienced, and capable, buyers default to price because they can’t see any real difference. The professional services market is saturated with qualified companies offering similar services, making it challenging for organizations to differentiate themselves. Without clear and compelling differentiators, organizations blend into the background, becoming just another option.

When potential clients perceive all providers as equally “competent,” their decision-making often boils down to the simplest differentiator: price. A dangerous ultimatum, companies find their profit margins eroding as they scramble to retain high-value clients while still expanding their business.

The Stat: Brand differentiation is the 2nd highest marketing priority for high-growth firms.

How Video Can Help:

• Forced clarity: When speaking on camera, you can’t hide behind buzzwords; you have to say what you mean.
• Thought leadership in motion: Buyers can see how you think, not just what you sell.
• Emotional resonance: Humans buy from humans, not PDFs.

First Step Move: Record a 90-second “Why We Exist” video—unscripted, direct, human. No stock footage. Zero corporate jargon. Just you.

6. Poor Data Use and Siloed Systems

The Challenge: Effective marketing and business development rely heavily on data; yet, professional services groups often struggle to maintain integrated data ecosystems. Information often resides in separate systems, creating data silos that make it challenging to view marketing performance and buyer behavior fully. Without precise data, companies cannot accurately assess ROI, optimize campaigns, or make informed strategic decisions.

The Stat: High-growth firms are 2x more likely to integrate marketing and business development metrics across systems.

How Video Can Help:

• Native platform data: YouTube, LinkedIn, and Vimeo—all provide rich, behavior-based insights.
• Event tracking: You can tag video views, completions, and clicks, and push that data into your CRM.
• Insight-to-action: Knowing which topics, styles, and formats resonate allows you to iterate faster.

7. Weak ROI Attribution

The Challenge: Leaders are right to ask: “We’re spending $250K a year on marketing—what are we getting?”

If you can’t show precise results, budgets shrink fast.

A growth killer for many professional services organizations is the inability to demonstrate the ROI of their marketing efforts. While companies want to invest in growth, senior leaders first need proof that their marketing budget leads to real business results. If marketing teams can’t provide solid evidence, their budgets will often appear wasteful. This leads to budget cuts, less strategic influence, and difficulty in getting resources for future projects.

The Stat: High-growth firms consistently use dashboards and KPIs that tie marketing to business outcomes.

How Video Can Help:

• Behavioral metrics: You can see who engaged, for how long, and what they did next.
• Pipeline impact: Tie video views and completions to lead scoring models.
• Storytelling for reporting: Charts are fine. Showing a leader a 2-minute video that closed a $250K account? Even better.

Action Items:

• Set a baseline percentage (%) of leads engaging with video before making a purchase.
• Run nurture campaigns fueled by short videos.
• Track conversion lifts.
• Attribute revenue deltas to video engagement.

8. Lack of Sales-Ready Content

The Challenge: A common disconnect within professional services companies is the gap between what content marketing teams produce and the sales team’s needs at the bottom of the funnel (BOFU). Marketing often focuses on top-of-funnel (TOFU) awareness content, which attracts initial interest but doesn’t close the deal. Sales teams require materials that directly address client pain points, provide tangible proof of capabilities, and help overcome objections in real-time.

The Stat: The top three tactics of high-growth firms are demos, assessments, and conferences—all are delivered visually and target the bottom of the funnel.

How Video Can Help:

• Demonstrate expertise: Walk through solutions, not just pitch decks.
• Personalize follow-up: 60-second post-call videos show you care (and buyers respond).
• Shorten sales cycles: Video clarity reduces back-and-forth and friction, leading to more efficient sales processes.

Deep Dive: The Psychology of “Seeing is Believing” Humans trust what they can see and hear, not just what they’re told. Video short-circuits skepticism and speeds up “yes.”

9. Talent Shortages and Weak Culture

The Challenge: Top talent—whether in consulting, design, tech, or strategy—has options. If your organization doesn’t appear innovative, you’ll miss out.

Professional services groups are facing significant talent shortages. Highly skilled individuals in consulting, design, technology, and strategy have numerous options, and they are becoming increasingly selective about where they work. Are you offering competitive pay and generous benefits? That’s no longer enough! Today’s top talent seeks an inspiring work environment, a strong company culture, growth opportunities, and a clear sense of purpose.

To add to the complexity, the once-appealing hybrid and remote work options can now negatively impact company culture if not executed properly. Promoting strong company culture and leadership (their employer brand) is crucial not only for recruitment but also for fostering collaboration and achieving success.

The Stat: High-growth firms are leaders in using video to showcase culture, leadership accessibility, and mission-driven purpose.

How Video Can Help:

• Culture is visible: Showcase your actual team dynamics and collaboration, not just vague, corporate mission statements.
• Leadership is accessible: Seeing leaders speak authentically fosters loyalty and trust internally, while also attracting recruits.
• Shared identity at scale: Videos create shared rituals, language, and pride across far-flung teams.

10. Outdated Tactics

The Challenge: In 2025, the “old playbook” isn’t just less effective—it’s invisible. The digital landscape is rapidly evolving, and what worked in marketing even a few years ago is no longer effective. Many professional services groups cling to static PDFs, brochure-like websites, and lengthy whitepapers that fail to resonate with today’s digitally native buyers. These buyers, often from younger generations, prefer quick, engaging information on platforms such as LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

The Stat: Creating modern, high-visibility, high-engagement content is now the #1 priority for marketers at high-growth firms.

How Video Can Help:

• Preferred buyer behavior: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram—all prioritize video because users respond to it. They are in the business of monetizing behavior. Use that to your advantage.
• Faster communication: 60 seconds of video beats 600 words of email.
• Platform amplification: Algorithms favor video, resulting in more impressions, longer engagement, and better retargeting data.

Deep Dive: Why Legacy Content Fails Today: Attention is the currency. Speed is the expectation. Video content aligns with the modern buyer’s daily habits—scrolling, watching, and making choices quickly.

Conclusion: The Future of B2B Marketing is Video-Powered

In the dynamic and often unpredictable professional world, simply “doing marketing” is no longer sufficient for sustainable growth. As we’ve explored, market unpredictability, the overwhelming presence of AI-generated content, budget pressures, and the battle for talent and differentiation consistently challenge organizations. Left unchecked, these “Growth Killers” can quietly but powerfully undermine even the best efforts.

The good news about it all? These challenges are not insurmountable! The most successful, high-growth organizations demonstrate a clear path forward, rooted in a fundamental shift toward video content. Video isn’t just another tool in the marketing arsenal; it’s a strategic imperative that directly addresses each of these growth killers. It builds trust at an accelerated pace, cuts through the digital noise with authentic human connection, proves ROI through measurable engagement, and showcases your company’s unique culture and expertise like no other medium.

In the upcoming days, months, and years, the companies that rise to the top will be those that embrace this change. Organizations must part ways with traditional strategies and utilize video to enhance their visibility, build long-lasting relationships, and establish their expertise at every step of the buyer’s journey.

Don’t let these obstacles hold your company back. Now is your chance to stand out, attract top talent, secure prospective clients, and charge higher rates. Take the first step. Commit to a video content strategy. Watch your business thrive.

Your Next Moves

If you want to future-proof your company’s growth strategy starting now:

• Audit your current content. How much of it builds trust, visually and emotionally?
• Create a video strategy and commit to it. Think one central pillar a month, short clips weekly, email embeds, and personal follow-ups.
• Integrate metrics into CRM. Track video engagement through your pipeline and connect the dots to revenue.
• Simplify the shoot process. One day, four hours, three outfits, 20+ pieces of content. Done right, it lasts months.
• Frame it as a business advantage. Because it is.

The post The Top 10 Business Growth Killers (and how a Video Content Strategy Solves Them) 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!

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