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• Professional Services Firms- Rebrand Now

Professional Services Firms- Rebrand Now

written on March 31, 2011 by Rachel Downey

No doubt about it... the economy has changed. Big time. I’m not an economist so I won’t go into detail about the financial happenings that have occurred since 2007. Suffice it to say that for many, the hits were fast, hard and/or prolonged. My own firm, Studio Graphique, has specialized in working with the building industry for the past eight years so we saw the impact almost overnight. Banks went belly up and on-the-boards projects sunk. And while we are seeing positive signs that things are improving, the market is a different place than it was three or four years ago.

The New Market

It is a lot more competitive out there. Here are some of the major factors that have changed the way firms compete for business:

Running Lean
Firms have reduced staff and are cautious to rehire. This means that a smaller staff stretched into new capacities, both wider and unfamiliar. People have learned new skills and shifted responsibilities. Most notably, marketing and business development staff may be reduced.

Doing the Shuffle
Fortunately, many of those laid off workers have found new opportunities at other firms. Firms that might compete with yours. Their portfolio of experience is now strengthening someone else’s company.

Reaching Down, Up and Across
Of those who didn’t find positions at other firms, many went ahead and started their own. There are a whole lot of little start-ups out there now. Additionally, firms are reaching into all kinds of piles to find work. Small firms are reaching up to larger projects they aren’t necessarily qualified for thinking, “it’s worth a shot.” Larger firms are grasping at the smaller projects just to keep their staff busy and prevent further reductions. And nearly all firms, even those with diverse portfolios, are attempting to diversify even more — pursuing work in a wide variety of sectors, especially healthcare and education, in order to stay afloat. They may or may not be qualified for these projects and it’s not always clear if clients can tell the difference.

Reaching Across State Lines
This trend really gets the blood boiling for a lot of firms...watching local projects (and all those associated dollars) go to out of state firms.  No doubt there is a lot of great talent that is not local, but there is a lot that is. And if you are an Ohio company, you know how important it is that we keep the money and pride right here in the heart of it all.

The New You

Your firm would be quite unique if you could claim that you haven’t changed to meet the new demands of the market. Most companies have modified staff, focus areas, structure and sadly, fee. You might be digging through your portfolios, finding old projects to bring to the forefront again to demonstrate work on a particular project type. Maybe you’ve set new go/no-go criteria, performance dashboard measurements, team expectations and business goals.

With that said, has your business plan changed to reflect the new you and your new business goals? Has your brand evolved to more accurately convey your strengths and marketable differences?

Having working relationships with scores of professional service firms, we pay attention to the trends and hear the stories. While we’ll keep specifics confidential, this experience gives us a unique perspective on the rumblings going on in the community. We can see the forest through the trees. We can see the commonalities and we can see the differences.

Add to that perspective our own bias — we believe good brands work, and should work hard for you. Like, roll-up-its-sleeves-and-make-things-happen work.

No, a new brand is not a panacea, but it can make significant difference in your win-rate and confidence. Beyond a pre-existing relationship and project type experience, your brand image and associated materials are the primary mechanism by which you communicate to a potential client. You may not have to change your logo, but consider if your key messages, your website, your RFP response materials and the language used by your development team are still fitting the bill. Are these things stacking up against the new competition?

The Business Plan

When we work with companies and organizations on their brand, one of our first requests of them is to review relevant sections of their business plan. Like everything, you need to know where you are going in order to plan the journey of getting there. If your business plan needs to be updated, we recommend doing that before diving into an image refreshing exercise. Your brand can serve as a bridge between who you are today and how you want to be perceived tomorrow. As such, we review the business mission, business goals, SWOT, marketing plans and breadth of work experience. Knowing your destination is critical to making sure your investment into your brand is going to functionally help get you there.

How Do You Stack Up?

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in your office could speak about the company as well as the leadership can? It’s not impossible. Ask your staff a few questions and see how varied the answers are:

What does our company do? What primary markets do we serve?How are we different from other firms in our space?

We don’t believe in elevator pitches, but Key Messages can be invaluable to helping everyone sing from the same song sheet. Key Messages are the primary ideas you wish to communicate to your audience. Generally, 2-4 statements that all employees can process, internalize, and communicate in their own words.

Then, address some of the communications between your firm and a potential client by asking yourself the questions below.
____________________________

Look at your website with fresh eyes and consider how a potential client might see it.

Does the brand represent the spirit and personality of your firm?
Does the language instill confidence and demonstrate expertise?
Is it easy to navigate and is your portfolio of work easy to find?
____________________________

Make it a practice to ask clients who have received your RFP responses (won and lost) what resonated with them and what was missing. Ask existing clients too, what attracted them to your firm.

Why did they select your firm or another?
____________________________

Finally, review your RFP response materials. This is the one document that clients use to attempt to level the playing field.

Does your bound stack of papers
sitting on their desk stand apart from the rest?
Does it represent the professionalism and attention to detail you promise to bring to their project?

Results You Can Expect

Depending on the process you choose for updating your business plan and subsequently updating or refreshing (or even overhauling) your brand, you can usually expect some powerful results. The ultimate goal is to not only win more jobs, but to win more of the right jobs that fit your plan. But we’ve noticed a lot of great side benefits too: stronger brand recognition and credibility and more employee pride and commitment to the company mission.

In the new economy, it is a new game and those coming out ahead aren’t the same ones who started
in the front. Now is your chance to change the rules of the game and make your firm the one that stands out.