In an increasingly busy and noisy marketplace, professional services firms need their brand to showcase who they are and why they are different. Getting this right ensures the full value of a firm’s proposition is clear to potential clients.
Achieving impact through purpose is not only about being genuinely distinctive, but consistently communicating how you are doing things differently. Your ways of working, your take on things and your approach on working creatively with clients to fulfil their needs are all key to standing out.
If you can differentiate yourself, you will gain the most and be head and shoulders over the competition. Illustrate your distinctiveness through your firm’s thought leaders identifying and encouraging their efforts. Likewise, social media is a great platform for your team to share their passion for the ways in which the business does things differently.
Here are three ways to create impact when thinking about your communications:
Define what’s distinctive about the firm
Do you have an elevator pitch? If you don’t, make it a priority to pin this down and communicate it internally first. Everyone in the firm should have a clear focus on what makes ‘us’ different. What is the one feature of the firm that everyone is committed to? Whatever it is, it needs to be authentic and something that sets the tone for the way in which the firm collectively thinks and works.
Ensure that the firm’s shared purpose is at the heart of communications planning
The clarity that comes from everyone understanding the firm’s focus should be used to guide communications at every level. Empower individuals to share their views with conviction. Having a set of social media principles is particularly valuable as it will provide your employees with the confidence to know how they can align their own social media activity to support the firm’s messaging.
By demonstrating that the firm and its thought leaders stay abreast of the most cutting-edge changes which will shape the collective future of both the firm and its clients, you become known for anticipating developments and driving the outcomes your clients hope to secure.
Becoming prominent market commentators drives loyalty and trust in your firm.
Have genuine conversations
Being genuinely open and enthusiastic about how key headlines shape the direction of your firm and affects your clients is the start of a conversation.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room” – so stay in the room.
Engage with other thought leaders in the market and become known for being an influencer in your sector. By being a facilitator of thoughts and opinions, followers and clients can get to know the firm authentically – through its people and their passion.
Therefore, let your purpose define and distinguish you. Let it be your compass in mapping out all of your communications.
Professional services marketing has traditionally been descriptive, reassuring and alike. The exciting opportunity lies in talking about what makes your firm different – and showing it.
We work with firms to help them to interrogate their purpose, build out key values and behaviours and provide a roadmap for the purpose to be communicated internally and externally.
More information about our Purpose, Brand DNA and Values Workshops.
More information about our Social Media support..
