Fishburn Hedges

27.05.2010

In a world of “me-too” offerings in which competitors can quickly and easily replicate each others’ latest rhetoric, the answer for differentiating services is to play up the capital of the individual partners’ brands.

Moreover, the focus should be on the business strategy first and foremost, followed by the way it is presented.

These were the messages that came through loud and clear at the Breakfast Briefing we co-hosted with our sister branding company, Further, on branding and reputation in professional services

Brand differentiation

We were looking for ideas about how firms could really differentiate themselves, from three practitioners:
- Stephen Hunt, Partner and Head of Business Development at Lane Clark & Peacock
- Andrew Rear, Partner at Oliver Wyman
- Lee Grunnell, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Beachcroft.

Getting beyond trust

We all know that brands are about trust, and that’s especially true for lawyers, accountants, actuaries and consultants who are selling their intellectual capacity and insight.

If trust goes, what’s left? But a frequent complaint among professional services communications specialists is: when your competitors are also trading on trust, how can you differentiate yourself?

Focus on your strengths

The reality is that too many professional services firms say and do exactly the same things. In fact they often seem deliberately to duplicate their peers’ proposition and positioning, and appear reluctant to focus their offer around their own strengths.

If competitors offer something, they feel they should offer it too. That makes for a crowded space of “me-too” offerings.

One solution is for professional services firms to differentiate themselves on the basis of the individuals offering the services. That may seem counter-intuitive.

Partners often say that they appreciate the value of reputation, but at the same time – to the despair of their marketing and comms teams – they frequently decry brands and branding. Often this is because they misunderstand the term “brand”, confusing it with visual presentation.

The people are the brand

The irony is that for many clients the partners are the brand – after all, that’s what they are buying. It is precisely the managing of the interplay between the organisational brand and the individual partners’ brands that is the key to organisational brand success.

That may result in a less uniform image, and in accepting that some parts of the business “are not us”. But it may also ensure that you stand out from that “me-too” crowd.

Business strategy before brand

The other message was that the organisational brand can only support the quality of a firm’s work and its client relationships. Getting the business strategy right should always come before focussing on the brand – anything else, and you are putting the cart before the horse.