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Most professional service firms pursue differentiation; many do
so unsuccessfully.
Competitively advantageous differentiation strategies are
grounded in a firm’s professionally driven and culturally
supported processes, protocols and methods; many of these are already
unique to each firm.
- 81% of professional service firms reported they used differentiation
as a marketing approach in the previous three years; a majority
thought of differentiation as an exercise in image enhancement.
- The most-used differentiation approaches
were not necessarily the most successful. The more operationally
“deep” the differentiation strategies were (for example,
those requiring the implementation and alignment of human resources,
financial, change management, technology or training and development
processes), the more successful they were.
- PSFs are building differentiation strategies on a number of
foundations: geographical focus, service offerings, client needs,
“point of entry,” staff, service delivery, value delivered,
image, clients’ emotional “experience,” targets,
and position – if it’s first.
Case Study
Malcolm Pirnie. Inc., an environmental engineering, science and
consulting firm, incrementally differentiated itself by making a
series of choices to distinguish its service offerings from its
competitors. The firm’s results as of the writing of this
book were impressive:
- Pirnie became one of the most honored firms in the environmental
profession, recognized for engineering excellence in competitions
nationwide; many of these projects reflect the firm’s differentiation
strategies.
- Always profitable, the firm doubled in size since its initial
forays into differentiation.
- Its employee retention has been higher than industry norms.
Figure 4.1 Use and Success of 26
Differentiation Approaches
The most-used differentiation
approaches were not necessarily the most successful.
| 1.
|
Embarked
on an advertising campaign. |
| 2. |
Added
new-to-our-firm services that blend into the services
of another industry. |
| 3. |
Implemented
a formal relationship management program to strengthen
our bonds with current clients. |
| 4. |
Merged
with another firm. |
| 5. |
Acquired
another firm. |
| 6. |
Developed
new risk sharing arrangement with clients. |
| 7. |
Created
new divisions or subsidiary companies. |
| 8. |
Increased
the speed of our service delivery. |
| 9. |
Decreased
our prices. |
| 10. |
Eliminated
services. |
| 11. |
Increased
our prices. |
| 12. |
Sold
parts of the firm. |
| 13. |
Developed
new-to-the-world services. |
| 14. |
Embarked
on a public relations campaign. |
| 15. |
Entered
into joint ventures, alliances or referral networks with
firms that extend our services. |
| 16. |
Added
new-to-our-firm services that are within our industry. |
| 17. |
Created
a new visual identity. |
| 18. |
Hired
specialized individuals. |
| 19. |
Improved
or evolved our current services. |
| 20. |
Developed
a new positioning. |
| 21. |
Repackaged
current services. |
| 22. |
Communicated
our firm’s positioning through a new motto or tag
line. |
| 23. |
Trained
professionals to follow our proprietary methodologies. |
| 24. |
Reorganized
practices or lines of business. |
| 25. |
Added
new variables to our prices. |
| 26. |
Used
new techniques and tools to “deliver” our
services. |
source: Expertise Marketing,
LLC |
Figure 4.2 Use, Success, and Relative
Difficulty of Differentiation Approaches
|
The difficulty
of various differentiation approaches appears to affect their
use and success.
| 1. |
Embarked on an advertising campaign. |
| 2. |
Added
new-to-our-firm services that blend into the services
of another industry. |
| 3.
|
Implemented
a formal relationship management program to strengthen
our bonds with current clients. |
| 4. |
Merged
with another firm. |
| 5.
|
Acquired
another firm. |
| 6.
|
Developed
new risk sharing arrangement with clients. |
| 7. |
Created
new divisions or subsidiary companies. |
| 8. |
Increased
the speed of our service delivery. |
| 9.
|
Decreased
our prices. |
| 10.
|
Eliminated
services. |
| 11.
|
Increased
our prices. |
| 12.
|
Sold parts
of the firm. |
| 13. |
Developed
new-to-the-world services. |
| 14.
|
Embarked
on a public relations campaign. |
| 15. |
Entered
into joint ventures, alliances or referral networks with
firms that extend our services. |
| 16. |
Added
new-to-our-firm services that are within our industry. |
| 17.
|
Created
a new visual identity. |
| 18. |
Hired
specialized individuals. |
| 19.
|
Improved
or evolved our current services. |
| 20.
|
Developed
a new positioning. |
| 21. |
Repackaged
current services. |
| 22. |
Communicated
our firm’s positioning through a new motto or tag
line. |
| 23.
|
Trained
professionals to follow our proprietary methodologies. |
| 24. |
Reorganized
practices or lines of business. |
| 25. |
Added
new variables to our prices. |
| 26.
|
Used new
techniques and tools to “deliver” our services.
|
source: Expertise Marketing,
LLC
|
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