Part 7 (1/2)
The ieneration is driven home to us every day in our work for clients One of our pri about new opportunities for clients through integratedOur business developers love to ith clients whose naet fewer rude responses,to transfer the cal , and at least the chance to engage the prospect long enough to elicit interest And they love to ith clients that have engaged us with robust e difference in results after only sixefforts because the brand becoure 81) Now, should you think brand is available only to the Accentures, McKinseys, and KPMGs of the world, we have clients consisting of 30, 15, and (as you read earlier) 2 professionals who have established brand in their target , writing, content-rich web sites, directoutreach Each new client ith reinforces this truth: Brand is a lead generation enerate pre for services fir to do If your brand and reputation (1) create a promise for what the buyer can expect from you, (2) support the belief that you deliver on your promises, (3) deliver a promise that has value to the s in the her fees
Take a look at the ”Median Hourly Biling Rates” table from Welesley Hils Group and RainTodayco Benchmark Reports It's clear the firher fees than firet her fees, but also to gettingstudies, wel - known firher fees per hour than those that were not brand leaders-in fact, soher
MEDIAN HOURLY BILLING RATES REALIZED FOR THE HIGHEST-LEVEL PROFESSIONALS
Brands help you beat coet top quality, high output, reduced risk, the best thinkers, or whatever your brand signifies, then she is almost always certain to value that over the lowest price Without distinct criteria for buyers to evaluate what you wil do versus someone else, or a referral, or past experience, or some other previous indicator that what you say is, indeed, what they'l experience from you, price often becomes a central factor
Brands facilitate repeat business When buyers knohat to expect from interactions with you, that you keep your promises and that you deliver at (and above) their expectations, they're less likely to switch or stop buying froree to which buyers prefer to purchase from you versus other options available to theood economies and bad, services firms need to hire the best people they can possibly find
Brands are often a force in attracting the best job candidates and getting them to accept positions at your company versus the others
Brands increase the value of a cohout this book, brands help create pre sales, and quality staff hiring These are long-terher market value and co it takes to establish a brand from scratch This point ain, the owners often hold the purse strings and the keys to success for brand andinitiatives
How to Think about Service Brands At the beginning of this chapter we played a scenario about an internal debate in professional services firms about brand We have seen or heard countless others Ask 10 people in a professional services firet 10 different answers Coe inside a firm about brand is elusive Let's first, then, define and describe the important concepts
A brand is the col ection of perceptions about your fir the many ways one could define brand, we like this one for a nu brand as solely so, decision makers, influencers, and referrals sources), this definition leaves room for the importance of the perception in thea product, the ans that become the brand A can of soda does not vary much from can to can The soda can does not doubt its ability to deliver on its brand promise In service firms, your brand is tested and delivered every day by each member of the firm If there are doubts and confusion around what you stand for, it wil coh clearly in every interaction and weaken the impact of your brand It is crucial that you promote your brand internal y as wel as external y
Second, this definition focuses on client and market perceptions about you Earlier we stated that brands facilitate repeat business I can io and hoeb site looks wil not factor one iota into repeat business” If you were thinking that, you're largely right However, the perceptions about you in the minds of your buyers, which can be based on many factors, are exactly why they'd choose you to ith again versus so nothing at al
Third, you can look at perceptions in the minds of staff, buyers, influencers, referral sources, and the e from a number of important business perspectives Influencers e may be important to you for investor confidence, ability to attract talent, and other factors As long as you knohat's important for your firm, the definition is easy to unpack
”I think thatlaw firms, too often think of brand as visual and verbal one-way communication To me, brand is primarily behavioral
The visual reinforces the position of the fir Soy on the visual and less on the behavioral They focusout information about fir to their clients and prospects and responding to what they hear
”Firnition and ets Their es should say: 'This is what it's like to ith us' The fir lawyer and staff behaviors that align with theOfficer, Perkins Coie For example, is there a perception at al about you in the o and color sche in the forest, if no one sees your logo, do you real y have a brand? According to our definition, no: You'd don't have brand recognition or awareness
(What you have is a corporate identity platform) Some of the other perspectives that can forht have about a firnition, articulation of capabilities, top-of-mind awareness, preference, and viewpoint
CLIENT PERSPECTIVES ABOUT FIRMS
A brand can have a significant irow the firm, and a brand itself is simply the col ection of perceptions in the minds of buyers and influencers That stil leaves a nuure out what y should be?
What do I real y need to know about differentiation?
Where and when do graphic design, logos, taglines, and key o froetting known in et and resources, how do I do it in a way that getsfor my buck?
What are the truths about brand that fit for my professional service business?
We'l answer these questions in the folowing chapters
9
Three Ele My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and siway We are a unique, dynamic, flexible firm that efficiently and effectivelycompanies in your industry to increase their revenue, employee satisfaction, cost structure, cash flow, profitability, and, most important, shareholder value
Work with us, and you'l be a dedication to client satisfaction Indeed, we don't just offer services; we offer solutions, real solutions, beco them make the most difficult and important business decisions
We've al read descriptions like this, or so professional services firms of al types While the firms that offer these services escopy like this coeration, you say? A quick Google search yielded the foloeb site copy about a professional services fire corporations [company naanization's needs
Since 1998 [company na-term relationshi+ps with our clients, we provide them with time-efficient, cost-effective solutions that provide results [Coe of servicestoday's business needs
While this copy is al too coins It is the result of decades of being steered away fro benefits and (dare we say) solutions It's also an offshoot of client and one awry
Just as a brand is the colection of perceptions, this kind ofcopy comes from a colection of misconceptions of what you're supposed to do to articulate a services brand's strength
Firms can do a much better job to communicate value and resonate with buyers, differentiate their fir what drives buyers' decisionwith a professional services firm
What Buyers Want to Know While no two buyers are exactly alike, and every buying situation has its own dyna the sa the sae outside help The core buyer questions are:What service providers do I know of that can solve this probleoal)?
Do I have any predisposition to buy from one company/provider over another?
What is the business i this proble to solve this problem?
How difficult is it to find providers who purport to solve my particular problem?
How difficult is it to find providers who can solve this problem wel ?
What are the different options I have for solving this proble the various options I have for solving this problem?
How deeply do I believe (or how skeptical am I) that the service providers who say they can solve this problem can actual y solve it?
Do I believe any of the possible providers wil be a better fit for anization?
What resources wil y, and money-to solve this problem?
How comfortable am I, personal y and professional y, with the delivery teams of the possible providers?