Professional services firms operate in a highly competitive market, where standing out from the crowd is essential for long-term success. Today, we observe that many firms offer the same services for the same skills. As a result, customers often have difficulty distinguishing one structure from another. This raises the question of differentiation, and this is where a strong brand positioning becomes a real advantage in emerging.
As branding experts for professional services firms, we have helped numerous organizations define their brand strategy and expression. Positioning and market differentiation are crucial aspects of this support. In this article, we explain how positioning is a powerful tool for embodying your uniqueness.
But first, what is positioning?
Positioning is both where you are and how you describe yourself. When we talk about position, we’re referring to the place you occupy in relation to your competitors on a global map. When we talk about expression, we’re referring to the way you describe yourself by being in that same place – the concrete declaration of what makes you unique.
Applied to professional services firms, the notion of positioning is a concrete affirmation of what makes you different in the marketplace, in the minds of your audiences. It’s an affirmation of who you are, what you do and how you do it.
However, the notion of positioning is not limited to firms as a whole, but can concern specific elements within your structure: your professionals, your offers, your services are also positioned in relation to their equivalents on the market.
How does your firm’s positioning make the difference?
Positioning can be a great opportunity for differentiation, provided it is well defined. Firstly, it will not only help you attract the prospects most likely to call on your services, but also retain your existing customers. Secondly, it’s also a vehicle for clarity, as it allows you to quickly understand how your firm operates, and provides an answer to the question “why you rather than someone else?” Finally, it’s a source of harmony, guiding your communication and marketing actions so that your efforts in this area are consistent with the image you wish to project.
To illustrate this point, let’s take the example of Cornillier Avocats, a firm specializing in business and labor law. Prior to its rebranding, it presented itself as a trusted partner for its customers, using the law as a tool to develop their businesses, by facilitating and securing the implementation of their projects. Cornillier has always positioned itself in areas of major social concern, with a particular focus on supporting social progress. They work with their customers on concrete, innovative solutions from an environmental, social and societal point of view. Today, this identity is clearly illustrated by the slogan, “Avocats de l’économie responsable” (“Lawyers for a responsible economy”). Their new positioning enables them to go beyond mere legal expertise, clearly distinguishing them from other law firms and giving a precise coloration to their intervention and commitment. The expression of this positioning in all their communication channels enables them to be identified by customers who share the same values, among the most committed players in the economy.
How do you find and express your positioning?
Good positioning requires an analysis of your structure and your competitors, in-depth introspection and a clear, consensual vision of your firm’s future, in order to extract your values and strengths and assert the added value you bring to your customers.
A number of factors contribute to successful positioning. First, understand who you are as a firm. What are your values? What are your strengths? What are you passionate about? It’s also about understanding your customers. Who are they? Where are they? What are their needs and expectations? What do they like about your firm? You also need to understand your market. Who are your competitors? What’s your competitive edge? What are the market trends? What is the underlying context?
The answer to all these elements is the driving force behind your positioning. This is how you build your brand DNA, formulate a value proposition that resonates with your stakeholders, and find the perfect opportunity in the market, the one that will set you apart.
Positioning is not a task to be accomplished alone. It can be very beneficial to call on specialists in the field, who can provide an objective outside view and help build consensus within your structure, while avoiding common pitfalls, to ensure that your positioning is both distinctive and relevant to your customers.
However, the role of a consultant is not to do everything independently. Defining your positioning must be a collaborative effort involving all the stakeholders in your firm. This effort includes brainstorming, market analysis, ideation workshops and individual interviews. After all, your positioning should reflect who you really are, and nobody knows your practice better than you and your team.
How do you communicate your positioning?
Once the positioning has been defined, the long-term task of integration begins, involving all the firm’s stakeholders. It is therefore essential to communicate your positioning effectively. In concrete terms, it needs to be supported by consistent communication across all your channels and to all your audiences. Your positioning will be all the stronger and more credible vis-à-vis your customers.
August Debouzy, for example, positions itself as a “legal and strategic advisor to companies”. The aim of this positioning is to reflect their commitment to serving their customers’ growth, innovation, compliance and security objectives. While this positioning is well illustrated by the website, both in terms of content and form, it is now demonstrated, confirmed and anchored in all the firm’s communications, by all the partners.
In a nutshell
Positioning is a source of differentiation and precision in the competitive and often undifferentiated professional services market. When it reflects your authenticity with strength and precision, it becomes a valuable business development lever to speak with one voice, attract the right customers and secure your business for the long term.
If you haven’t yet thought about your positioning, or if you think it could be better expressed, it’s high time to act. At Eliott & Markus, we’re here to help you define and communicate your positioning effectively. We have the expertise to help you overcome these challenges and turn them into opportunities for your business.
