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It's somewhere between the Invisble Man and the Emperor's New Clothes.

Professional services are intangible offerings that are often complicated or complex (although they may not always appear as such to inexperienced clients) and are usually provided by well skilled individuals at a significant rate.
Some of these services can be delivered in substantially cheaper forms usually with a comparable drop in quality - but this is not always seen by the client, especially when the services are more of a ‘support’ service as opposed to one that is directly relatable to sales or profit.

In fact, professional services marketing is a beast unto itself.
It is so different to products or commodities.
It requires a different set of rules.

Author Harry Beckwith captured it perfectly in the title of his book “Selling the invisible”. Unfortunately to some clients it all appears a bit like The Emperor’s New Clothes.But how do you make a future promise (which is effectively what professional services are) easier to sell?

The traditional “marketing mix” as defined by Neil H. Borden in the 1960’s configured itself around the 4Ps of product, price, place and promotion.
That doesn’t quite fit with professional services. Instead we think around our own 4Rs...

Recognition. Relevance. Reputation. Relationship

Taking in their broader sense they encompass factors such as price but package it with company standing (because your reputation most often determines what you can charge). It’s not perfect and is a touch simplistic but it does identify the change of perspective you need for professional services marketing. Not all of these are strictly communication tasks, although branding and communication (both internal and external) play a large role.

While considering this, think also about these clear action points;

Invest in your brand and reputation - they’re very similar. And they’re your point of difference.
In 1921 Frank Knight, the leading US economist, said that if a design or element of branding contributed to the choice of your product over your competitors’ then it couldn’t be considered as any less significant than any actual, physical benefit or advantage. This was one of the more significant steps in identifying branding as playing an important role in preference and selection.
When there is no physical product as such, when the ‘service’ is sold unseen and untested, when there is reasonable expenditure involved - ensuring your image and market reputation is where you want it to be for the people you want to attract is absolutely paramount. This is not just about brand, but professional conduct, your office environment, your name around town .... anywhere anyone touches your brand.
However the most visible part of this is undeniably your brand and brand wardrobe, which can act to co-ordinate and tie together the other strands of corporate perception.

Be different. If you’re not, no-one will remember you. If you look much the same as your competitors they may go to them by mistake. But don’t try to be something you’re not. Find a point of difference, a niche that fits you and your clients (both current and potential) and then work it.
Bill Bernbach (founder of DDB and one of the fathers of modern advertising) said, back in the days of Mad Men, that not being different was suicidal.
It was true then and it’s even more true today.
But it’s not just being different for the sake of it - it’s differentiation to create preference. You want to stand out to appeal more, relate more and connect more to the clients you want.
Yet you don’t often want to look too different either, because that can scare people away. It’s creating your own niche and owning it. Wholeheartedly.

Be seen. If you're not out there, you're making it hard for yourself. But plan to make sure you're in the right places with the right messages.

Simplify communication but without dumbing it down - you’re selling a complex service based around expertise. The trick is not to become too detail or jargon heavy, while not oversimplifying your pitch. It’s a matter of positioning yourself and your services as relevant to your clients.
It should connect and mean something to them. The closer you can get your services to relate to their bottom line, the more what you’re offering will make sense.
This is often difficult with professional services marketing because the services themselves are usually expertise based rather than time or effort-related.
They’re often abstract, especially in areas of consultancy and advice. These high-level services are hard for some people to see as relating to their profitability or success.
Likewise ‘support’ services that run smoothly are not always seen as adding value.
If a client is focused on running their business, professional services can seem an expensive component that they’re not always sure about. They may not know exactly what they’re getting or what it’s really worth.
Remember too that what you’re selling and what they’re buying may not be exactly the same thing. You may see the relationship from different perspectives. For example, a business advisor may be offering experience and technical expertise focused around growth within a specific sector. The client may be looking for a trusted ally that acts as an extension of their business and is someone with whom they can share confidential matters, short and long term goals, opportunities and challenges.

It’s not as simple as doing one thing. It never is. A well thought-out, structured and multilevel strategy needs to be in place. Running ads won’t work if the service delivery doesn’t go on to match your promise. If your brand says traditional and conservative and your offices are filled with 25 year olds in very contemporary surroundings you’ve got a mismatch.
And even when you have the right consistency, there’s no single channel to reach all the people you want to. There needs to be a combination of collateral, advertising, pr, electronic presence and in-house material to reinforce the brand promise and sell your organisation. That also needs to stand apart and be different.
There are other people doing what you do. Some are probably better at it. Certainly others, probably not better at it, will be cheaper. There are always others who are much the same. How can you beat them?
The answer is a multi-tier approach that’s co-ordinated around your core values and positioning.

Of course, this isn’t everything there is to say about the matter, but rather a quick overview of a specialist area.





It's ironic that the more high tech it all gets, the more the old-school rules matter.
We've jotted down a few in case you're in need of a quick refresher:

Remember, reporters are people too - the less you see 'the media' as an amorphous blob and the more you start to connect with them as individual human beings, the greater the chance you'll not just connect, but find some common ground.

Be relationship, rather than interaction focused - the more you and your newfound media friends understand one another, the more receptive they will be to your (tailored) good-news messages, and the easier time you will have when things hit the fan. At the very least, be on a friendly speaking basis before a crisis darkens your door. Get some media training if you haven't already - you only get one crack at getting it right, and you need to be sure you're fully prepared. Media training nowadays should give you a much wider depth of understanding than potted key messages: to be truly prepared you need a good understanding of your industry and its issues, and how your situation is likely to play out in context. The more high tech it is, the easier you'll get lost - so keep it low tech as often as you can.

Don't hide behind emails if you can possibly pick up a phone: important relationship builders like trust, familiarity and ease of interaction are built one tiny interaction at a time. The easier it is for the rest of the world to connect by mass email and floods of attachments, the more you'll stand out with a personal touch. Know the rules of the game - if you are going to engage, you will, at some point, emerge from the battle bloodied and bruised and knocked about a bit. Understand the potential for this early on and get over it. If you don't know where you or your issue have the potential to go, talk to somebody who might have a clue (a PR bod would be an excellent start, whether it's in-house or out in the world). Pick your battles - letters to the editor can fast dissolve into games of linguistic ping-pong (and seriously, when was the last time you could truly address a contentious issue in 150 words? Just the once?).

Pick your battles. Do you really need to call that chief reporter to have her on about that headline (she doesn't even write them) - or is it one you can live with? Save it for the stuff that really matters. Understand the new news cycle - actually, it's not so much a cycle these days as something resembling an infinity symbol. Thanks to even the stuffiest of mainstream media pitching their tents online, we've now entered an intensely competitive world-clock 24 hour news society that is starving for more, faster, quicker - now. Use it to your advantage for the good news stuff. Ignore it at your peril in a crisis. News abhors a vacuum.

Know that crisis control is so yesterday - check out some of the attributes of the new C generation and you'll start to get a feel for why and how the rules are changing. The other 'c' words are where the world is at. You need to be there too. Be able to tell your story as elegantly as possible - more than ever, today, great stories win - real people's real stories told in bite-sized, manageable chunks.

Understand the law of parsimony, know that less-is-more, and feel the media (and your ultimate audience) swoon with relief. Keep it real - spin is dead, as are contrived '90s 'human interest stories' (so, for that matter, is celeb endorsement. But that's another story).

Make sure your 'real people' are real. Be prepared to sacrifice some shiny, happy '90s/early distancing 2000s gloss for some heart felt connection and real world grit.

Look outward - news never happens in a vacuum. Whether you're looking to get column centimetres for good news or avoid them for bad, there's a big wide world outside of your organisation that will heavily influence how your message is received - if it is received at all - and it is changing all the time.

Look inward - make sure all your ducks are in a row and do a risk assessment before you go public, even with that seemingly benign piece of fluffy, spinny candyfloss. If there's something in your closet, fess up to your media advisor. At the very least, Google yourself.

The weighty issue of social media crisis management: where PR fits

Boosted by anywhere, anytime gizmos like iphones (and the eagerly awaited ipad), these applications turn traditional media paradigms on their head, eliminating reporters as gatekeepers and blasting away the restraints that come with appointment programming.

No more is a story limited to a certain number of column centimeters or a soundbite constrained to a matter of seconds, nor is it neatly tucked away in the evening news bulletin.
No longer does a disgruntled customer have to convince a media outlet involved that theirs is a tale compelling enough to attract viewers or readers - they can put it to the acid test themselves, and if the story does grow legs, the social media interest endorses its newsworthiness for MSM (mainstream media for those still getting to grips with things).
And no more can we reassure ourselves that today's bad press is tomorrow's fish and chip wrapping. News cycles are infinitely longer and deeper than ever before, with the social bit of social media keeping stories alive for as long as somebody is interested in looking.

Actor/director Kevin Smith's vitriolic tweet-fest with Southwest Airlines over its 'people of size' policy is a great example of the sorts of issues social media can cause for organisations - and just how far out of hand these things can get.
Smith turned to Twitter after Southwest offloaded him for violating its 'people of size' policy (in real person's speak, he was too fat so they kicked him off the plane).
His barrage of tweets made mainstream media within minutes - with coverage in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and other major outlets.
Within hours 'Kevin Smith Twitter' was the 23rd most searched for Google term.

"So, @SouthwestAir, go f*** yourself," read one tweet. "I broke no regulation, offered no 'safety risk' (what, was I gonna roll on a fellow passenger?)."

When Smith boarded his next flight, he posted a picture of himself in the seat with the words "Hey, @Southwest, look how fat I am on your plane! Quick, throw me off!"
And on landing: "Hey, @SouthwestAir, I've landed in Burbank. Don't worry, wall of the plane was opened and I was airlifted out while Richard Simmons supervised."

Southwest responded in kind, tweeting its apologies, and offering vouchers as an olive branch.
Not enough for Smith, who responded "F*** your apologetic $100 voucher, @SouthwestAir"

Smith's 'audience' is large enough to make him a media outlet in his own right.
One point six million people follow his Twitter feed (ironically, just a million follow Southwest).

So how did the airline respond?

Well, they fought social media with social media, using Twitter and blogs to get their side of the story out:

@ThatKevinSmith Hey Kevin! I’m so sorry for your experience tonight! Hopefully we can make things right, please follow so we may DM!

Hey folks – trust me, I saw the tweets from @ThatKevinSmith I’ll get all the details and handle accordingly! Thanks for your concerns!

I read every single tweet that comes into this account, and take every tweet seriously. We’ll handle @thatkevinsmith issue asap

I’ve read the tweets all night from @ThatKevinSmith – He’ll be getting a call at home from our Customer Relations VP tonight.

@ThatKevinSmith Ok, I’ll be sure to check it out. Hopefully you received our voicemail earlier this evening.

@ThatKevinSmith Again, I’m very sorry for the experience you had tonight. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do.

@ThatKevinSmith We called you on the number you had on file in your reservation. If you prefer a different number, please DM me. Thanks!

Our apology to @ThatKevinSmith and more details regarding the events from last night – http://cot.ag/96KHC7 #Southwest

Finally, they resorted to a long-ish blog post http://www.swamedia.com/ to tell their side of the story.

TOOLBOX

So what's to be done if you find yourself in Southwest's shoes?

Understand how social media works and where it fits
You can't know what's being said about you if you're not in the game. Senior managers may dismiss Twitter as a tween/twenty-something plaything and see it as irrelevant in a corporate setting, but increasingly, it's gaining mainstream traction, not just with consumers, but media too.

Practice good crisis management: monitor what is being said about your organisation and products
Social media moves fast. Really fast. You need early warning of any potential reputation crisis and you need to be able to mount an instant response. Sign up for Google Alerts or services like Social Mention, or Tweet Beep to stay on top of who is talking about you and where.

Understand how social media differs from traditional media
The sort of corporate speak and formality that pervades in old-school media statements looks stilted and out of place in a tweet or on a blog post. Plus it's hard to get all that bumpf into just 140 words.

Don't just read about it, do it
The best way to understand social media is to get into the thick of it and study it from the inside out. Start a blog, launch a Twitter feed, learn about how this beast works, what feeds it and what sedates it when things get heated.

Understand that social media is a pull, not a push, mechanism
While traditional news media 'broadcast' to masses of people who may or may not be interested in all of their content, those who subscribe to Twitter and blog feeds or routinely visit specific sites have a strong interest in whatever it is that is covered there. They are deliberately seeking it out, not just stumbling across it. This group is not impassive, impartial or only mildly interested: chances are they will care a great deal more about the issue at hand than your average punter.

It's one-to-one environment - in public
The tone, style, content and approach of your posts or tweets needs to reflect this. One-to-many is the way of traditional media. There's an intimacy and authenticity that comes with social media, and the power of it can't be underestimated.

Use the old-school model to make sure you've got your bases covered (with a couple of new media twists):

Twist a: in addition to your public feed - privately message those directly involved
Twist b: Publicly address those you can't reach directly by referencing them with the @sign and their Twitter name.

Content wise...

1. Acknowledge the mistake and its impact
2. Quick summary of where things are at
3. Explain what's being done to rectify it
3. Outline what is being done to put things right long term
4. Solicit input/feedback from your followers.

A lot to achieve in 140 words, which brings us to our next tip...

Use the full arsenal of social media
Blog posts are a great way to get extended explanations out there and pitch your side of the story.

Don't forget traditional news outlets
The war is very rarely contained to the blogosphere, especially if it's a big issue.
Mainstream media allow you the opportunity to flesh out your organisation and give it a more human face. Don't hide away online and shy away from traditional interviews - they're still an integral part of any reputation management strategy.

Stay on top of things and be ready for the long haul
The internet has news cycles just the way traditional media always has. They are likely to be longer and more diffuse, and it may feel like you are fighting fires for an eternity. However you need to be there, right down to the last tweet, to show you are willing to front up, fix things and learn for next time.