Guide to Marketing Your Small Professional Services Business

Understand Your Business Goals

Your marketing plan should support your business plan. Identify specific business objectives that will enable you to grow and prosper over the next year, and make these the foundation of your marketing plan.

I recommend: If you haven't done so already, make sure you have a written business plan. This is a living, breathing, fully-amendable document that serves as a road-map for your business and forces you to identify business targets, competitors, strengths and weaknesses, all of which are essential to defining your value proposition.

Create a List of Marketing Targets

Once you have identified your business objectives, make a list of five targets that you want to hit in the next three to five years that will support your plan. These can be potential clients, types of projects, or even geographic areas in which you want to your firm to experience growth. In the professional services industry, it's easy to identify prospective clients or markets by getting involved in networking organizations and and reviewing industry-based or topical publications and "top ten" lists.

I recommend: In the Washington, DC area, the Washington Business Journal is a great resource for identifying area newsmakers and plugging into future business opportunities. Networking organizations are usually industry-specific or market-specific. Examples include SMPS, AIA, and local chambers of commerce or boards of trade, such as the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

Research Marketing Opportunities

Research opportunities to gain positive exposure for your firm that will allow you to reach your target audience. These include articles, awards programs, conferences, and speaking engagements.

I recommend: Contacting publications that are read by your target audience and asking for their editorlal calendars (many of these are published online), and conducting online searches for calls for entries for relevant awards programs as well as calls for speakers. Positioning yourself as a topical expert, either by publishing an article in a well-regarded publication or appearing as a conference panelist, is the single best way to promote your firm to your target audience. When researching publications, don't forget about major newspapers and even local "lifestyle" publications that may be thirsty for article ideas.

Create a Dynamic Communications Program

Based on the research you've amassed, begin to create a year-long communications program that outlines activities that you will take over the next twelve months to raise your company's profile and increase your exposure to your marketing targets.

I recommend: Judiciously picking just a few activities to pursue (i.e., for the first year, you may only commit to taking on one or two awards programs, two or three articles, and monthly press releases) so that you don't become overwhelmed, and so that it's easy to track whether you are receiving a response from your efforts. Your program should also include any other communication vehicles that you employ regularly, including press releases, company website, marketing brochures, paper newsletters, e-newsletters, post cards, etc.

Measure Your Return on Investment

As often as possible, as new business comes in, take the time to identify where and how people learned about your firm, and try to tie this to specific elements of your communications program to determine what's working for you.

I recommend: Reviewing your communications program at least once a year to note successful outreach achievements, identifying areas that have not achieved the desired results, and tweaking your program to better reach your target audience and support your business objectives.