Gone are the days when professional service providers viewed marketing as nothing but unseemly advertising. Accountants, lawyers, architects, doctors are concerned with marketing or 'practice development' - - everything from to target marketing and prospect generation, to enhancing the firm's image with integrated communications, to monitoring and managing service quality and customer satisfaction, to networking, publicity, and on-line marketing.

This week's Maine Marketing Association BackLot tour as well as a Michigan consulting firm provide tips on professional service marketing...

Rein Nomm & Associates, a Michigan PR and Practice Development firm, has identified barriers that prevent professionals from using the full power of marketing to develop their practices:

• Lack of partner consensus and commitment to marketing.
• Failure to establish measurable objectives for a marketing program or given activity.
• Inadequate or non-existent budget for business development activities.
• Failure to devote adequate time to marketing activities.
• Prevailing perception within the firm of practice development as a non-billable, unprofessional, second-class activity.
• Lack of practical marketing experience on the part of the person responsible for new business development.
• Unrealistic expectations regarding marketing results and the time required to achieve them.

On the local scene, I've been impressed with the marketing savvy of Glen Cooper, the co-founder of Maine Business Brokers, who is an advocate of the approach outlined in Michael Gerber's book, The E-Myth.

At the request of the Maine Marketing Association (MMA), Glen will share his approach to marketing a professional service at this Thursday's Backlot tour. He'll present his firm as a case study of how to choose the market you wish to serve, develop service promises that differentiate you from competitors, and develop the systems and teams to deliver on those promises.

Hope to see you there…

MMA's Back Lot Tour on "Marketing Professional Services"
Thursday, Feb. 15, 5:30 - 6:45p.m., Maine Business Brokers, 217 Commercial Street, Suite 401, Portland.

Cost is $15 for MMA members, $25 for non-members and $5 for students with ID. Seating is limited.

Register by emailing backlot@mainemarketingassociation.com.

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