Positioning a professional services firm - Part 1

First article of 2026 and what to write about?

I’ve gone for positioning as it is a misunderstood but vital part of the marketing process.

In broadly undifferentiated markets like professional services, staking out a strong position is at the heart of why some firms experience rapid organic growth and enjoy premium pricing power.

Strong positioning also flags to me that a firm is doing marketing properly. Positioning is founded on targeting. Targeting is built on segmentation which in turn drops out of market research. It’s the tip of an iceberg of hard work.

That hard work tells me they have put themselves in their prospects shoes (customer orientation) and are not inward looking. Incidentally, customer orientation is secret to marketing and something I will return to in another article.

The flip side is that weak positioning shows me a firm has a poor marketing process and often deeper issues around services and pricing. They usually don’t know what prospects really care about.

In this article, I will explain what positioning is and show you how to test your positioning.

In a second article, I will give a process to improve your positioning.

Like most good things, positioning isn’t easy and takes time but the payback of getting it right is worth it.

What is positioning?

You have likely heard of positioning but pause for a second. How would you describe it to a client?

Don’t worry if you can’t give a good definition. A lot of marketers would struggle too.

In simple terms:

Positioning is how your firm and its services are perceived in the mind of target clients.

Let’s unpack that:

1. “Positioning is how your firm and its services are perceived in the mind of target clients.”

Not what you would like them to think but how they perceive you.

You might want to be seen as a premium choice and perhaps you are. Except your brand and communications scream “average” and that is how people in your target market will position you in their mind.

Perception does not happen in a vacuum. Target clients will also be thinking about alternatives. Competitor firms of course but options include “I will just use ChatGPT” or even doing nothing. I once heard Rod Drury say Xero’s biggest competitor was Excel.

The rapid rise of AI shows how positioning is not static. New alternatives will always spring up and change how prospects think and act as outlined in the classic Five Forces framework by Michael Porter [1]. Three of the forces are Rivalry among existing competitors, Threat of new entrants, Threat of substitute products or services.

2. “Positioning is how your firm and its services are perceived in the mind of target clients.”

Good positioning is about making choices. Marketing to everybody is marketing to nobody.

You should be “for” a segment of the market. That does not mean you are “against” other segments but your positioning should only speak strongly to an ideal client.

Another way to think about positioning: how is your firm distinctive and/or different in ways your target market values?

Let’s unpack that:

• Distinctive - this is the realm of brand. Hard to define but you definitely “know it when you see it”
• Different - what is something (somewhat) unique you do for clients? Importantly, this doesn’t mean “niching down” but there should be a thing or things or do demonstrably different or better. Otherwise why would some choose you? Go to the back of the class if you said “We’re not like the average accountant” or “We offer unrivalled client service”
• Target market value - does the market care about your distinctiveness or difference? This is crucial and stems from having solid market research, ideally primary data. I once worked with a firm who wanted to become the #1 Evernote expert in New Zealand. They asked me what I thought of this strategy…definitely different but you might be your only customers was my response

Test your positioning

1. Logo swap: swap the logo on your website with that of a competitor. Would a client or prospect still get a clear impression of your unique positioning? For me, brand visuals and voice are less important than your value proposition. What do you do, for who, and how it benefits them should ring out. “I have found the right firm” is what you want an prospective ideal client to think when they first hit your website. Passed the website test? Extend it to all your marketing communications and collateral. Your positioning should be baked into them
2. Referral quality: if your referral quality is a mixed bag, it’s a sign your positioning is off. I know a firm which works with all kinds of businesses but their growth area is personal tax for high net worth migrants to their local area. They get a lot of referrals from their network and existing clients in this area. They have created a position around this profitable target market. If your referrals are mainly because you’re a local generalist firm
3. Raving fans: related to referral quality is having raving fans. More specifically, they all say the same things about you which relate to your unique positioning.
4. Lack pricing power: if you are seen as the firm by your target market you can usually charge premium prices and existing clients won’t baulk at regular increases. Weak positioning means you are seen interchangeable with other firms
5. Prospects don’t get it: do prospects and clients struggle to understand exactly what you do? You have not shown them your unique value. Hopefully you have unique value (see how positioning can reveal deeper issues?) so you need to demonstrate it

Now you know what positioning is and have some ways to test your firm’s. In Part 2 I will give you a framework for building tight, strong positioning for your firm.

[1] The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy by Michael E. Porter