The proactive professional: characteristics and workplace impact

Proactive Professional

Bloom, P. & Daple, M. The proactive professional. Marketing Management, 2(1): 27-35.

In the age of the Internet, 24/7 marketing has become ubiquitous. The major exception to this phenomenon can be found amongst professional services firms in fields such as law, engineering, architecture, and accounting. There is a profound degree of mistrust in these professions of advertising, partially because of a fear that aggressive marketing will detract from rather than enhance the reputation of the firm. Quality or 'credence' buying is an important factor because users of such services do not undertake an arrangement with these professionals on impulse. The decision to use a professional firm is usually the result of a careful, measured decision because of the complexity of services offered. It can be very difficult to evaluate the quality of the services for a layperson, so credence and an appearance of professionalism is important. For example, a reputable law firm does not want to appear like an 'ambulance chasing' firm.

There are also other factors which impede traditional marketing techniques for professional services. Demand is unpredictable and not usually based upon direct persuasive appeals, but upon consumer needs. Conservative values and conforming to industry norms is important, so using crazy, eye-catching techniques to get consumer attention is frowned upon and can compromise firm reputations, as can trying to stand out as can 'niche' marketing. There is also a culture that focuses on 'doing' versus 'selling' within most professions. However, using 'rainmakers' to draw clients can be just as unattractively aggressive as traditional marketing and this has the disadvantage of placing the firm's future in the hands of an individual, not the organization itself. What happens when the rainmaker leaves the firm or is no longer loyal to the firm? A similar problem results with hiring marketing experts from outside who have little knowledge of the firm and its industry. Other firms rely upon 'professional' marketing through brochures to market themselves with credibility but this can seem overly generic.

Bloom and Daple suggest that instead of relying upon external sources of marketing or focusing on one or two rainmakers, firms must cultivate a holistic marketing culture from within. Every individual who works for the firm should be viewed as a marketer, versus a few select employees. Firms must also conduct marketing research and analysis and collect data, just like more conventional types of enterprises. Techniques such as target marketing of high-spending clients; analyzing the decision-making of potential clients when choosing a firm; competitor analysis and a focus on client satisfaction (and monitoring client satisfaction) are all necessary.