A study links higher adoption of digital marketing tools to greater business success amongst professional services firms. However, it varies by sector with some industries slow to adapt. That’s an opportunity for those firms that can move quickly. They could experience rapid growth if they embrace online tools.
The survey sample consisted of 500 US professional services (PS) firms operating in architecture, engineering, construction, marketing communications, accountancy, finance and technology in late 2011.
Hinge, who commissioned the research, looked at the number of PS businesses that generated leads online and matched this to the relative success of those firms in terms of growth and profitability.
They found that the more successful firms tended to generate more leads from online sources than their less successful peers. Taking figures from the report, this effect is highlighted in the chart below:
To help interpret this chart; of those that generate between 80 to 100% of their leads online, 60.7% are from the “successful” PS firms in the research. Only 15% of high growth / profit PS firms do not generate any of their leads from online sources.
The report goes on to highlight the inbound response methods from online activity:
* 43.9% - direct e-mail
* 28.6% - web form
* 24.1% - inbound telephone call
* 3.4% - other
This probably reflects the call-to-action mechanisms provided more than anything else but it does highlight that over a quarter are deploying web forms and generating sales leads as a result.
Hinge go on to look at the different online techniques that the sample used and how effective PS firms found them. It’s interesting to compare the rank order of techniques considered effective amongst PS firms to a similar study conducted in 2012 amongst small and medium sized businesses in general (i.e., not just PS firms):
The differences may allude to the different techniques required to be successful within different industries and professions. The SME audience are known to still be heavy users of traditional sales and marketing methods for lead generation. They are still experimenting with online tools. Having said that, over 50% of SME’s claim to be using all these methods.
If the professional services industry in the US can be aligned to that in the UK and Europe then these findings suggest that PS firms should embrace these techniques to improve lead generation and overall business performance.
Which professional service sectors perform best?
The Hinge report looked at which PS segments were using online techniques the most to generate leads:
This suggests that the majority of PS firms, especially those in architecture, engineering and construction, could achieve faster growth by focussing more effort on web lead generation.
Whilst traditional methods like personal networking, trade shows and exhibitions are still no doubt proven lead generation winners, the link suggested by the Hinge report about online adoption and business success really warrants close attention.
A common issue for PS firms new to online tools, is assigning management ownership internally and then finding someone suitably skilled to undertake the tasks. That person may not even exist in the headcount. What’s more, the management team may be unsure about the skills required to complete the task or the level of budget that should be allocated for this activity to be effective.
One solution to this would be to engage an external resource just to get things going. That external resource could set-up an initial online content marketing programme. Also, if agreed at the outset, the external partner could organise the programme to facilitate knowledge transfer and training to an in-house resource. Based on this research, the cost of the external resource should pay for itself from new incremental business.
Technology has changed the way firms do business. Digital technologies and social media communications have reached a tipping point and firms across all industries are now grappling with the impact of the changes on their business. Delaying the inevitable adoption of online marketing may prove to be a risky strategy.
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