Competition Forces Companies and Firms to Experiment

As professional services become more like commodities, companies
that provide them are searching for new ways to stand out from their competitors.
A survey of more than 400 companies and firms specializing in accounting,
consulting, technology and other areas revealed that 81% use differentiation
techniques to enhance their marketing activities.

The Importance of Being Different Last year, professional services companies distinguished themselves from their competitors in a variety of ways. They

New Ways to Get the Job Done The companies and firms said overall they would use some methods more frequently in 2000 than they did before. More of them planned to

Accountants Plot a New Course As CPA firms focus more on technology and alliances and less on raising prices, the trend is away from lower-priced work, such as tax preparation, and toward estate planning and other high-end advisory services. Now firms are
Note: Of the survey’s 422 respondents, 12% represented accounting firms and approximately 59% represented companies with more than $5 million in annual revenues. Source: Expertise Marketing, Concord, Massachusetts, www.expertisemarketing.com .