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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING INSIGHTS

| 1 minute read

We are Legion, We are [Insert Company Name]

Big professional services firms are serious, startups are relaxed. The former use big words, the latter say 'Hey' and 'Awesome' a lot. 

While the above is a bit of a generalisation, I hope you understand where I am coming from. It seems that the big companies pride themselves on the very carefully measured corporate communications that ultimately can make them look distant. On the other side of the spectrum, the smaller and newer companies that are still in the startup or growing stage seem to adopt a much more casual style in an effort to connect with the community. 

I understand where they are coming from. The big guys have a reputation to preserve, the smaller ones are trying to break through by connecting on a more 'human' level. But while it is all done with the best intentions, the result is that both can sometimes sound forced and robotic. How many times when I have chatted to a representative of a startup, I have felt like they are throwing learned colloquialisms at me in an attempt to sound laid back and friendly. 

So what is the solution? 

I think more companies should be giving their employees freedom to speak in their own voice and let their personality show in what they say. If you trust your employees enough to showcase their name and face in front of the world, let them speak in their own words too. 

Most crucially, your brand should be about what you do and the value you can bring. I would argue that letting people talk about the issues they work with and solve every day is the best way to demonstrate that you are, indeed, the best team in the field. 

But what if my employees go out and tell terrible things that ruin my reputation for ever? 

Think about it, your team chooses to come to work each day, do their best for your clients, handle sometimes astronomical transactions or extremely complex cases because they take pride in being a part of your company. If they were to grow little devil horns and a tail, set the place ablaze and run away giggling, they have probably already had a dozen opportunities to do so. But they didn't, because they choose not to. 

So why not let them be themselves? Everybody knows that it takes all sorts to make a world.

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Tags

content marketing, b2b marketing, startups, branding