Positioning for Professionals: How Professional Knowledge Firms Can Differentiate Their Way to Success (Wiley Professional Advisory Services)

211 Pages·2010·0.85 MB·English

by  Tim Williams

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Positioning
for Professionals
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Positioning
for Professionals
How Professional Knowledge
Firms Can Differentiate
Their Way to Success
Tim Williams
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright © 2010 by Tim J.Williams. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
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Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts
in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy
or completeness of the contents of this book and specifi cally disclaim any implied warranties of
merchantability or fi tness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales
representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be
suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Williams, Tim, 1954—
Positioning for professionals : how professional knowledge fi rms can differentiate their way to
success / Tim Williams.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-470-58715-7 (hardback); 978-0-470-87735-7 (ebk); 978-0-470-87751-7 (ebk);
978-0-470-87752-4 (ebk)
1. Branding (Marketing) 2. Success in business. I. Title.
HF5415.1255.W55 2010
658.8'27—dc22
2010021337
Printed in the United States of America
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To my wife and lifetime companion, Christine
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Contents
Introduction xi
Chapter 1 1
Size Is Not a Strategy
Maintaining Pricing Integrity 2
Better to Be a Profi t Leader than a Market Leader 3
Why Bigness Doesn’t Lead to Greatness 5
Hired to Be Effective, Not Effi cient 6
Chapter 2 9
How and Why Brands Become Homogenized
The Urge to Copy 10
The Folly of All-in-One 11
Line Extension Is Not Branding 12
There’s No Such Thing as Full Service 13
The Natural Fear of Focus 14
Chapter 3 17
The Mature Company’s Identity Crisis
Differentiation and Price Premiums 18
Columbus, Not Napoleon 19
The Diffusion of Identity 22
Landing in No-Man’s Land 22
Strategy at the Edges 23
Not Best Practices, But Next Practices 25
vii
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