If you run a consulting firm, law firm, design studio, or other expertise-driven business, you’ve likely felt the tension: You want to grow. But you don’t want to run noisy lead gen campaigns that feel transactional or desperate.

I have good news for you. Marketing for professional services doesn’t need to be complicated. At Madison, we’ve helped dozens of professional services firms develop and execute their marketing strategy.

And almost every time, we start with a one-page plan. Here’s what that looks like, and how you can create your own.

The Vision: What Are We Trying to Build?

Start with the long game.

Your marketing efforts should be in service of something bigger than just filling this quarter’s pipeline. They should help shape how your firm is perceived, attract the right kind of clients, and build a reputation that compounds over time.

Your vision might be:

• “To become the go-to advisory firm for growth-stage health tech companies.”
• “To help mid-sized law firms modernize their operations.”

Note the specificity. We believe one of the best ways to have a strong Point of View is by getting laser focused on who you seek to serve. It makes everything else you do much easier.

For us at Madison, our vision is simple: help boutique professional services firms grow. Everything else flows from that.

The Unique Selling Proposition (USP): What Makes Us Different?

Every firm says they’re “strategic,” “collaborative,” and “client-focused.” That’s not a USP. It’s a cliché. Replace your firm’s name with any other firm like yours. Is it likely they could try to make the same claim? If so, you have work to do.

Your USP should answer this: Why would an ideal client choose you instead of a similar firm?

• Is it your methodology?
• Your results?
• Your deep expertise in a specific vertical?
• Your unusually personal service?
• Your ability to combine two disciplines in a novel way?

For example, Madison’s USP is rooted in our ability to help firms clarify their point of view, earn visibility with ideal clients, and build predictable deal flow, without gimmicks or fluff.

Your USP at it’s best makes a specific promise to the market. One you can actually live up to.

The Client and Their Meta-Narrative: Who Are We Serving, and What Are They Trying to Do?

This is where many marketing plans fall apart. They focus on the firm: our services, our case studies, our process.

But effective marketing starts with empathy. Who are your clients? What’s going on in their world? What are they ultimately trying to achieve?

This goes beyond buyer personas. We call it the “meta-narrative.”

At Madison, our ideal clients are founders and senior partners at boutique firms. Their meta-narrative isn’t “I need help with marketing.” It’s “I want to build a successful practice.”

They want to be seen as trusted advisors, not just vendors. They want predictable growth without sacrificing their values. That’s the journey they’re on, and our services help them get there.

Understanding your clients’ meta-narrative reframes everything. It shapes your messaging, your offers, your content, even your sales conversations.

The Strategy: What’s Our High-Level Approach?

Once you know where you’re going, what you uniquely offer, and who you serve, you need a plan to connect the dots. This is your marketing strategy.

Our strategy at Madison is to “give away our secrets.” We share generously, through posts like this, webinars, workshops, and guides. We believe transparency builds trust. And we know that the people who resonate with our thinking will reach out when the time is right.

A good strategy gives your team confidence. It’s a filter for what to pursue, and what to ignore.

The Voice: How Will We Show Up to the World?

Marketing is communication. And tone matters.

How do you want to sound? Authoritative? Approachable? Analytical? Playful?

There’s no right answer, but there is a right answer for you.

At Madison, our voice is knowledgeable, thoughtful, and friendly. At least we hope so 🙂.

We aim to be smart without being smug. We try to use plain language to explain complex ideas. And we never condescend, because our clients are smart too.

Your voice is how people experience your brand in content, conversations, and collateral. Make sure it reflects who you really are.

The Channels: Where Are We Going to Play?

Next, define where your marketing will actually show up. You don’t need to be everywhere. But you do need to show up consistently in a few places that matter.

Our primary channel is LinkedIn. It’s where our clients are, and it allows us to show up 100–150 times per year in their feeds incredibly cost-effectively.

But we also repurpose content into a serialized newsletter. Into podcasts and video interviews. Into online and in-person workshops.

Together, these channels reinforce our message, deepen relationships, and create natural entry points for prospective clients.

Choose channels that fit your strategy, your capacity, and your audience. Fewer channels you can commit to is better than more that you can’t.

How We Measure Success: How Do We Know It’s Working?

Decide what success looks like. For us, we measure:

• Engagement: Are people attending our events, downloading our lead magnets, interacting with our posts?
• Client Acquisition: Are new prospects reaching out? Are we winning the right kinds of work?
• Client Retention: Are clients coming back? Referring others?
• Brand Authority: Are we getting invited to speak? Write? Collaborate?

The right metrics will vary by firm. But pick a few that align with your goals, and revisit them regularly.

The Power of Clarity

When you have a clear, concise marketing plan, a few good things happen:

• Your team aligns. Everyone knows what you’re doing and why.
• Your execution improves. You stop chasing shiny objects.
• Your message gets sharper. You start sounding like you, and only you.

And perhaps most importantly: You become easier to buy from.

Don’t overcomplicate it. Start with one page. Fill in these seven pieces. Then start executing.

And if you need help making that happen, you know where to find us.

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