Reston, VA, Jan. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Despite marketplace uncertainty, spiraling inflation, and the war in Europe, 2022’s high growth firms grew at a median rate of 32% while maintaining a profit of 25%. Their average peers grew at a median rate of 10% and showed a profit of less than 10%, according to the Hinge Research Institute’s High Growth Study 2023. This annual study dives into the factors behind the firms’ spectacular growth and profit rates across six industry segments: architecture/engineering/construction, accounting and financial services, consulting, technology and software, government contracting, and legal.
Access the High Growth Study Executive Summary here: https://info.hingemarketing.com/2023-HGS-PR
“B2B services firms that grew three times faster and were two and a half times more profitable than their average peers enjoy four advantages: digital maturity, access to top talent, prioritizing digital marketing and business development, and data-driven marketing strategy,” said Hinge managing partner, Lee Frederiksen. “These factors are key to building the capability to meet the market’s fast-changing needs better than their peers, boosting a firm’s immunity to future shocks.”
How have these factors prepared firms for 2022 intensifying, unexpected pressures?
Digital transformation gave results a boost
Twice as many high growth firms as their peers had undergone a complete digital transformation, enhancing their business processes’ efficiency, speed, and measurability. Marketing and business development processes were the biggest winners of this transformation, gaining more capability to track and optimize initiatives. Moreover, as clients and prospects spent more of the buyer journey online, finding and vetting providers before reaching out, firms that had invested in digital marketing and business development were able to fast track drawing prospects, building engagement, and converting opportunities into clients.
Successful firms lure top talent
2022 was a difficult year for firms that needed experienced talent, as many switched jobs or left the workforce, exacerbating an already tight labor market. High Growth Firms overcame the labor shortage by spending more on promoting the firm to top talent than their no growth peers. These promotions were made more effective by the corporate culture programs that top talent found appealing. When hiring was not an option, outsourcing gave these firms access to much-needed, hard-to-find experts.
Expanding marketing’s role creates marketplace advantages
While other firms reduced their marketing budgets in 2022, High Growth Firms spent more on marketing and even expanded their marketing team’s role within the firm. Initiatives range from market research to strategy implementation through to campaign impact evaluation. They also targeted both buyers and talent. These expanded roles would not have been effective without access to talent who can expertly use digital marketing tools and techniques at lower levels of effort yet produce butter results–such as more qualified leads and candidates.
Data-based strategies to turn uncertainty into opportunity
Today’s unpredictable marketplace leaves little to no room for error. Digital transformation enhances High Growth Firms’ ability to collect more and better quality data the firm can then use to adjust to and seize upon marketplace changes. While more firms are turning to market research, few have the technology and expertise to do it well. The right marketing team can make sense of the data and use it to help shape the firm’s strategic decisions. By responding effectively to market changes, the team can help trigger a cascade of compounding successes–as better resources lead to more wins, which make more resources accessible. Take for example larger firms turning their clients’ ESG regulatory headaches into new revenue streams for their own business.
The most extensive, longest-running study of its kind in the world, High Growth Study 2023 surveyed XXX professional services firms with a combined revenue of $XXXB and almost XXM employees.
The High Growth Study Executive Summary can be accessed here: https://info.hingemarketing.com/2023-HGS-PR
About the Hinge Research Institute: We conduct and publish independent research on professional services firms to uncover the marketing strategies of high-growth firms and give B2B companies and associations the data and insights they need to understand and profit from the professional services industry.
