By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

I just ran across another projection for 2009 spending on information technology. This one comes from Information Week Analytics, the folks that publish Information Week magazine. This study covered 451 business technology professionals. Much like the survey we discussed last week the market is soft but not a disaster area. About one third of the companies plan to decrease spend, one third are planning to keep it steady, and one third are planning to increase spending. I read this as a “normal distribution” of opportunity.

Here’s the golden egg of opportunity in the data: While overall employment is down 6%, a full 84% report no reduction in demand for information technology services at their companies. For the professional services marketer, that spells opportunity. To further bring home the point, almost one in five respondents (18%) report that the economy has increased the priority of at least one project.

What we’re seeing is increased pressure to get important projects completed with shrinking internal resources. The obvious conclusion is that there is a need for outside resources. While the current data set focuses on information technology, professional services marketers of all stripes should take note. There is no reason this same logic shouldn’t apply to a great many verticals. As companies scurry to reduce permanent headcount, there are corresponding opportunities for consultants, outsourced service providers, and professional practices of all varieties. Let the marketing begin!

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

The economic rollercoaster we find ourselves riding seems to produce an unending stream of nasty surprises. Just pick up the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post on any given day and be prepared for the old poker player’s expression… “read ‘em and weep.” The economic climate is routinely described as the worst since the depression.

Against this backdrop, I’ve found myself engaged in intense conversations with CEOs of professional service firms around a common theme… depression. They are less consumed by economic depression than by the human kind. Many of these principals have grown their firms from nothing into thriving participants in the business community. They’ve prided themselves on creating a supportive atmosphere and realize that a growing number of families have come to rely their businesses for their mortgage payments, health care and college tuition for those smiling kids in the photos on their desks. These leaders are facing the harsh reality that the current situation is not sustainable. By this point, they’ve trimmed away the fat and now must let people go. This is the part of being a business owner that isn’t much fun.

Frankly, it’s a side of this economic downturn that doesn’t get a lot of sympathetic coverage. The typical storyline runs more toward greedy and incompetent executives lining their pockets at the expense of their employees and shareholders. While that view may sell papers and attract an audience, it doesn’t reflect the reality that I experience when talking with actual business owners. In my experience, they are the ones who take the pain first and feel it most intensely. And yes, more than a few of them are battling to keep an upbeat outlook.

As a psychologist, I’m all too familiar with the devastation that true clinical depression brings in its wake. And even perfectly normal reactions to these difficult times can have a real dampening effect on your firm’s prospects by clouding judgment and making it more difficult to implement needed actions or seize emerging opportunities. What to do?

If you find yourself struggling with anxiety or depression that is clearly impacting your performance, you should seek professional help. But short of that, here are several things to keep in mind:

Every successful brand stands for something fundamental—an underlying bedrock idea or principle that at every turn supports a company or product. This foundational platform is called positioning, and without it a brand can have no traction.

Successful positioning rejects conformity. At its best, positioning elevates a brand above the fray so that people can’t help but take notice. The human brain instinctively looks for things that are different and unexpected. So a brand that stands in stark contrast to its competition will attract people’s attention and have a distinct advantage in the marketplace.

To be noticed and interesting, however, a brand’s positioning must accomplish three things. It must

1. Be different
2. Be focused
3. Be relevant

Neglect any one of these factors and the platform collapses. Each one plays a critical role in the psychology of branding. Let’s see why these factors are important.

Be Different
You can’t attract a loyal following if nobody notices you. So if you are serious about developing a powerful brand, your first order of business is to make sure you stick out from your competition. Sure, there’s more to a brand than being different, but if your business blends into the background noise, it’s lost from the start.

You see, people today are faced with a dizzying array of choices. Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap and Zag, writes: “An over-abundance of look-alike products and me-too services is forcing customers to search for something, anything, to help them separate the winners from the clutter.” Differentiation provides needed contrast and helps people make choices. So stand tall—make it easy for prospects to choose you!

Be Focused
When we have a problem that we can’t fix ourselves, we reach out to specialists. Specialists cost a little more than generalists, but people are usually willing to pay a premium for their expertise.

A majority of service businesses today, however, take the opposite tack. Instead of narrowing their expertise, many companies expand their service offerings in hopes of attracting more customers. The problem with this approach is that lack of focus and broad competition lead to commoditization. Once your services are considered a commodity, your prestige and margins will suffer. So find a niche, and not only will qualified customers will seek you out, but they’ll be willing to pay more.

Be Relevant
If you aren’t relevant, you aren’t in business. A company can be highly differentiated and specialized, but if nobody is interested in its product, the company won’t make any money. Test the waters first and find out if there is sufficient interest in your specialty. Just because your law firm dresses up like clowns doesn’t mean people want to be represented by Bozo in court.

A company can survive without positioning. In fact, most businesses eke out a modest existence. But branding isn’t about survival, it’s about “thrive-al”—creating a lasting emotional connection with customers that fuels reputation and growth. And positioning is where it all starts. Establish great positioning, and your business will have the stored energy it needs to grow and flourish.