It’s been 20 years since Beaton began undertaking an annual benchmarking survey to compare the performance of professional services firms across Australia and New Zealand. The survey has informed the results of the Client Choice Awards for those two decades.
Since then, we have constantly assessed the research and survey process. We have made necessary changes to stay relevant, while ensuring we capture the most impactful client trends affecting firms. We have listened to feedback from you – our clients – and remain constantly alert to your needs.
This year, on the 20th anniversary of the awards, we are making key changes to our survey in response to changes in the market. These will give your firm greater insights in reporting and produce a clearer picture of your brand against competitors.
Here’s what we’re doing.
1. Two new sectors in our market breakdown
Creating the most relevant reports to your firm means ensuring we are segmenting data logically, according to the current state of the professional services market. For this reason, we are adding two new sectors to our previous eight. These sectors allow for firms to receive finer segmentation of their data to understand the market dynamics in specific client segments.
The new sectors are health (pulled out from government) and technology (new addition).
Firms that work in these sectors will now be able to understand their market position in relation to a more targeted group of competitors. The two new sectors add to form a list of 10 sectors researched by Beaton Benchmarks. These are:1
- Banking, financial services & insurance (e.g. Private equity, Superannuation).
- Construction (e.g. Transport infrastructure, Manufacturing facilities)
- Government & education (e.g. Defence, Universities)
- [NEW] Health, social & community (e.g. Hospitals, Aged care, Not-for-profit)
- Manufacturing, wholesaling & retail (e.g. Consumer products, Industrial products, Life sciences)
- Power & utilities (e.g. Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications infrastructure, Water)
- Primary industry (e.g. Agriculture, Mining & resources, Oil & gas)
- Professional services (e.g. Accounting, Legal, Consulting engineering)
- Property (e.g. Building services, Property development, Real estate)
- [NEW] Technology & media (e.g. Hardware, Software, AI, Online services)
New and improved Beaton Benchmarks reports give leaders the mandate they need to effect material change in their firms.
2. New research questions targeting trust and reputation
Many professional services firms have told us they are seeking specific information and insights on the strength of their firm’s brand.
Firms want to know what clients think of their brand – how well do clients know it? Do they trust it? How does your firm’s reputation rank in comparison to competitors? How do clients perceive your efforts in environmental, social and governance (ESG) outcomes?
These questions and more will be answered by new metrics in the Beaton Benchmarks survey focusing on trust and reputation.
The added questions will allow us to analyse your firm’s performance more specifically in these areas. We will be able to measure how clients trust or see the integrity of your brand. We can also track your clients’ trust in you over a number of years, capturing how clients may react to changes in your strategy and current news and events that impact trust in professional services firms.
Brand reputation is one of the most important metrics for success. We at Beaton are committed to helping you track, analyse and improve yours.
3. Improved reporting of your brand attributes
Starting with our Beaton Benchmarks 2024 reporting, we will report firms’ brand attributes using a two-year moving average. This means that your data this year will be a combination of brand attribute ratings from 2024 and 2023, and last year’s data will consist of 2023 and 2022 data and so on.
Moving averages, also known as rolling averages, are a commonly used technique in market research, particularly when measuring and tracking brands and market sentiment. In our experience and what we hear from our clients, brands of firms move slowly, and brand interventions take time to move through the market, making this a useful technique to implement.
Rolling averages will help smooth out year-on-year bumps to make the underlying trends clearer and more actionable.
Actionable client feedback and tailored benchmarking
Registration for Beaton Benchmarks is now open for a limited time. Participate for free in the largest, most comprehensive client sentiment industry benchmarking study in professional services.
