Industry · PROF

Professional Services

Professional services firms sell expertise and trust. Yet partners often rely on anecdote to judge client satisfaction, positioning and new opportunities. We give firms structured, candid evidence from clients, prospects and markets.

Discuss Your Market 6 ways we help

Last reviewed 2 October 2026 by the Hoog research team

What is market research for professional services firms?

Market research for professional services firms studies how clients select, evaluate and stay with advisors such as consultancies, law firms, accountants, staffing and IT services providers. It covers client satisfaction and relationship health, positioning, firm selection, fee models and demand for new practices or markets.

How research creates value

Hear what clients really think — and turn it into growth.

Clients rarely tell their advisors directly why they are reducing work, sending mandates elsewhere or unhappy with pricing. An independent researcher can ask — and clients answer more openly. The result is an honest view of relationship health, competitive position and unmet needs.

Hoog works with management and technology consultancies, law firms, accounting and tax practices, staffing and HR services, engineering and design consultancies, and IT and digital services providers. We interview client executives, general counsel, CFOs, procurement leads and industry experts.

Segments we cover

Management & strategy consulting
Technology & IT services
Legal services
Accounting, tax & audit
Staffing, HR & recruitment
Engineering & design consultancies
Marketing & communications agencies
Global capability centre (GCC) service providers

What’s changing

Forces reshaping Professional Services

The shifts our clients most often ask us to help them understand and respond to.

AI reshaping service delivery

Clients expect firms to use AI to deliver faster and at lower cost — and are questioning traditional effort-based pricing.

Procurement-led buying

Panel reviews, rate pressure and formal procurement increasingly shape which firms win work.

Specialisation over breadth

Clients reward deep sector and problem expertise, pushing firms to sharpen positioning.

Talent and delivery models

Remote delivery, global capability centres and flexible talent models change cost structures and client expectations.

How we help

Research and strategy for Professional Services

Each engagement starts with a business problem and ends with a decision. These are the questions we are most often asked to answer.

Client listening & relationship health

“Partners think clients are happy, but we keep losing share of wallet to competitors.”

Questions we answer

How satisfied are key clients, and how likely are they to recommend us?
What do clients value most, and where do we fall short?
Which relationships are at risk?
Where are untapped opportunities for more work?

How we do it

Independent senior-level interviews with key clients, complemented by a short survey across the wider client base, reported by account, practice and theme.

Senior client interviews
Client satisfaction / NPS survey
Account-level analysis
Theme synthesis

What you receive

— Relationship health scorecard
— Account-level insights and risks
— Growth opportunities
— Practice-level improvement actions

Decision it enables

Which relationships to protect, where to grow and what to improve.

Positioning & brand perception

“We all claim the same things — expertise, quality, partnership. How do we stand out?”

Questions we answer

How do clients and prospects perceive us versus competitors?
Which attributes drive firm selection?
What are we known for — and what do we want to be known for?
Which messages resonate with target buyers?

How we do it

Interviews and surveys with clients, prospects and referrers, followed by positioning workshops.

Client and prospect interviews
Brand perception survey
Competitive positioning analysis
Positioning workshop

What you receive

— Perception map vs competitors
— Selection driver analysis
— Positioning options
— Messaging framework

Decision it enables

How to position the firm and its practices.

Related capability: Strategy Advisory

Buyer journey & firm selection

“We are shortlisted often but don’t win enough.”

Questions we answer

How do clients identify and shortlist firms?
What happens in pitches and procurement?
Why do we win and lose?
What role do referrals, content and rankings play?

How we do it

Win/loss interviews with recent decision-makers and journey mapping of the selection process.

Win/loss interviews
Buyer journey mapping
Procurement interviews

What you receive

— Selection journey map
— Win/loss insights
— Pitch and proposal recommendations

Decision it enables

How to improve conversion from shortlist to win.

Related capability: B2B Research

Pricing & fee model research

“Clients push back on hourly rates and ask for fixed or outcome-based fees.”

Questions we answer

What fee models do clients prefer for different work?
How do our rates compare with competitors?
Where is there room to price on value?
How will AI change client price expectations?

How we do it

Client and procurement interviews plus a fee-preference survey and competitive rate benchmarking.

Client interviews
Fee-preference survey
Rate benchmarking
Value-pricing analysis

What you receive

— Fee model recommendations
— Rate benchmark
— Value-pricing opportunities

Decision it enables

How to evolve pricing without losing clients.

Related capability: Pricing Research

New practice, service or market launch

“We are considering a new practice area or entering a new geography.”

Questions we answer

Is there demand, and from which client segments?
Who are the established providers?
What capabilities and credentials will clients expect?
How should we enter — hire, partner or acquire?

How we do it

Market sizing, buyer interviews and competitor assessment to build the business case for the new practice or market.

Buyer interviews
Market sizing
Competitor assessment
Entry option analysis

What you receive

— Demand assessment
— Competitive landscape
— Entry options and business case

Decision it enables

Whether and how to launch.

Related capability: Market Entry & GTM

Research-based thought leadership

“We want original research that positions our firm as a leading voice — not another opinion piece.”

Questions we answer

What topics matter to our target audience right now?
What original data can we generate?
How do we make findings credible and newsworthy?

How we do it

Executive surveys and interviews designed for robust, publishable findings, with transparent methodology.

Executive surveys
Expert interviews
Data analysis and storytelling

What you receive

— Survey design and fieldwork
— Analysis and key findings
— Report-ready insights with methodology note

Decision it enables

Which ideas to own in the market, backed by evidence.

Related capability: Market Intelligence

Who we research

The people behind the decisions

Clients

CEOs and business unit heads
General counsel and CFOs
CIOs and CHROs

Buyers

Procurement and panel managers
Prospects and lost bidders

Market

Referrers and intermediaries
Industry experts and former partners

What we measure

Evidence, not opinion

Client satisfaction and NPS
Share-of-wallet drivers
Firm selection criteria
Brand perception vs competitors
Fee model preferences
Win/loss drivers

Typical engagements

What working with us looks like

Representative scenarios that show how we scope work in this sector. They are example scopes, not client case studies.

Key client listening programme

Situation: A consultancy wants an honest view of its top accounts.
Approach: Independent senior client interviews and a client survey.
Output: Relationship scorecard, risks and growth opportunities by account.

New practice launch

Situation: A firm is considering an AI advisory practice.
Approach: Buyer interviews, competitor review and demand sizing.
Output: Business case and go-to-market approach.

Relevant capabilities

Capabilities we bring to Professional Services

Customer & Consumer InsightsUnderstand needs, behaviours, perceptions and the journey to purchase.Strategy AdvisoryTranslate evidence into strategic options, choices and action plans.B2B ResearchReach decision-makers, specialists and channel partners that are hard to access.Market Entry & GTMDecide where to play, how to enter and how to win in new markets.Pricing ResearchWillingness to pay, packaging and price positioning grounded in buyer evidence.

Case studies

10 Professional Services engagements

How we approach the commercial questions this sector asks most often.

View all 10 →

Professional Services

Client Feedback Programme for a Management Consulting Firm

Designing an independent client feedback programme to understand loyalty and improve repeat business.

Example engagementRead case

Professional Services

Brand Positioning Research for a Corporate Law Firm

Understanding how general counsel perceive the firm versus competitors and sharpening its positioning.

Example engagementRead case

Professional Services

Demand Assessment for a New Service Line at an Accounting Firm

Evaluating demand for an ESG reporting and assurance service before building the team.

Example engagementRead case

Professional Services

Client Needs and Differentiation for an IT Staffing Firm

Understanding how enterprise hiring managers choose staffing partners and where the firm could stand out.

Example engagementRead case

Professional Services

Market Entry Assessment for an Architecture and Design Practice

Evaluating whether and how to open a studio in a new regional market.

Example engagementRead case

Professional Services

Pricing Model Research for an IT Consulting Firm

Testing outcome-based and fixed-fee pricing as alternatives to time-and-materials billing.

Example engagementRead case

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is a client listening programme?

A client listening programme gathers structured feedback from clients — usually through senior interviews and short surveys — to measure relationship health, uncover needs and identify growth opportunities. It works best when run independently and repeated regularly.

Why should a professional services firm use an independent researcher for client feedback?

Clients are often reluctant to give critical feedback directly to the partners they work with. An independent researcher creates space for candour, applies a consistent structure and reports themes objectively.

Start a conversation

Facing a Professional Services decision? Let’s find the evidence.

Tell us about the decision you are facing. We will come back with a clear view of how research can help — and what it would take.

Discuss Your Market