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Value You Can Feel: How The Primestone Group’s Core Values Shape the Client Experience
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When Values Impart Value: How Culture Creates a Competitive Edge at Lowe Engineers
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By Kristen Ruiz
FEATURE
In professional services marketing, documents are constantly evolving; information quickly goes stale, version control is an ongoing battle, and content ownership is a big question mark. As a result, our knowledge libraries become behemoths that seem nearly impossible to manage. And when the time comes for a massive overhaul, a "library refresh" requires sifting through hundreds of files to determine versions, owners, and relevance and accuracy to the end users' current way of doing things. The consequential mess affects the already stressful and busy work lives of proposal and bid managers, design teams, business developers, and even the SMEs we help serve.
Why is knowledge management such a mess?
It's human nature to have a hard time letting go, especially if we've somehow personally contributed or are deeply invested. This sunk-cost fallacy mindset can show itself in different ways, including thinking everything is either irreplaceable or will require a ton of work to re-do if it vanishes. And while these conclusions are not necessarily true, the line of thinking is understandable given the tight deadlines and often limited resources that come with proposal management.
It is also easy to confuse "effective file management" with organized hoarding. The latter looks like shuffling content around or putting it in multiple layers of folders, creating the illusion of simplicity or efficiency while perpetuating a state of chaos.
The short answer is that we simply have too much "stuff." And like any material possession, every piece of content has an attached cost: it requires space to be housed in as well as time and mental capacity to keep track of and update.
This clutter problem (and its possible solution) not only hits close to home—it's in our homes.
Minimalism and de-influencing (encouraging mindful consumption) have been upward trends with profound benefits to mental and physical health, from improved memory and sense of clarity to increased ability to prioritize what matters. Minimalism gives us a sense of manageability and positive control, and in the best-case scenario, it offers us freedom. So why not transfer these same values to our work lives?
The end result, when applied to content management, is
- More time spent on tasks that require human interaction
- Tailored narratives that meet client needs
- Easier navigation of existing repositories
- Improved morale
- A sense of accountability and ownership amongst proposal teams
How to Use Minimalism in Content Management
As a practical exercise, I've borrowed some ideas from The Minimalists' ebook 16 Rules for Living With Less and looked at them through the lens of A/E/C content management.
For those willing to dive right in, here are two possible games to involve your team in a content clean-up effort (bonus points: boost the competitive spirit with a prize or reward for the winner):
- Try a 30-Day Minimalism Challenge: Gather your team of knowledge managers or set up a small representative committee from your team to participate. Create a temporary "Trash" folder that all participants can access. On Day 1, everyone finds one piece of unnecessary content and puts it in the "Trash" folder—maybe a duplicate of a resource, an outdated boilerplate narrative, or a presentation slide deck introducing a long-ago initiative. On Day 2, get rid of two pieces of unnecessary content, and so on. Whoever makes it the closest to 30 days wins!
- "Packing Party": Imagine you are getting ready to "move" to a new house (i.e., your company is looking to create a new repository), and you need to determine what stays and what goes. "Pack up" all the content for consideration into a temporary but clearly labeled folder or site that is easily accessible to the necessary stakeholders and users but is otherwise "out of sight and out of mind" (similar to putting your belongings in a "Time Will Tell" bin or labeled cardboard boxes in preparation for a move). Over the course of 30 days (or an appropriate length of time for your team/organization), pull whatever content you need at the time you actually need it. After that time is up, evaluate whether to refresh, rehome, or delete anything that was still "packed" and unused in that temporary location.
The Alignment Advantage
When vision, mission, and values align authentically, you create a solid foundation for your professional service’s brand. This alignment produces measurable results:
- Internal clarity and cohesion: Staff understand who you are, what you stand for, and where you go. This clarity powers consistent decision-making and service delivery.
- Employee engagement and retention: People are drawn to organizations with a clear purpose and values alignment. This becomes a powerful recruitment and retention advantage in competitive talent markets.
The Client Connection: Values Drive Loyalty
Clients seek firms whose purpose and values mirror their own. Clear positioning makes it easier for your ideal clients to find and choose you.
This values alignment creates a deeper connection than mere service provision. Clients who experience your values in action—not just read about them on your website—develop loyalty that transcends individual projects or personnel changes.
Think about it: clients can find expertise anywhere. They can't easily replace a partnership with a firm whose approach resonates with their organizational culture and priorities.”
Premium Position Through Value Alignment
Distinctive positioning reduces price competition. Clients pay more for services they perceive as uniquely valuable and aligned with their values.
Price sensitivity diminishes when you deliver technical excellence and an experience that aligns with client values. Clients recognize the added value of working with a firm that “gets them” at a fundamental level.
From Values Statement To Values Experience
Transforming stated values into client experience requires deliberate architecture:
- Behavioral Definition: For each value, identify specific, observable behaviors that demonstrate it in client interactions
- Experience Mapping: Audit each phase of your client journey through the lens of your values
- Decision Protocols: Develop values-based frameworks for making key project decisions
- Consistent Communication: Ensure all client touchpoints—from proposal language to project updates—reflect your values
- Feedback Mechanisms: Regularly gather client input on how well their experience aligns with your stated values
Measuring Value Alignment
How will you know your values are shaping client experience effectively? Monitor these indicators:
External Brand Perception:
- Client perception alignment with intended positioning (survey score)
- Unprompted brand attribute mentions in client interviews
- Social media sentiment analysis trends
- Media coverage quality and message consistency
- Website visitor engagement with purpose/values content
- Conversion rates on value-aligned marketing content
- New business win rate for value-aligned opportunities
- Price premium achievement compared to the market average
- Employee retention rate compared to the industry average
NEXT STEPS: DESIGNING YOUR VALUES EXPERIENCE
Ready to transform how your values shape client experience? Consider these action steps:
- Conduct a values audit - Evaluate how consistently your stated values manifest across all client touchpoints
- Facilitate client feedback sessions focused specifically on values alignment
- Develop experience principles that translate each core value into client-facing behaviors and decisions
- Create internal training that helps team members understand how to embody values in client interactions
- Establish values-based decision protocols for key project inflection points
Today's most successful professional service firms recognize that values aren't just internal culture elements—they're powerful differentiators shaping how clients experience your firm’s expertise. Integrating values throughout the client journey creates a distinctive experience that transcends the commoditization trap and builds lasting relationships.
In a marketplace where technical capabilities often appear interchangeable, how you deliver value aligned with your values becomes your most powerful differentiator.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This article is drawn from the first chapter of the forthcoming 2nd edition of The Architecture of Image: Building the Brand of Your Professional Practice, scheduled for release in Summer 2025.
Craig Park, FSMPS, Assoc. AIA is an Associate Principal with Clark & Enersen, architects and engineers based in Lincoln, Neb. Craig is a marketing thought leader with 40+ years of experience in architecture, engineering, construction, and technology consulting. He served as SMPS national president from 2002-3 and received the Weld Coxe Marketing Achievement Award in 2007. Craig’s unique blend of marketing expertise and technological fluency provides a distinctive perspective on brand evolution in the digital age.
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