Professional services firms seem to fall into two camps when it comes to the nature of their marketing communications.
Camp 1 focuses on marketing their capabilities; telling world what they do (e.g. tax law, litigation, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, etc.)
Camp 2 focuses on marketing their value; telling the world how they make a difference for their clients (e.g. higher profts, lower costs, smoother operations, better marketing, mitigated liabilities, problems solved, etc.)
Capabilities focused marketers view benefits messages, value messages, and personality messages as "worthless pap." The folks in value camp just die when they see what the capabilities camp people say about themselves: "How can you think that putting a 17 item bulleted list of capabilities is at all helpful in your marketing? How boring and undifferentiated is that!"
To most marketers, the villians of this story are the capabilities folks (usually firm leaders and line managers, not marketers). Any marketing person worth their Fleur De Sel de Camargue believes that focusing on benefits and value is the way to go. We've been programmed that way.
Here's the problem with focusing on value only: people don't know what you do! I've spoken with many a bummed out services provider brooding about how a client or prospect has hired some other firm to deliver services that they offer.
Now this doesn't mean that you shouldn't focus on value, benefits, or personality. You should. But you should do it in a way that helps clients and prospects to know when they should use you.
For example, picture a direct mail letter that focuses on "5 Questions Every Mid-Market Company CFO Needs to Answer." You pose the questions. You note how you help people answer them all the time. And you note the specific services that you offer that helps you answer them. At the end of the direct mail letter, you make an offer of value, "Visit www.websitehere.com/5questions to download our white paper that outlines how 7 CFOs at mid-market companies have tackled these questions, and the difference it's made in their financial results."
The letter is more interesting. It outines problems, the value of solving them, and with which services of yours you've solved them.
Key message: In your value-based marketing, make sure you communicate what you do as well.