Profiling Top Service Firms Brendan Gray, Sheelagh Matear, Kenneth Deans, Philip Matheson, Jim Bell, Tony Garrett, Graham Cowley David Buisson University of Otago Abstract Although the services sector is expanding rapidly, and there is a growing literature about ways to improve services marketing, there is a dearth of studies that take a holistic view of the relationships between marketing practices, firm characteristics and company performance. This study reports the results of the first phase of a four-year research project aimed at improving the competitiveness of New Zealand’s services sector. The results suggest that the top performing firms are those with higher levels of market orientation, greater investment in brand management, better-managed service innovation processes, and greater Web presence. Introduction The services sector is an increasingly important source of job creation and national wealth, and the ability to compete effectively in both domestic and international markets is critical for continued growth. Competition in services is largely concerned with intangible assets and innovation. Therefore, to be successful, service providers need to concentrate on intangible assets such as brand equity and innovation competencies (Bharadwaj et al., 1993). Although better performing New Zealand firms are also more market-oriented (Gray et al., 1998a and 1998b), there is a lack of research about the management procedures used by successful service marketers to achieve this. The present study is part of a four-year research program aimed at identifying ways of improving the competitiveness of the New Zealand services sector. The first stage involves surveying a wide variety of service providers to profile the top performers. The second phase will use depth interviews to identify “best practice” service marketing procedures of firms that distribute products or offer commercial or other services. The third phase will be devoted to “technology transfer”, with tangible outcomes including best practice guidelines to be published electronically and in booklets, training manuals and seminars. Business Development Boards, Chambers of Commerce, the Chartered Institute of Transport, New Zealand Manufacturers Federation, Tradenz and Maori-owned corporations have indicated a need for this information and a willingness to help disseminate it to managers and staff of small and medium-sized companies. The fourth and final phase involves a follow-up survey of those companies which have received information from the research group. Its aim will be to identify any barriers to the implementation of recommended strategies and tactics to improve services performance and competitiveness.