The expression Professional Services refers to any infrequent, technical or unique function that is performed by independent consultants specialised in rendering such services. Therefore we can say that professional services are any type of services that may be rendered by a formally certified member of a professional body, who has the required skilled to provide a satisfying solution to his clients. Professional services encompass fields such as accounting, legal, medical, actuaries, appraisers, architects, attorneys, brokerage firms, business consultants, business development managers, copywriters....etc That particular expression has been recently associated to Public Relations to qualify a new kind of PR agency called Professional Services PR.
Those particular agencies are characterised by their dedication to provide sophisticated, expertise-driven marketing and business development strategies as well as some applications for authors, accountants, attorneys, consultants, engineers, sales trainers, tech services firms and other professionals. Actually, as competition intensifies, many professionals are discovering the limits of traditional marketing; therefore they see media as a niche market likely to increase their revenue. In fact, newsletters, press releases, and other public relations tools are widely used by accounting, law, architectural, engineering, and management consulting firms.

Most of those particular PR agencies generally hire former journalists in so far as they have a better understanding of how the media works. However, they also hire experienced marketers, digital professionals, seasoned copy-writers, talented designers, event managers, brand developers, researchers, media trainers and reputation management experts to make sure that they won't have to outsource some tasks. Then, all those professionals work together as a team to deliver their clients a bespoke solution.
Several elements during the last few years have accelerated the development of Professional Services PR, among them Legal sanctions. In fact, several highly publicised court cases have opened the door to some previously banned marketing tools such as advertising. On the other hand competition is becoming more and fiercer and professionals have to adopt their services to the changes. Law, architecture, dentistry, and other professions have become overcrowded and their members must find a way of differentiating themselves to retain and gain customers.

The last factor that encourages that phenomenon is the declining public image, thus it became necessary for professionals to use marketing to enhance their public images and to improve their clients' satisfaction. There are many professional services PR agencies in the UK who help professionals in many ways for instance helping them protect their reputation.