By: John D. Barber, Marketing Coordinator, White and Williams LLP
On June 19, 2014 the Legal Marketing Association – Philadelphia Metro Chapter met to discuss Strategic Priorities and Trends for 2014. The panel consisted of John Byrne, President, Glencoe Media Group Inc; Margaret Cronan, Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer, Dilworth Paxson LLP; Damien Enderle, Chief Marketing Officer, Saul Ewing LLP; and Trish Lilley, Chief Marketing Officer, Fox Rothschild LLP. The panel discussed an array of issues legal marketing departments face today such as team building, prioritization, legal marketing in the digital age, and where they see the future of legal marketing.
Law firms are operating in a changing market place that has caused many to reevaluate their marketing departments and strategies. When building a new team or reorganizing an existing department, there are a few keys aspects to keep in mind. One necessary component of all teams is trust; team members must be able to trust in one another’s abilities to perform their jobs successfully and efficiently. Law firm managers can facilitate a trustworthy environment by ensuring that the skill sets of team members are aligned with their positions and responsibilities. The department should also actively educate attorneys and staff of the firm of marketing’s capabilities. Finally, a modern legal marketing department has a focus on business development and uses all other capabilities strategically in support of that focus.
Legal marketing departments generally serve a great number of attorneys per legal marketing professional and knowing how to prioritize and manage workload can be a challenge for many professionals. Unquestioningly carrying out all attorney requests is rarely the most effective path to take. While saying “no” to an attorney may not be an acceptable response, there are instances when suggesting a different approach will best serve the attorney’s interests, the firm’s goals, and the marketing professional’s calendar. In order for the legal marketer to have enough credibility with the attorney to suggest another approach, it is key that legal marketers develop relationships the lawyers they serve. Just as legal marketers train lawyers to develop relationships with clients, legal marketers must develop relationships with their lawyers in order to be successful.
The digital age has caused many marketing departments to expand their public facing communications with social media profiles and new digital strategies. LinkedIn has become many prospective clients’ first impression when researching attorneys. It has also become a necessity for websites to be mobile optimized and some firms are weighing whether or not to develop apps. Some firms choose website vendors that work exclusively with law firms and have expertise in the legal world, while others find it to be more productive to use vendors that are not focused on the legal world, but are focused on developing great websites. Social media and smart phones have changed the way people consume information and legal marketing departments will continue to face challenges adapting their firms to this new reality.
The panel also discussed the future of legal marketing focusing on project management, pricing, and process. Analytics, project management, and process can be used both to improve the internal functions of the marketing department and, increasingly, the firm as a whole.
Specific to the marketing department, project management principles and analytics can be used to more efficiently manage the time the marketing department spends on tasks and to verify those projects are supporting the business development goals of the department effectively and efficiently. Web and email analytics can be used to refine practices and observe trends. The RFP process can be tracked in a sophisticated manner to determine when RFPs are worth the investment to complete them. Tracking resource allocation can be an effective tool for deciding how the department should prioritize requests.
With regard to the firm as a whole, client needs are driving firms to operate more efficiently. This will drive a focus on improved project management, pricing, and process improvement procedures at many firms. Firms will be rethinking the way they conduct their business from top and bottom and having a firm understanding of project management, pricing, and process will be essential to a marketing department’s future success.
Click here to access the event recap video.
This event was sponsored by: Sb1 Fed Credit Union