Marketing marketing: Overcoming an ingrained image problem

It is a long time since marketing was merely concerned with a firm’s letterhead or latest brochure, with many marketing departments now closely involved with internal training, business development and even sales. However, Emma Smith, business development and marketing director at Alexander Harris Solicitors, argues that many firms are far from getting the marketing mix right. And the problem starts with communication.

The importance of marketing and business development to any business is widely acknowledged, yet there is still reticence in embracing the discipline fully. The point was recently well made by the Chartered Institute of Marketing when it said that marketing has an image problem, and it is often seen as both costly and woolly. In law firms, marketing takes fee earners away from what they are there to do – earn fees – and it is perceived as a necessary evil to fit into an already full day. Very rarely is it seen as a discipline that shapes the future and sets the strategic direction for the firm.

I speak to a variety of marketing directors from legal and other industry sectors. They are split between those who are integral to the future shape and strategy of the firm, and are on a par with other decision makers on the board, and the others who are told what is happening and what to do. The difference often lies in the culture of the firm and whether marketing has been demonstrated in its best light. Frequently, it comes down to an image problem, as marketing is held back by its historical reputation, where marketing was the preserve of the person that no-one knew what to do with.

Of course, I also speak to people who are not involved per se in marketing and who find the concept and benefits of marketing difficult to understand. Every marketer needs to be ready to demonstrate to those people the added value marketing delivers, the new business it creates and the ways in which such activities can be measured through focusing on the bottom line.

It is frustrating for marketers to have to constantly define their role. But in law firms the drive is hours, billings and profit, all of which are easy to measure. What is more difficult to measure is marketing in all its facets, which leads to a fundamental flaw faced by many marketing professionals, that is, if it proves hard to measure something to demonstrate its worth, then it is equally difficult to communicate this to those whose every six minutes are measured and who have never known anything else.

I do get frustrated, but not at those who don’t understand. I get frustrated at marketers for not effectively communicating what it is we exist for. Marketing needs to be something of substance. It is more than just good ideas; it needs to be able to demonstrate positive results and a return on investment.

Essentially, marketers need to give some deep thought as to how they are going to market marketing in their firms.

I have always believed in business driven and demonstrable marketing. It is basic business sense that if you are spending money on something, you want to see some return. Through robust metrics you can create an edge to measure your effectiveness, which your business can understand and buy into. What I have noticed is that where such an approach is taken, marketing is well thought through, strategic in nature, delivers on its aims and there is complete buy-in. As a result, the business is able to adapt more readily to market forces, grab opportunities when they arise and, in turn, become more flexible and customer centric in its approach.

All too often, marketing is seen as a peripheral department that provides communications and materials as required, as opposed to it being an integral business function at the heart of a firm. It is vital for both the firm’s success and for the future of marketing that it does not exist in a vacuum and is embraced throughout the firm – especially at the top.

The many firms that are embracing marketing are at different stages of the journey. Some struggle with the concept of having to market. Others have very proactive departments where the head or director interacts at an executive level. And there are also those who are moulding the future by championing business development and sales, often moving away from traditional marketing entirely.

Firms have different needs and there is no point hiring a visionary if you are starting out on the marketing cycle. Equally, if you want to compete at the top level and significantly increase profits per partner, there is no point hiring somebody who has no expertise in strategic gain and adding to the bottom line. Firms need to define their goals and agree where they are and where they want to be. This defines the job required and, by implication, provides the outline of the person/s required. Whatever the role you need to fill, it is vital that the marketing team understands all of your audiences – both internal and external.

Some marketing directors have made a name for themselves in particular sectors and it is tempting for firms to headhunt such a person from a competitor, with the expectation that they will be able to generate what they have done previously by virtue of copying their previous firm’s plan.

It is almost certain that your needs will be different and if you are after something new and refreshing to set you apart from the crowd, hiring from your competitors is not always a safe bet.

Big titles and big names are hopeless, unless they are accompanied by actual authority and influence. To be effective, marketers need to be empowered within their firm and should have partner stature and recognition. They should be involved in strategic discussions, the long-term planning of the firm and serve on all key executive-level committees.

So what is the role of a marketing director in a modern-progressive law firm? The Chartered Institute of Marketing says that a marketing director must:

Operate at the highest level and be responsible for formulating and directing the company’s marketing strategy;
Work closely with key stakeholders, for example, sales and product development, to determine business objectives and strategy for delivery, as well as lead their own team and co-ordinate the input of any external agencies involved in the company’s marketing strategy;
Establish clear brand proposition, that is, they have to determine, along with the board and other key-decision makers, exactly what the brand identity is and where its target market lies;
Ensure that advertising and marketing across all communication media is aligned to this identity, thereby keeping the brand’s message strong and clear, and not only meeting, but exceeding consumer expectations;
Have a proven track record in a senior-marketing role;
Demonstrate an ability to inspire others and build effective teams, as well as being a strategic thinker and an excellent communicator.

These should be considered as the minimum attributes of somebody who is able to hold this position. The key to the role is in delivery and confidence in terms of directing future strategies. Trust from the stakeholders is vital if the marketing director is to fulfill the position and exploit opportunities swiftly. In a very competitive marketplace, much is at stake.

Of course, you can be a victim of your own success. Predicting future requirements, and identifying product needs before your clients even know themselves, can elevate any marketing professional to clairvoyant heights. This is also a skill beyond those of measurable quantification. I may harp on about metrics but there is another facet to the marketing director’s role where we have to rely upon a very important piece of office equipment: the crystal ball.

This is serious business. Our crystal ball is virtual and the reality is the expertise and resource of the individual. By knowing where and how to look, we are able to demonstrate a variety of future scenarios, some more profitable than others, some that might gain our firm competitive advantage twelve months or more ahead of the competition.

A further confusion to the current role is that of business development and sales. Some marketing directors are now referred to as business-development directors (me included) and some retain both (I decide depending on the audience). However, I still feel a sense of unease when talking about sales in a legal arena. Of course, there are those whom this excites; but there are those, and probably still the majority, for whom this word conjures up a sense of dishonesty and corruption. Business development is therefore a more frequently used description and has become a bit of a catch all. This probably goes back to the initial point that marketing has an image problem and business development sounds a lot savvier in terms of future growth and strategic direction.

Semantics aside, there is confusion, and it is important to distinguish between marketing and sales, particularly as the marketing director is often expected to do both. Effective marketing is about positioning the firm, ensuring that you are in the running for the new business that you want; it is what attracts the clients in the first place. In marketing, we can make the phone ring but who is going to answer it and close the deal? The answer is simple – the best person for the job. This is not always the most knowledgeable lawyer, nor is it the marketing director or a heavy sales approach. It is the person who understands and reflects the client’s business in everything they say and do. Most importantly, if you are looking for a long-term business relationship, clients need to trust and like their adviser. I lose count of the number of times we win beauty parades due to trust and liking. These days, legal expertise is a given and not something that will win you the business. You have to demonstrate added value – but this is a whole new topic that I will address at the Managing Partner seminar in September (see page seven for further details of Ark Group’s ‘Strategic marketing for the legal profession’ conference, to be held on 27-28 September 2004).

Other professional services have, for some time, had separate business development aka sales and marketing functions. Most operate effectively, particularly where there is a symbiotic approach.

We would be foolish to ignore this emerging trend, although marketing and sales must be complementary for such a strategy to work. It comes back down to having the right person for the job. You know when you are being ‘sold’ to. The key to these roles is in training the lawyers, for whom this is a ‘fit’, in the art of making a connection and developing relationships to retain and win business. Of course, there are specifics within this, such as the tendering and pitching process, which again require a different set of skills to those taught at law college, and which need to be coached to get the best from your individual or team, dependent on how your firm structure is set up.

Overall, it needs to be co-ordinated and managed; the marketing and/or business-development director can provide this role.

Once you have got the right team in place, a constant frustration is that of investment in technology. All too often, case-management systems were designed as accounts-based systems, then case systems and then finally the bolt on of CRM or marketing systems. No surprise then that most marketing professionals in law firms are let down by this element. Can you imagine the marketers at a leading supermarket or bank having this problem? Joined-up thinking across the firm is an essential part of managing relationships and maximising opportunities to the full. Even worse is how this looks on the surface; an uncoordinated approach is amateurish and what does it say about your legal work?

At Alexander Harris, we constantly look at new and innovative ways to gain market advantage and to also revise the way in which the firm as a whole measures its joint-marketing efforts. We believe that marketing effort deserves recognition and reward. This is one area where an ambitious lawyer can show commitment to the firm outside of that normally expected from the role. One step we have taken is not only to include marketing metrics for an individual at appraisal, review and promotion time, but we have also developed the concept of ‘investment time’.

Previously, marketing and development of the firm for any individual, while being recorded as such, showed up on the summary monthly statistics as non-chargeable. Therefore, someone who had been out generating new work looked as if they had made more cups of coffee or done too much of their own admin for a month. What we are now seeing is the commitment of many of our lawyers to developing our business, and such effort is now credited for all to see alongside their chargeable time. The balance is fine and at the end of the day we need to be a viable commercial business, but this is taken into account, as are spot checks. As you find in most businesses, a good team is made up of different skills: dynamic business getters, leaders and those interested in marketing or business development. So what you have is a manageable matrix of individual skills, which put together work for the whole. Those investing in marketing time are offset by those who prefer to challenge themselves by generating well beyond their target in chargeable time. Winning new business can take many months of work, visits, seminars, and so on. It is vital that this time and effort is recognised.

Emma Smith is business development and marketing director at Alexander Harris Solicitors. She can be contacted by e-mail at: emma.smith@alexanderharris.co.uk