In our first phone call, law firm leaders often tell me: “We invest so much in marketing — but we’re not sure it’s moving the needle.”
Here are five signs your marketing department might not be operating well (and some initial thoughts about how to recalibrate).
1. Lots of activity, little strategy.
Your marketing team receives numerous requests, both from lawyers who utilize marketing effectively and others who drain the firm’s resources. The requests often force busy teams to produce materials and events without aligning them with firm priorities.
Step: Work closely with your CMO or Marketing BD leads to develop a simple strategy that connects every initiative to the firm’s overarching strategy. Back your marketers when they need to tell a partner, “No, not this quarter.”
If you don’t have a strategy, don’t expect marketing to just make one up. That’s a whole other discussion.
2. Silos everywhere.
Practices often operate like separate firms, each doing its own thing. Segments of the marketing department may also fail to communicate with one another or coordinate on events and tasks.
Step: Create cross-practice client teams and cross-departmental teams. Have agreed-upon and shared accountability.
Make sure your practice groups have marketing plans, even a simple one or two-pager with SMART goals. Have them share the plans widely. Create professional workflows.
3. Talent misaligned.
You may have talented people, but their roles may be very administrative and repetitive instead of strategic.
Step: Redesign roles so senior marketers spend time on strategy, coaching and building significant relationships, not chasing logos.
Examine what your partners are being compensated for in terms of cross-selling and collaboration, and be able to show clearly what is being rewarded.
4. No measurement.
The marketing team can’t tell you which activities drive business.
Step: Implement simple dashboards to track pitches won, referrals made, and client feedback. Today’s technology can be a big help with this. Be sure to invest in it. If you’re missing the expertise, speak to an outside about how to put these systems in place.
5. Reactive instead of proactive.
Lawyers request last-minute materials; marketing just executes.
Step: Flip the script. Encourage and provide enough time in the day for marketing to bring innovative ideas to partners. Most marketers are savvy, innovative people who want to do their best work. Invite them in for strategy discussions and see how much better they can execute.
When marketing is built right, it becomes a growth engine, not a help desk. If your department feels more like the latter, speak to your CMO and reach out for help. It may be time to rethink the way you’ve been doing things.
