Regular readers of this blog would recognize the name
Allen’s previous experience includes service with international law firm Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP and financial powerhouse Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he created marketing initiatives that were innovative and highly effective. He has served on numerous boards and committees for industry organizations and fundraising events, and is veteran of the United States Marine Corps.
I’ve been following Mr. Allen’s blog for some time now, as he has chronicled the firm’s
LawFirmBlogging: I’ve been reading your Blog for some time now. It’s very interesting to me to see the
Mr. Allen: I believe most of the firm is indifferent to my blog. Not in a negative way but in a “that’s his thing” way. I also believe that some members of the firm pay attention to what I write, a few out of fear of what I might say (negative about the firm or competitively weakening), and others out of real interest in learning, hearing, and understanding. No one from the firm has spoken to me, on behalf of the firm, about my blog.
LawFirmBlogging: It’s been great following your rebranding process. How did you get started with the rebranding effort?
Mr. Allen: I came to the firm in the best of situations. There was already keen interest in doing “something” to change the brand of the firm and they were simply looking for the right people to make that happen. To start the process I simply focused on trying to reveal, through them, what the “something” was that they thought was missing with focus groups and one-on-one meetings with dozens of partners.
LawFirmBlogging: It seems that one of the most difficult things for a law firm marketer is getting buy-in. And with branding and identity being such intangibles, how do you convince partners that it’s worth the time and money?
Mr. Allen: It is a wonderful advantage for marketers that, in marketing, there are not a whole lot of new ideas. Just new variations on what has already been done before. When I take new ideas to the partnership I make sure to know the details about what has worked in the past for other firms and companies, and how that experience relates to what I plan to do.
I also believe I have an age/experience advantage that equates to credibility. Hearing new ideas from “the old guy” goes down a lot smoother with perceived credibility. And, at least in these types of situations I make every effort not to have an, “I don’t know” moment.
LawFirmBlogging: One theme I keep going back to is this: since law firms are inherently risk-averse, it seems like they need external validation for any new effort. How does an in-house marketing professional leverage outside consultants to get things done?
Mr. Allen: I think this is two questions. One is about validating choices, and the other is about leveraging outside professionals.
When it comes to validation of choice the best choice is to ask clients what they think. Not all of them. Just a few, but enough to prove or disprove a decision path. I could ask consultants to line up all day to tell the partners that they are making a good choice yet the partner will not be swayed until they hear it from whom they trust the most. Their clients.
What outside professionals do bring to the game is immediate results within their specialty. Partners expect of marketing what partners expect of themselves; Immediate results. I am personally not afraid to tackle most marketing tasks but when I need solid, fast results going outside is the answer. The only drawback of course is the cost. But if I can get a project to the street one week or month quicker then every result gained can be credited against the extra cost.
LawFirmBlogging: Many, if not a majority of law firm marketers are not attorneys themselves. When a non-attorney is trying to give marketing advice to an attorney, occasionally you’ll get the “why am I listening to you? You aren’t a lawyer?” pushback. How do you deal with this?
Mr. Allen: This is one of the peculiar questions bouncing around firms never asked anywhere else. No one at Disney says to a marketer, “You’ve never worn the Mickey costume on Main Street. Why are we listening to you?” No one at Apple says to a marketer, “You’re not a programmer. Why are we listening to you?”
The role of a marketer is to understand the product (the attorneys, the mouse, the computer), understand the market (clients, guests, consumers), and then to use professional marketing skill and intuition to bring the two together.
LawFirmBlogging: One of your posts is titled “Finding the Intuitive Law Firm Marketer.” In it, you talk about finding the partner who “simply speaks from their feelings about what is feeling right and what feels wrong without imagining themselves a marketer on top of being a lawyer or accountant.” I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about how the intuitive marketer can be an example to other attorneys.
Mr. Allen: When asked for an opinion about something most people respond in three parts(if their opinion will be negative). “(1) I don’t believe that will work (2) because _________ . (3) Here is what I would do.”
Intuitive marketers usually do not include pasts 2 and most of the time 3. They often ask questions about other alternatives and I always sense an inherent trust in my ability in the same way they trust theirs (to be good lawyers). For many people, not just lawyers, making that leap in trust is akin to impossible.
LawFirmBlogging: One thing marketers must be careful of is the distinction between fads and trends. There is so much talk about RSS, blogs, podcasts, etc. Obviously I think blogging is the real deal. Of all the new marketing opportunities out there, which do you think will be useful to legal marketing?
Mr. Allen: Social networking is THE cats pajamas for me (of which blogging is an offspring). Anything that shows us the unvarnished truth close and fast is exactly what legal marketing needs now! Law firms have lived in a surreal, artificially created space as the result of decades of self-isolation. In old-school marketing we would send the prom dress and tuxedo to the dance. Social networking will put bodies back in those clothes.
Discussion boards, blogs, user groups, and hopefully soon, a law firm/legal client instant messaging network.
LawFirmBlogging: Do you have any advice for a firm (or a marketer) about to rebrand?
Mr. Allen: Get two mentors just for the rebrand! One inside the firm that can be a real champion with leverage inside the firm, and one on the outside that has done several rebrands (does not have to be from the legal industry). A personal support network is essential if you want to keep your sanity and make progress.
LawFirmBlogging: After going through the rebranding process for your firm, what, if anything would you have done differently?
Mr. Allen: I would not change anything in the process. There were moments along the way when things happened or did not happen as I would wish them, but the process encourages things to happen; It encourages blemishes to appear, opinions to be heard, and the right path to reveal itself.
The one weakness I would like time to improve is placing faith in front of practicality when it comes to dealing with vendors. As soon as they start underperforming I need to be more practical about dealing with it and not just hope for better results down the road.
LawFirmBlogging: One thing that I really enjoy about your blog is that you aren’t afraid to say what you feel. In one post you wrote:
“I LOVE being a witness to change. It’s my role. That is what I do. Absolutely I would like to make more for doing less; Or, make more for doing more. It does not matter. I make what I make because I wanted to work for this firm at this time. I could’ve done better, and I could’ve done worse (with regard to income). There are partners at my firm making a lot of money working not as hard as me… But that is not the point at all.
The point is; I have my deal, they have theirs. I’m not an attorney and I entered an industry at a time of change. Really BIG change. As a marketer I’m doing pretty darn good. I’m going to do better than my father; Better than my brothers and sister; I am going to be a catalyst in the right place at the right time.
If money was my only reason working in the legal industry than I can get myself off to a law school, work hard to do really well, get hired by a fast moving firm and hope for the years ahead (this is not a discussion about what motivates attorneys but commentary on the non-attorney legal marketers who grouse about their lot in life).
Instead I am going to keep doing exactly what I do because I am having the time of my life, making a difference, and creating something in a place it has not been created before. How many people get to do THAT!”
I loved that.
Mr. Allen: I meet so many people that are afraid to own their feelings out loud. Maybe I do that too on certain subjects, but I also believe that nothing stalls a conversation faster than wondering what the other person is thinking.
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