This morning I read an article by Elizabeth Anne Tursi on Law.com entitled “Commentary:
In the article, Ms. Tursi discusses how law firm marketers do not get the respect they deserve.
The post goes through the evolution of
- Hiring a marketing professional from the outside world
- Promoting someone from within
Both situations, in her opinion, are doomed for failure.
Hiring from the outside:
The problem with hiring someone from the outside: culture shock. Ms. Tursi notes:
The credentialed hire, for the most part, had never seen the inside of a law firm and soon discovered that operating in a horizontal management structure, where every partner is a boss and has something to say about his or her own personal objectives, didn’t allow for a successful marketing effort to move forward.
Promoting from within:
One of the main problems associated with this approach is image/reputation. Partners just don’t see the newly promoted as a marketing professional. Ms. Tursi puts it best:
The “promotion” to marketing of the otherwise loyal employee, who had possibly been at some administrative level within the firm, didn’t get the respect of the partners because they basically continued to view the individual as an employee without the background of having worked in professional services marketing.
So it seems to be a no-win situation. Or is it?
Within the article, there were two statements that really caught my eye and made me think:
1. Most law firms are set up in a caste system. Lawyers are the professionals, and everyone else sits on the other side of the moat seeking recognition.
and
2. there are those partners who are not willing to open their eyes or pockets to allow someone to teach them a thing or two that actually might lead to more productivity and business.
There’s one thing that kept popping up in my mind while reading these two statements: Change.
If a firm isn’t willing to change, why bother marketing in the first place? If the firm is happy with their client base and has no problem getting new clients, what’s the point?
I guess the main question is: Why do law firms engage in marketing at all?
The quick answer to that is: To get clients and make more money.
A little bit of logic now. A firm wants new clients (or more business from existing ones). But they aren’t getting this from their current initiatives. So what do they do? If they continue doing what they’re doing, trying nothing new and being averse to change, their situation won’t improve. But if they try some new approaches, they’ll at least have a chance.
So I guess what I’m saying is this: if your firm is really serious about getting new clients or more business, it’s time to get serious about change. If the firm is set up as a “caste system” where marketing professionals are not taken seriously or given respect, you can’t expect any real change. And when that happens, what’s the point?
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