In support of Mr Baird’s current observations on the digital space (could this turn into a regular roundup?), I think this interesting link makes some keen points. Doesn’t really get very granular about things but it’s a nice, well-rounded piece.
Terrible taboos…
Written by on August 19, 2009
I had dinner with one of my favourite (and most talented) marketing consultants the other night. We were discussing law firm business development (as you do…). I was saying I found it amazing that law firms were the only multi-million pound businesses without sales directors.
‘Oh, yes they do have sales directors,’ she said.
‘No they don’t,’ I said.
‘Yes they do,’ she said, naming several.
‘They’re Business Development Directors,’ I said.
‘Same thing,’ she said.
Technically, she may be right; to a law firm, a BD director may get around having to use that ugly, ghastly, unclean word: Sales.
Surrender to a Higher Power
Written by on August 19, 2009
Let’s get gritty about this: lawyers are all about control.
Wording in a contract or statement for a court has to be precise, watertight if you like, and our experience is that lawyers tend to apply this same level of control and precision to many other areas of life.
The most frustrating thing about a brand is that only its inception and its ongoing visual and literal expression are under your control. Its impact – the vital bit of it after all – and the evolution of its perception in the mind of your target audience are entirely out of your control.
You have no control over what people are going to think of you, and less still over what they will tell others. With the growth of ‘social’ media (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Twitter etc), a bad message – or a good one – can spread like wildfire.
Much money, time and energy is spent by organisations trying to control an errant brand expression, usually with little or no effect, unless one golden rule is observed: whatever you do, it must, must, MUST (we repeat because this is NOT optional – you simply MUST do this) be done with AUTHENTICITY.
You must be Authentically You. Only then is there a chance that your brand messages be received, transmitted and reflected properly.
Home Truths, No.1
Written by on August 18, 2009
Perhaps more than any other element of the legal marketing mix, the home page is the firm’s calling card and the channel through which its personality can be projected to potential clients and recruits. Done well, it encapsulates the tone and key propositions of the firm, suggesting that there’s much worthwhile to be had if one explores beyond. Done badly, though, it can easily suggest a firm bankrupt of ideas, cluttered and confused by the digital age.
So – who’s hitting home runs on their home page?
Rebrand reboot
Written by on August 17, 2009
Interesting article this week spotted on the mighty RollOnFriday. I’m not convinced that TW’s recent work to improve its brand equity was anything more than some very subtle re-engineering to help it compete more effectively. Heaven forbid that an organisation should take investment in its brand seriously in order to generate profit. Where will the madness end? Firms spending good money on their employer brands to attract talented lawyers?!
Experience the Difference
Written by on August 17, 2009
To lots of people in the business of communication and reputation, UX is a really, really big deal. And it’s going to get bigger. Is it some form of microscopic fire and brimstone akin to the porky pandemic we’ve been so obsessed with of late? Or the latest revolution in skincare for those tired of Pentapeptides or Rejuvinium? Well, UX, or user experience as rather snappily signposts, is something that designers have been crowing about for some time (some say 1988, some say since we first learned to scribble in caves). In fact, every time a firm asks their agency for a website that ‘just looks cooler than than our rivals’ or has ‘lots of red, because that’s MY FAVOURITE colour. Not pink. Or blue.’, there’ll be a digital professional wringing a hanky, mumbling expletives.
Information design and the user experience are central drivers behind good online communication. When I tell a client that the website gets ‘skinned’ at the end, it’s often baffling. Surely the ‘look’ of things comes first? Then we worry about ‘what it does’? Nope. Never. And with good reason.
Tweet Dreams
Written by on August 6, 2009
It seems like an age ago that my organisation started banging on (or rather tweeting gently) about the delights of Twitter for engagement. Then everyone caught up. But it’s such a shame communications teams in firms up and down the land are still failing to grab hold of such a popular revolution and use it for the good of client-kind. Linklaters, Freshfields and Clifford Chance may be top of the turnover pile in the 08/09 stakes. But not one of them has let a single tweet pass their lips by the looks of it. They’re all shamed by Eversheds. 326 tweets and rising. Obviously someone there thinks it makes sense. Good on ‘em.
Firm Foundations
Written by on August 4, 2009
Whenever we’re asked to produce brand management sessions for firms, we always prepare for a particular line of questioning – Where do law firm brands come from? Teams always want to get to grips with who’s responsible for ‘making’ them? How are they conceived? One thing we’ve discovered is that the founders of any firm make a far more of a lasting impact than simply the name gracing the door and heading the letter.
Like people, brands seem to have genetic programmes. Style, culture, attitude and direction are usually set down at the very beginning. What is done at birth exerts a long-lasting influence on market perceptions. The early acts produce a structuring influence. Then selective processes, or ‘the way we do things around here’, reinforce that meaning. Once a brand is created, it’s rather like quick-drying cement. The brands ‘memory’ should contain the gameplan for all future evolution, too. In other words, the characteristics of upcoming models of practice. Think of them as family resemblances. Characteristics and deeds behind the diverse personalities that work in any practice.
3 Minute Pitch Punch
Written by on August 2, 2009
I found this great article tucked away in the freebie section of Legal Marketing for all to survey. I like the cut of Peter’s jib, here. A nice, pragmatic and easy to get to grips with pep talk for anyone about to sell themselves in tough times. It might be anecdotal but it’s also (mercifully) jargon-free. Nice work.
What are Words Worth?
Written by on July 29, 2009
Introducing brand management as a valuable commercial tool is never easy. At the beginning of presentations, I have a habit of starting out with definitions. It feel a bit ‘worthy’ sometimes. But, it suits many of my legal clients because they instinctively seek clarity around a subject. And, like most us, they share a well-founded distrust of marketing communications. So many definitions to choose from, though. From the scribbled epiphany on a set of notes from a forgotten management development day to the endlessly-quoted brand academics who spend many hours packaging up the intangible into deft, meaningful quips for the ‘Superbrands’ awards every year.
I recently presented to a firm about brand management using this Keller classic from 1998 -
“A brand is a set of mental associations which add to the perceived value of a product”.
It’s pleasingly straightforward, isn’t it? But the real value in this definition is that it’s driving at, well, value. In the legal space, anything that isn’t fee-earning is secondary at best and cursory at worst. Getting to grips with the real value of branding is never going to be easy. But it helps to start the conversation this way.
