Marketing During a Down Economy
How do law firms revise their marketing plans and efforts to accommodate the current economic climate?
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I am attending the Legal Marketing Association's Southeastern Chapter Conference this week, where much of the buzz about our profession is centered around the current economic climate. Sessions that focus on marketing during a recession are, by far, the highest attended and most discussed around the dinner table. At the general session Managing Partner/CMO Panel yesterday, the first question out of the gate asked the panelists - a New Orleans-based managing partner, a CMO, also from New Orleans, and a Marketing Director from the Carolinas - what their firms were doing to brace for the tough economic times ahead of us and the roles that marketing, business development and public relations would play over the next several months. All three agreed that now, more than ever, is the time to up the ante when it comes to solid and strategic marketing efforts.
Of course it is easy for marketing professionals - and our champions within our firms - to say this, but putting it into practice requires the buy-in of firm management, and often times, naysayers.
Heather Matthews, Marketing Director of Nexsen Pruet in Columbia, SC, says that her marketing team finds ways to invest in business development efforts that yield a high return. Public relations initiatives are more proactive in recent months, and in response, the firm has reallocated traditional "marketing" dollars to a PR budget. Getting an attorney's name in the paper is one of the fastest ways to gain credibility in your firm as a marketer and to increase the firm's visibility amongst clients and potential clients.
Is your firm doing anything similar in response to the nation's financial crisis? What are your thoughts on marketing during a recession?
I think that marketing during a recession is important, and firms should look at where limited dollars are best spent. This might be a national ad campaign, or a revamped brand. But what about PR? For the average cost of a national -- or even regional -- ad buy, you can secure valuable ink in a key trade publication, regional business journal, or even a national daily or wire service. And, most pitches yield multiple placements, so the investment continues to pay. As well, an ad will run once and maybe you can use it in a mailing or on your Web site. But a well-placed quote will come up whenever someone does a Google News search, or looks for coverage of a particular topic on Lexis. And, you have the additional benefit of being able to secure reprints to use as materials for the waiting room, leave behinds for prospect meetings, for your Web site, etc... Plus, getting quoted in an article by a reporter gives added credibility to an attorney's experience, because they've been "vetted" by someone whose job it is to validate sources. You don't get this with an ad.
Don't get me wrong. You still need to advertise. You can't disappear from the landscape under the excuse of cost-cutting. But, in these times of budgetary belt-tightening, think about how to use your marketing dollars most strategically and what will get you the most value. A PR campaign is a cost-effective addition to your downturn marketing plans.