Lexpert Magazine

LEXPERT MAGAZINE | MARCH 2017 65 | COLUMNS | MARKETING Heather Suttie is a legal marketing and business development consultant working with firms ranging from global to solo, Big Law to New Law. Reach her at 416-964-9607 or www.heathersuttie.ca. BY HEATHER SUTTIE oriented will be a determining fac- tor in many firms' financial future. SERVICE VS. STRATEGY When you pulled into a gas station in the 1960s, an attendant would promptly appear and start pump- ing gas into the car. ey'd check oil, transmission and washer fluid, clean windows and mirrors, and check air pressure on all four tires. at was full service, and perhaps explains why what we call a gas sta- tion now was called a service station then. is dated expectation of hop-to-it service remains pervasive among many traditional law firms with respect to their marketing and business development de- partments, which are also chronically un- derfunded. PwC's UK-based Annual Law Firms' Survey 2016 showed that over an eight-year span the average budget alloca- tion for marketing and business develop- ment was a woeful 2.5 per cent. IT had the lion's share at 4.7 per cent while the worst- off group was finance, at 2 per cent. e survey also classifies marketing and business development as a support service, along with IT, finance, HR, training, and administrative assistance. On the flip side, however, it reports that client experience, which is dependent to a large extent on the efforts of marketing and strategic initiatives of business development, is crucial to a law firm's welfare. OUTSOURCING Law firm marketing and business develop- ment teams generally run very lean. Many firms already outsource major marketing pieces, such as the firm's website — from de- velopment to hosting — as well as customer relationship management and marketing communication functions that include so- cial media, public relations, creative services and event planning. Outsourcing time-intensive, hands-on marketing work opens business develop- ment capacity by serving the needs of the firm's current clients as well as fostering re- lationships with potential new clients that strategically align with the firm's strengths. (Outsourcing can also mean a geographic shi. For example, the ABA Journal re- ported last September that DLA Piper LLP would cut 180 jobs in the UK and move business support roles, including market- ing, to its back office in Warsaw.) GIGGING Chief marketing officers in law firms tend to have relatively short tenures. ose who last more than 10 years usually have an un- canny ability to dance fast through an ever- evolving internal minefield. Over the past 15 years or so, many CMOs — who have tended not to leave firms of their own vo- lition — have begun to embrace the "gig" tactic: they join a firm and do the job for, say, four years. In the fih year, they look for a new job and jump. is can be expected to be the way of the future considering that millennials, who will soon start to take more senior roles, want more control over their careers, while those of earlier generations are learning how performing a variety of roles that play to their strengths can provide a fulfilling and flexible lifestyle for years to come. e working world is changing with the speed of summer lightning. However, the fluidity of talent that can be scaled up or down to suit market pressures, while pro- viding premium client service, offers more opportunities than obstacles. Outsourcing some of the old "full service" model allows marketing departments to work within shrinking budgets CONTINUING PRESSURE for value and intense focus on profit is resulting in tightened controls and reduction of law firm spending. Some firms continue to de-equitize part- ners in order to become more profitable. Aer associates' pay, support staff salaries and rent have long been two of the biggest overhead costs. Over the past five years the ratio of law- yers to assistants has increased from 2:1 to 4:1 and higher. Many firms are also cutting back on office space and opting for alter- native arrangements, such as hoteling and working from home. Continued centralization of many stan- dard law firm business functions is entirely possible. We've already seen this trend in finance, human resources, IT and, in some cases, offshoring traditional legal work to lower-cost service providers. Having long been considered a cost cen- tre, it's likely that more areas of marketing and, in some instances, business develop- ment will be outsourced in an effort to re- duce overhead, increase profitability and streamline workflow with an eye to effi- ciency. ere are pros and cons to doing so. Balancing the trade-offs between marketing and business development efforts that are service-oriented and those that are strategy- Fighting for Law Firm Dollars PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

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