Continuing our series “Which Hat Are You Wearing Today” we literally took it to a new level at the New England Legal Marketing Association’s Annual Conference. Amber Elliott, our ContactEase Director of Implementations, and Chris Fritsch, President and Business Development Consultant, Clients First Consulting presented the session Which Hat Are You Wearing Today: Balancing Marketing, Business Development and Client Services.
During the presentation Amber and Chris took turns actually wearing different hats to represent the different functions marketing takes on from a day-to-day basis. Below are the different roles and associated tasks:
Stop back as we will cover the technology that can help streamline the tasks and make success a possibility.
At the beginning of August we wrote about the evolution of the marketing role in our post: Which Hat Are You Wearing Today. Joe Pulizzi, Founder of the Content Marketing Institute, has expanded upon the idea of marketing’s evolution as it specifically relates to content marketing.
“Nine in 10 companies create their own content to attract or retain customers.”
This is the same in the legal industry as content is distributed through email, newsletters, and in-person events. Some law firms have also adopted other channels such as blogs and social media sites. In his article Pulizzi challenges marketers to think about content as the asset. He continues the article by talking about the importance of content, as one story can be developed into multiple content assets.
For example, in your firm if you are trying to grow a specific practice area, you want your firm to be seen as the expert. Experts are people who have comprehensive and authoritative knowledge in a particular area, so by having a great story of success (content) it can be shared. By using publications, media mentions, speaking engagements, firm events, blogs, and through social media the content develops an audience. That audience can be tracked in your CRM system allowing you to track outreach and growth with new clients and cross selling with current clients.
As law firm marketers already wear multiple hats and have been doing the above in various forms for years, Pulizzi suggests a shift in key business roles marketers will be challenged with filling and thinks of the below as the new competencies that will need to be accounted for across a firm:
Managing Editor: half storyteller and half project manager
Chief Listening Officer: “air-traffic controller” for social media and other content channels
Director of Audience: monitors audience personas and is responsible for building subscription assets
HR for Marketing: works with HR to make sure that employees understand their roles in the marketing process
Channel Master: responsible for getting the most out of each channel
Chief Technologist: sole purpose is to leverage the proper use of technology into the content marketing process
Influencer Relations (role formerly known as media relations): manager of influencers, develops a “hit list” and integrates them into the marketing process
Freelancer and Agency Relations: negotiates rates and responsibilities as reliance on freelance talent and other external content vendors grow
ROO (Return-on-Objective) Chief: responsible for ensuring that there is an ongoing return on marketing objectives and for communicating to all teams why the firm is developing content assets in the first place
The way services are sold is changing faster than anticipated and in legal, clients are demanding more than ever. This means that content will become more of an asset than ever and the “hats” marketing wears will continue to multiply. What do you think of “The New Roles of Marketing” and how they will impact the legal industry?
Before defining your marketing role within a firm you must first understand what marketing is. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines “Marketing” as: the act or process of selling or purchasing in a market; or the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service. The definition is vague and includes every function possible within a firm (which is accurate in my opinion). The Urban Dictionary’s definitions are insulting, but probably more in line of how traditional firm members outside of marketing think of it.
When I originally thought of marketing, before I started my career, I thought of it as the traditional items – communications and branding. However, I have since learned that marketing is so much more. Marketing has evolved to include:
Client Services
Business Development
Event Management
Strategic Firm Planning
An individual’s role can really be shaped by their drive, expertise, ability to convey success, and by understanding and appreciating all aspects of marketing. In this blog series we will dive deeper into each of these different functions of marketing. Learn about each function and how to really showcase ROI to gain a seat at the table within your firm.
