Barbara Walters Price

Marketing in a Recession - Inbound vs. Traditional Methods

This presentation from Hubspot is old (2009) but much of it is still good.

Inbound marketing, or drawing prospects to you via content marketing and SEO, is all the rage in marketing today.

It's amusing to me because many professional services firms have been using some form of the content marketing strategy for decades. Most firms were not as strategic as the good folks at Hubspot would have liked if they had been around then, but then again, it's only fairly recently that we've been able to leverage information efficiently. I remember when bulletin boards on this new technology called the internet were the way to go. I guess that makes me old (and I'm not even 50 yet.) The point is that we sometimes take for granted where we are in terms of connectability today and we shouldn't. It provides an amazing opportunity if approached correctly.

So, all that being said, there is much good in inbound marketing - especially for firms that have a tight marketing budget and no marketing staff. Take a look and I'll bet you get a few ideas.

Marketing In A Recession - HubSpot

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What One CMO Learned From the Great Recession of 2009

As the CMO of a professional services firm, I and my firm faced many challenges during the "Great Recession of 2009."  My firm, Mercer Capital, which provides business valuation and investment banking services, was not immune to the economic realities of the year.  As I was debriefing the year, I tried to identify some lessons learned. 

So, here a few of the lessons I learned from the year that was 2009:

• I am not as smart as I thought I was nor as dumb as I feared.  When times are good, it's easy to believe you, or your staff, created the momentum that you are riding.  When times are not so good and that momentum is gone and you're still doing the things you've always done, you realize that you're not as smart as you thought.  If you have the good sense to realize that the macro-environment has changed and you adjust, you're not as dumb as you feared.  That's what happened to me and our marketing/development efforts in too many ways to detail in this post.  A little humility and a lot of hard work are required in good times or bad.
• The brand matters except when it doesn't.  For those of you unfamiliar with the business valuation profession, Mercer Capital is one of the most respected firms in that space.  The brand mattered throughout 2009 and continues to matter.  What it doesn't do is seal the sale.  In 2009, every engagement was harder to sell because of a myriad of reasons: the client didn't want to spend the money, the client didn't have the money to spend, prospects were delaying buying decisions, competitors' pricing didn't make sense, etc.  If you believe your brand is bullet-proof, think again.  You've got to prove everyday that your brand has value and do the hard work to nurture the a prospective engagement to a close.
• Don't lose your head while those around you are losing theirs.  In 2009, we saw some pricing decisions from competitors that were astounding in their lack of foresight and/or possibly  desperation.  There were times when, it seemed to us, that people were giving away their services.  While these firms made have had strategic (or cash flow) reasons for these pricing decisions, they confused the market.  We, like many other firms, responded and continue to respond to pricing pressures but didn't lose our heads because we knew that 2010 was coming, and then 2011, and so on. We took the long view in order to be here to provide the same quality and superior service that we are known for.
• Relationships are key but hard times touch everyone.  When the client who loves you and your work doesn't have the money, he doesn't have the money.  When the referral source who has worked with you for years and believes you the best choice for a number of reasons has a client who is only interested in price and the market is full of extremely low-price competitors, the relationship with that referral source won't bring the sale. I venture to say that every professional felt the squeeze in 2009.   That doesn't diminish the importance or power of relationships.  They need to be continually nurtured through good times and bad.
• It's better to be the tortoise than the hare.  Mercer Capital has been around for 26 years and plans to be around for 26 more.  We weighed every seemingly short-term decision against the longer-term consequences.  I learned that perseverance and a daily focus on the finish line wins the day.

Mercer Capital ended the year profitably.  We had no lay offs.  In fact, we hired during the year.  The year turned out remarkably well given the economic turmoil. In addition, 2009 was a pivotal year strategically.  Through hard work, strategic decisions, and a bit of luck, we enter 2010 on a strong footing - hopefully remembering the lessons of 2009.

I am interested in your comments.  What did you learn from 2009?

Photo credit: Kenny Weng www.moodaholic.com

Facing the Fear

Fear often hinders us. This is especially true in these slow economic times.  Many of us have a real fear of losing our job.  Therefore, we keep our heads down and focus exclusively on billable work.  While that seems the safe thing to do, I have my doubts.  Because what suffers is strategic thinking (and personal growth, although I realize that personal growth is now much lower on the priority list for many. Staying employed is job #1 for most). 

It does seem counter-intuitive yet I believe that now is the time to think strategically and step out to try new things.  I know that this is a scary proposition for some.  It feels safer to stay off the radar screen of the seniors in the firm rather than risk bringing attention to yourself with what some might think is a crazy idea. 

One way to deal with this is, if you have an idea you believe has merit, discuss it with someone whose opinion you trust.  Then, bring it to the attention of the seniors in your firm if the idea has legs.  In these times, great risk can generate great rewards.  The video above, while a bit corny, is true.  If we understand what makes us afraid, we are better able to manage the fear.  Let's take the risk and cast our eyes up from our billable work and attempt to be part of a solution for our firm.

Marketing in a Recession: All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

In reflecting on the continuing challenges of marketing a professional service firm in a recession, it has occurred to me that some of the basics for success are the same lessons that my 4 year old is bringing home from kindergarten.  I know this is not an original thought so a tip of the hat to Robert Fulghum, and, of course, Miss Kim and Miss Lynn, my 4 year old's teachers. 

Focus: As my daughter says, "zip your lip, open your eyes, and open your ears.  FOCUS!"  Instead of constant activity, take a day or two to think and reflect by listening, watching, and learning.  Sometimes we talk just to hear ourselves talk hoping that we'll happen onto something worthwhile by the time we are finished.  Instead, we should open our ears and eyes in silence to allow ourselves to focus and, hopefully, find a fresh perspective.

Share:  As most any child will tell you, "it's nice to share."  That doesn't mean they like it but they know it's the right thing to do.  In slow times, we need the collective wisdom of our peers, as well as the wisdom and insight of the fee-earners in our firms.   Now is not the time to hold things close to the vest but to reach out and assist one another.

Clean Up After Yourself:  There is increasing pressure to deliver short-term wins.  A good CMO  understands that some strategies and tactics serve to position the firm to benefit once the economy recovers, some are designed to make the phone ring immediately, and some are vanity or legacy projects that take time and resources but don't produce results.  We should be able to discern which is which and clean up those activities that don't produce.

Be Nice:  When you are in a competitive situation, never denigrate your competitors.  Just don't do it.

Make a Friend:  We should identify the influencers in our target markets and be intentional about building and maintaining relationships with them.  Also, we should look to others in our profession for cross-referrals.  We receive referrals from other business valuation professionals when they are conflicted out of a project or don't have a particular expertise.  In turn, always look for opportunities to reciprocate. 

Are there others you can think of?

Marketing Directors or Business Development Coaches or Both?

Larry Bodine had recent post entitled "Law Firms Spend Less on Branding, More on Business Development."  The post summarizes an article of the same name by branding expert Leigh George.

Spending more money on business development than traditional branding makes perfect sense.  Right now, the majority of our marketing and development dollars need to be spent to make the phone ring sooner rather than later, especially since sales cycles have lengthened.

An example in the post caught my eye:

Green & Seifter Attorneys, PLLC, a 30-lawyer firm in Syracuse, New York, has shifted dollars away from print advertising and reallocated those funds to a business development consultant who works with a handful of attorneys one-on-one and with another ten in monthly group meetings. Not only is the program a success, having already paid for itself in new business, but it’s paying dividends. Kathleen Ryan, director of marketing and public relations at the firm, has seen “an increase in confidence and in traditional business development techniques like articles, referral development, [and] speaking engagements.”  (emphasis mine)

I am happy that the attorneys at this law firm are finding this program a success.  However, I'm struck that it took a consultant to create confidence in "traditional business development techniques like articles, referral development [and] speaking engagements." 

Part of my job and the job of many CMOs is to work with our professionals to secure articles and speaking engagements and support other business development efforts.  I am not, however, a business development consultant.  I just wonder how many dollars could be saved on consultants if marketing directors with the right capabilities stepped up and were allowed and trusted to work with professionals one-on-one in such a manner. 

I mean no disrespect to Ms. Ryan because I feel certain that she does a great job.  Often, too much credence is given to the opinions of an outsider while the opinions and experience of those inside the firm are discounted.  I have experience being the one who has had her opinions discounted or dismissed in favor of "marketing professionals" so I know how that feels.

I also do not intend to demean the work of consultants.  Like many firms, we have worked with consultants who were exemplary and helped us a great deal. 

However, if there is sufficient trust in the capabilities of the insider and the right skill set, a consultant will not be needed.  I know this can work.  Our firm decided to develop a strategic plan without a consultant and we accomplished it.  It was successful because:

• the CEO and management of the firm were committed to it

• we knew it had to happen to aid our growth and deal with succession issues - so failure was not an option

It seems if there is that level of commitment and a marketing director or other professional with the right skill set and drive, an in-house effort could be successful.

Monetize Your Non-Billable Time Per Bruce Allen

Bruce Allen at Marketing Catalyst suggests fee-earners "monetize" their non-billable time.  Key excerpt:

If you have the courage, keep track of any non-billable activity you do while you're at work. Then, at the end of a day look at your list and put a "$" sign next to any activity that can result in new work.

He goes on to explain the three things your list will possibly demonstrate.  It's a smart post and the advice is on target.  Fee-earners have to think past billable activities and begin (if you haven't already) to focus on development - both for the short-term and for the long-term.  Yet doing this can feel dangerous in this down economy when being as billable as humanly possible is perceived as the safe thing to do because the thinking is "if I'm billable and if lay-offs come, they surely wouldn't let me go."

No one is safe in this environment.  I suggest professionals need to be thinking about the short-term as well as the long-term.  This economy will turn around and rain-makers are always the most valued people in the room. 

So, give Bruce's idea a try.  Hopefully your firm will support it or some idea like it.  If not, do it anyway for your own career progression.

Thinking Strategically

When my husband and I joined a neighborhood group made up of families that attended the same church, we attempted to get to know one another through the use of ice-breaker questions. A question posed to me was "if you were to be stranded on a desert island, what one person would you want with you?" My knee-jerk reaction was "my husband." This was the right answer emotionally, but it wasn't the right answer strategically. The right strategic answer would have been "Bob."

Stir the Water

In these economic times, my marketing strategy is pretty simple.  It can be described as "stir the water." 

Stirring the water means being active in, hopefully, all the right strategic and tactical ways that have a chance to make the phone ring in the short run.  Yet even if you are not always doing the right thing - let's be honest, sometimes the right thing and the wrong thing are only clear in hindsight - do something.  Make it your focus to make the phone ring sooner rather than later.  

If everyone is pulling together and stirring the water, something good will happen.  On days when the phone is silent, the promise of "something good," while not specific, is enough.

Save Money by Cutting Marketing

Has the title of this post confused you?  You might be thinking "wait a minute ... I thought the author of this blog is a marketer!"  I am.  I'm just grabbing your attention and highlighting a post from Timothy B. Corcoran of Altman Weil, Inc. entitled: Law Firm Leaders - Save Money Now by Cutting Marketing!

If you are a PSF marketer or leader in a PSF, read this post.  It is dead on.  Here are the key paragraphs:

Marketing carries so many different meanings. For lawyers who have enjoyed the luxury of near unlimited demand for legal services for a generation, Marketing is nearly synonymous with high-end administrative support. It’s event planning, brochure writing and writing elegant prose about how wonderful we are. For the rest of the business community, Marketing is about identifying optimal target markets, taking steps to increase visibility and demonstrating expertise in these markets, understanding client concerns and then developing and offering solutions to address these concerns. 

When the expense reduction committee turns its attention to Marketing department, I suggest it’s less impactful in the long run to view Marketing as a collection of fixed and variable expenses and people comprising a cost center. Focus instead on what the firm is doing to articulate its strategy, pursue clients and prospects, enter new markets, replicate financially successful engagements, improve inefficient operations and thus elevate the service posture, and protect and defend its key client relationships. If the red pen you wield in the budget discussion doesn’t directly improve any of these metrics, then what’s the point? You can continue to reduce expenses across the board without regard to what generates revenue, but this won’t buy enough time until client demand returns to previous levels. That train has left the station. Don’t cut “marketing expenses.” Rather, cut the wasteful expenditures and activities which have little impact in generating new revenue.   (emphasis mine)

Read the whole thing.  Great stuff.

Are CMO's Potentially on the Chopping Block in This Economy?

From Larry Bodine's LegalMarketing Blog comes a post entitled "Is the CMO Position in Jeopardy?: NO".  Per Larry, "The Marketing Consigliere blog highlighted a couple posts from a Q&A on LinkedIn, where several top executives shared their thoughts on the role of the chief marketing officer and whether or not the role of the CMO will become obsolete."

Key quote:

"The Marketing Consigliere’s belief is that in many instances CEOs will continue lose faith in CMOs who fail to adopt solid, measurable network-centric marketing tactics that align and meet the revenue objectives of the firm.  Unfortunately, many bright and hardworking CMOs who are trying to positively transform their organizations with network-centric marketing will still be sacrificed on the corporate altar due to ignorance on the part of the other C-level leadership who do not give the CMO the latitude they need but are impatient for the results."

Read the whole thing here.