Kinnear: Firms may be losing out on clients
The heads of large law firms do not feel their marketing communications portray their expertise very well but are still putting marketing chiefs on the board, according to new research.
There was recognition that staff at many firms did not appreciate the value of what the marketing team did.
Content marketing software provider Passle spoke to 100 chief marketing officers (CMOs) and 100 managing partners at 200 large law firms, half in the UK and half in North America, for its Legal Marketing Leadership Survey.
While 38% of CMOs believed the firm’s marketing communications accurately conveyed the firm’s expertise, only 18% of managing partners agreed.
“Perhaps more worryingly”, researchers went on, there was a gap between the 40% of CMOs who thought the firm’s full expertise was understood by the market compared to 20% of managing partners.
Internally, senior marketing professionals are on the board at 75% of firms, but the value marketing brings to the firm remains unclear.
“There is much more work to be done to demonstrate marketing’s effectiveness in contributing to the firm.”
Only 12% of UK managing partners thought that marketing’s value was widely understood.
The research showed how marketers’ focus is changing. Over the past five years, sponsorships were the top marketing priority for firms, followed by hosted events, digital media, traditional advertising, and exhibitions and conferences.
But asked about the next five years, digital media moved top – 50% of managing partners considered investment in the firm’s digital presence as an important driver of future business growth – followed by content marketing and thought leadership, hosted events, exhibitions and conferences, and media relations.
This change reflected the findings of Passle’s separate survey of general counsel (GCs), which found that 12% consumed content from their supplier firms’ website every day, 40% every week and 86% every month.
More than three-quarters of GCs (77%) spent at least eight hours a week staying up-to-date, it said, and many expected thought leadership from the firms they instructed.
But law firms identified various challenges, such as the need for more collaboration, technology, feelings of impostor syndrome, a lack of understanding of what was needed and a lack of time to contribute.
Connor Kinnear, Passle’s CMO, said: “Law firm leaders recognise the importance of marketing, particularly content marketing, and how much it is valued by clients in helping them to keep abreast of relevant legal news and developments…
“For some firms, it is not seen as a priority but it should be. They may not realise it but failing to invest in thought leadership could be costing them new clients.”
