Archives for Brand Management category
I just had the great pleasure of spending the past couple of days at a Zeughauser Group meeting featuring some of the top Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) in the country (approximately 30 in attendance). They traveled from all over the United States for this meeting. For those of you unfamiliar with the Zeughauser Group, they are a well organized group of consultants that are focused on advising, consulting and supporting law firms across the country on a myriad of strategic issues, it’s a very highly respected group. They count among their clients many of the largest law firms in the country/world. The conference was incredibly well run and is intentionally designed to have only between 30-40 members for this annual meeting.
On behalf of Manzama I was asked to share some thoughts as to the state of social media, specifically with a focus on how business intelligence is evolving and changing with the proliferation of content in the public domain. It was honor to be asked to present in this forum and we hope that the members of the group benefited from the exchange. While I am not at liberty to discuss specific firms nor the contents of the program that would be deemed confidential, I’ll share some over-arching themes and messaging that I heard through the two day program:
> All lawyers in firms must be revenue generators. There was a time when the divide between the procurers of revenue (aka rainmakers) and those partners that do the work was an acceptable divide. This is no longer the case. In fact, the divide in terms of compensation paid to the procurers vs. the services is becoming more apparent and growing;
> Most of the leadership acknowledge that lawyers/partners more than ever are open to having others w/in marketing support revenue type of activities, including “selling,” with the expectation that this would become more important w/ each year;
> GC’s interest in social media is growing. This is substantiated with the findings in the Inside Counsel/Green Target report that I blogged about the other week.
> Directories (Chambers, Superlawyers, etc.) are only meaningful to the partners (sometimes merely to reinforce egos), but GCs do not weigh these directory listings as a key factor for hiring a law firm. Again, there was some data shared to support this statement, but I think there are still some other valid data points to suggest otherwise;
> Wikipedia is gaining momentum as an authoritative source of information for GCs to help understand and profile a law firm. However, the group was cautioned to not try and turn Wikipedia into a branding/marketing activity, rather, firms should view Wikipedia as “opportunity to credential” themselves;
> Social Media use is on the rise (blogs, videos, twitter, etc.) in and across all age groups of lawyers and GCs. Likewise, the ability to “monitor” and understand what’s transpiring in and around a law firm’s brand, practice, industries, clients, etc is becoming increasingly important as firms look to differentiate and reflect a deeper understanding of their client and align themselves across various industries, etc. Hence, the reliance on ways to find and locate intelligence and act in a timely manner will become service differentiators in the months and years to come;
Bottom line — great group (approximately 30) and I think the next decade will emerge as the decade of the CMO. In this blogger’s estimation never has this role been more important (I saw the 90s as the rise of the CIO, due to the strategic use of technology w/in law firms, but the emphasis on client satisfaction, business development, positioning, business intelligence have demanded a greater skill set from CMOs than in past decades, and this trend is likely to continue).
Best,
Peter J. Ozolin, CEO
Manzama, Inc.
I had the great pleasure of sitting alongside as part of a panel that discussed GC’s & Social Media (use of, interest, etc) of several individuals at this year/s MPF conference. Let me summarize the dialogue, starting with the basics:
Adrian Dayton (moderator and well known social media blogger, especially as it pertains to the legal profession) had the following information to share with his opening remarks:
- 114% growth in news blogs year over year across the AMLAW 100
John Corey, Principle and Founder of Greentarget, also provided Adrian and I with a sneak preview to an upcoming survey his group plans to release next week on GC’s use of social media. Here’s what he was able to trickle out to Adrian and I in advance:
Finding # 1: LinkedIn perceived as the “serious” social network
LinkedIn continues to be the most commonly used social media platform for professional reasons. It perhaps is the most dynamic example of older counsel–those between 40 and 65 years of age–increasing their usage of social media, with the majority of counsel of all ages using LinkedIn at least weekly.
In addition, 88 percent of respondents perceive the content they obtain via their LinkedIn connections as credible, which further supports the efficacy of the platform for professional reasons. While I am not prepared to quote the study (just don’t feel like digging through all my past articles, pretty sure it was an ABA study), the trend line in lawyers adopting LinkedIN has been steadily increasing – 57% in 2008, 75% in 2009, probably closer to 90% by end of 2011. As one Partner of an AMLAW 200 firm shared with me, “LinkedIn is more important to our firm that our CRM system?”
Begs the question, does it not? Why? I’ll offer up one simple conclusion – LinkedIn does something for ME and I don’t have that same conviction when the firm’s InterAction administrator ask me for all my contacts? I think to what end? Whether said, or unsaid, it comes down to the belief that a system will benefit me (regardless of what firms say about institutionalizing clients). This said, I do believe firms can (and have) succeed with InterAction as a product/service, but that’s for another discussion.
Other notable findings from the Greentarget study (provided by John Corey, with my comments after the bulleted entry):
- Blogs, Executed Well, Influence Hiring of Outside Counsel:
Seventy-six percent of respondents say they attribute some level of importance to a lawyer’s blog when deciding which firms to retain. Additionally, the percentage of respondents who say a law firm’s blog can influence hiring decisions went up slightly, from 50 percent in 2010 to 55 percent in 2011.
- I expect this percentage to increase considerably over the ensuing years, especially as law firms get more savvy on “what” to blog about (positioning content) as opposed to checking the box, “yes” we have a blog (or two). You need only look to firms that are getting business from their efforts and it will create an interest in learning how can we do better?
- On a related point, there was a lot of emphasis and crowd participation in and around focusing on making sure to have a targeted approach to your blog vs. the be everything to everyone approach.
- New Media Usage (Steadily) Going Mainstream: The generational divide that fueled the 2010 findings is leveling off. This effect is driven by older counsel (40 to 60 years of age) consuming more content rather than a significant drop in consumption among younger counsel (30 to 39 years of age). While the 2010 survey revealed that blogs were read more consistently across age groups than the “big three” social media platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter), the 2011 research shows a continuation of this trend whereas older counsel are reading blogs with even greater frequency.
- Again, as the content provides more insightful information, I expect this trend to continue. Likewise, blogs are a great source for insights on more granular levels, which is typically what professionals want vs. many of the traditional news sources get disseminated quickly and tells what we already know.
- Wikipedia Important, But Not to Research Law Firms: Very few in-house counsel (7%) are using Wikipedia to research outside firms, but they are using the online encyclopedia for issues-based research (51%).
Look for full release of the findings from John Corey (Greentarget founder & principal) in a survey titled: In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey to be released next week (1/23/12, week of).
I am looking forward to seeing the full study!
I am pleased to announce today that Manzama has partnered with the Lex Mundi organization. For those of you unfamiliar with Lex Mundi, the organization counts among its member law firms some of the most widely recognized law firms in the world. We are excited to be able to reach this vast network with the Manzama offering. The partnership demonstrates that social intelligence and business intelligence as applied to what’s transpiring in the public domain is at a level of importance that is global in significance, e.g., regardless of location, the need to listen and understand what clients are saying and to track conversations is important to a broader based understanding of lawyer’s or marketing department’s business and practice strategies.
The Lex Mundi network provides clients with access to unparalleled global legal resources with its vast network of 160 premier member firms in more than 100 countries and offices in more than 600 business centers. By working with a Lex Mundi member firm, you can be quickly connected to in-depth local market knowledge and legal expertise practically anywhere your legal needs arise.
To learn more about our newly formed partnership, please visit us at Lex Mundi’s Americas Regional Marketing Conference in Denver, CO October 5th – 7th.
Hello All,
I am just leaving NY where I had the privilege of moderating a discussion centered around the use of social media, trends and implications for the legal profession. The group’s participants had a number of things to say on the subject, including, but not limited to:
> Quantifying remains a challenge;
> Interested in finding ways for lawyers to blog or send “insights” clients care about via their blogs vs a stream of concience approach;
> Hiring has begun as firms are staffing with competitive intelligence personell and social media experts, like the aforementioned story below (shared via LinkedIn by my colleague Patrick DiDeminico of Gibbons, PC out of NY). I suspect this is just the beginning:
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/help_wanted_latham_seeks_social_media_specialist/
Best,
Peter
Hello All,
This past week I had the opportunity to attend Marketing Partner’s Forum (gathering of 300-500 CMO/Managing Partner types from law firms of all sizes, although most were in NLJ 250). The event proved to have some useful content — including sessions by Ann Lee Gibson (Consultant) and Kevin McMurdo (CMO, Perkins Coie) that dealt with Law Firm RFP response strategy, and a hands on workshop (with an element of self-assment). Likewise, there was a good session on Social Media, where panelist shared some pratical advice/experience they have had in “mining” and assessing information in the public domain. I was pleased that Manzama was referenced more than once in this session. Law Marketing Partner Forum Leader, Larry Bodine, took some time to visit our booth, and had the following to share on his blog.
Overall, there seemed to be a more general sense of optimism from the leaders of the law firms represented, and that was encouraging on a whole — not just for Manzama, but for the fact that innovating and leading are what set our economy apart — it’s not easy to get back on that horse given this last recession, but at the same time we are society/culture that’s difficult to suppress (on more levels than one). Looking forward to the remainder of 2011.
Regards,
Peter
The stats are out there — blogging among AMLAW 200 is on the rise. As one partner in an AMLAW 200 firm indicated that sent along this article “As much as I hate to admit it, this suggests …… use the new social media might just be relevant to buyers of legal services.”
A few days ago, Benzinga.com reported on a survey that asked corporate execs and their in-house counsel about their hiring practices when it came to retaining outside law firms. The survey was conducted by Greentarget Strategic Communications, ALM Legal Intelligence and Zeughauser Group and underscored a growing trend among a large number of the attorneys who serve in these corporate legal departments, particularly those responsible for vetting and hiring law firms. Strikingly, one of the factors taken into consideration and a determining one in who gets the company’s business is whether the law firm has a blog.
In addition to the blog factor, the Benziga piece pointed out social platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Twitter, as tools that are being utilized in the hiring process.
All this points in one direction – the lines between personal and professional use of traditionally “private” web-based social forums are becoming more indistinct. Attention firms: on your mark, get set and tweet.
This past week was a great week for our company. Note, typically I’d like to refrain from using this forum to promote or business (at least directly:)). This being said, Friday, October 15th, Manzama was selected as the winner of the Bend Venture Conference, and with it the prize of $200,000 to be invested in our current Series A round. The good news is we had already achieved our financing goal for our Series A, and the $200,000 put us in an oversubscribed scenario.
However, I think the most important take away (at least for me professionally and personally) was the validation that came with being selected the winner among some very other strong business plans from all over the Northwest. The format was a ten minute presentation followed with a 10 minute Q & A. On a practical level, this means that we’ll be in a better position to deliver new features, request and services to our client base. Here’s a link to the original tweet:
http://twitter.com/bendventure
For as long as I can remember, lawyers have resisted investing in business development, except for the few lawyers that are considered “rainmakers.” I am not pretending to be an expert on rainmaking, etc, but I think the fear ultimately stems from not knowing how to sell or conduct proper outreach — fundamentally, it’s about letting the clients know you are thinking about them. The below, albeit a bit dated, does a good job of discussing the new and evolving paradigm of business development….
Lawyers see the time is ripe for some business education
Philadelphia Business Journal – by Jeff Blumenthal
With the recession reducing available revenues, more law firms are instructing their partners to obtain business development training.
Chuck Polin of Training Resource Group has been running such programs for lawyers for 17 years. He said the difference now is that firms are sending large groups of lawyers to be trained and holding specific lawyers accountable for their subsequent performance.
“I have never seen firms really hold lawyers accountable,” Polin said. “But now, if you can’t perform, there might be repercussions. I have even seen some firms threaten to revoke equity partnership status in a couple cases. If firms are deciding which lawyers to keep, this could be a deciding factor. That’s never happened before.”
Polin has worked with one multipractice firm with more than 300 lawyers that had a 14-lawyer labor and employment practice that was sent to him because it was not profitable. He encouraged the group to ask clients if they could review their employee handbooks free of charge to determine if there were any issues that might leave the company vulnerable to lawsuits. That led to work helping clients fix those problems and the group was able to generate $1 million in additional revenue from existing clients in a totally new area.
Traditionally at law firms, Polin said, 20 percent of the lawyers generate 80 percent of the business. But with top producers seeing a revenue production decline during the recession, firms need contributions from more lawyers.
Martin Belisario, partner at 20-lawyer intellectual property firm Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel <http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/related_content.html?topic=Panitch%20Schwarze%20Belisario%20%26%20Nadel> , said his firm began working with Polin two years ago. The firm had just spun off from 900-lawyer Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld <http://profiles.portfolio.com/company/us/dc/washington/akin_gump_strauss_hauer___feld_llp/1207106/> and no longer had the resources of a large firm to create business opportunities. In addition, two or three of the seven partners were reaching retirement age. While he had a solid practice, Belisario is part of a second generation of partners who felt they needed to step up their business getting game. So he and two other partners began working weekly with Polin and he also sent six associates to a lighter version of the program.
“Most of us are engineers by trade and I never took a marketing class in my life,” Belisario said. “At the start, he gives each person a psych exam to assess their ability to generate business.”
Belisario said Polin can then tell him which lawyers will need a lot of work and which ones simply need to change certain behaviors. Belisario fell into the latter category. One suggestion he took from Polin was switching some of the professional organizations to which he belongs to focus on specific ones that could generate business.
“I recently looked at the firm’s 25 newest clients and nine of them were mine,” Belisario said. “A lot of those clients I got through suggestions that came during training.”
Jeff McCarron, managing partner of Swartz Campbell, a 110-lawyer insurance defense litigation firm based in Philadelphia, said a group of core business-getters began working with Polin last year. The firm followed with training for younger partners and combined the two groups for monthly visits to the firm’s offices by Polin, who works with between 20 and 30 lawyers per session.
McCarron said as the recession negatively affected revenue, the firm cut some personnel and implemented other cost savings but felt it needed to squeeze more business generation out of a wider swath of lawyers.
“Claims are down and litigation is down in some areas, so we encouraged our partners to focus,” he said. “Our firm has been around since 1924 and we have been able to live off institutional business passed down from generation to generation. And we can no longer rely on that in this environment.”
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis <http://profiles.portfolio.com/company/us/nj/cherry_hill/schnader_harrison_segal___lewis_llp/1371319/> litigator Theresa Loscalzo was a service partner — one skilled at doing the work but lacking his or her own business — at the firm when the economy slumped in the early 2000s. Service partners are always viewed as expendable during recessions so Loscalzo decided to get some training to learn how to generate her own clients.
“Some of the things that are taught are so self-evident that you wonder whether you actually needed to take a course to learn it,” Loscalzo said. “But I did need to take a course. One idea was asking current clients for referrals or additional work. The results were almost immediately positive.”
Loscalzo recommended the program to firm Chairman David Smith who said Schnader Harrison had success in sending specific individuals but not so much when it sent lawyers indiscriminately rather than figuring out which ones would most benefit from the training.
“Some people were unable to take advice or didn’t care to take it,” Smith said. “Those who were willing and able to learn did well.”
Read more: Lawyers see the time is ripe for some business education – Philadelphia Business Journal <http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2010/05/24/story9.html?b=1274673600%5E3386561&ana=e_vert#ixzz0orzeaPtf>
Throughout my career I have always tried to sense — what’s the next big change or wave to occur in technology. The “Internet revolution,” and I am choosing my words deliberately, was just that — every aspect of communication was impacted as the framework of the web came together in a commercial sense. I was fortunate to ride the wave forward and participate in this window of time that allowed for widespread creativity and paradigm shifts (young technology folks were able to avoid the corporate ladder — myself included). Since then, there have certainly been breakthrough companies/models (Google, Amazon, etc). However, it has not been until recently that I have sensed another groundswell, which I think many folks sense as well — what I like to call the bottom up revolution or the “voice” of the internet (blogs, twitter, facebook, etc). It’s exciting to see that big companies and Corporate America alone cannot dictate the results of how businesses are perceived. It’s not what you say about you, it’s what “Google” says about you. This is just the beginning folks — your online brand, reputation programs are at their infancy — as the web move to greater interactivity (video, web cams), so will marketing and client/customer interactions. I’ll leave this post with a look at an interesting article I came across in brandweek, a bit dated, but illustrates the point:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/digital/e3i6f1a697eee327ba0e15676d4aea4263c
There’s a groundswell occurring in the legal vertical with respect to developing specific web properties that pertain to legal hot topics, etc. What’s staggering is the amount of dollars even smaller firms are spending to “own” the internet presence associated with a hot legal topic (example, BP oil spill). The below was referenced last week in the WSJ.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/plaintiffs_firms_create_news_websites_where_potential_clients_congregate
PJO
