Lock down the lessons

Professional services marketing is adapting to the crisis. After just a few weeks, we’re seeing all pitches now done by video-calls only, web traffic and webinars increasing exponentially, and teams working from home all the time. So, what observations can we make at this stage of a situation that has escalated so rapidly already and where the future trajectory is uncertain?

The firms that have stood out from the crowd for me in the early stages of the crisis all shared a focus on:

• People We’re relationship-based businesses, and prioritising the safety and needs of our people, clients, contacts, suppliers, and our wider communities where possible, along with delivering continuity of client service, has to be the starting point.
• Speed The speed of external change needs to be matched by internal agility and responsiveness, with law firm leaders taking early decisive action to protect people and the firm for the future.
• Communication internally and externally. People want information to help them make sense of the uncertainty and give clarity around what it means for them. Firms that can give clear messages and explanations, keep in regular contact, and are authentic, will bring both their people and their clients with them.

So, what comes next? Exactly what will happen next, and when, are unknowns – but we have been adapting core BD principles to provide a (flexible) framework for the next 18 months or so.

• Anticipating client needs Our next stage of business planning starts with what we know about our markets, and our clients and their businesses, and includes speaking to our clients and contacts to validate that. Assuming we can know everything they need without asking is unlikely to give the full picture.
• Satisfying these needs What do we need to be doing now/next to be ready for this? I’d highlight three of the ‘7Ps’ from the services marketing framework that seem to have come to the fore:
  • Product (services) Some services will be in huge demand right now, and others less so, depending in part on your client base and sectors you’re active in. Which are the services to focus on now? Which areas will grow, and be needed the most, next?
  • Promotion (communications) is currently focused around digital – web, social media and webinars – to help clients navigate new challenges. How will communications remain relevant as clients’ needs change?
  • Place With almost everything virtual right now, what impact will this have on clients’ expectations of how firms deliver their services in the future? Will buying local become more important?

For completeness of the 7Ps, price, people, physical evidence and process of course all have a part to play too.

When we emerge, how we have all adapted and performed in these times will impact our future success. To quote from Simon Sinek’s 2019 book The Infinite Game: “We cannot choose the game. We cannot choose the rules. We can only choose how we play.”