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PM Forum - Leeds
Finding the pearls - where marketing needs to focus in the lean times
To help your firm find its way through the recession as smoothly as possible and come out in good shape when the upturn begins, marketing departments need to:
- Concentrate on key clients
- Focus on priority departments / business units
- Invest in business development
- Concentrate on activities that provide face-time with clients and new business prospects
- Avoid "wallpaper", the expensive feel-good activities that don't provide clear evidence of new business generation
This timely session was a panel discussion between representatives from Management and Marketing. PMF regional director Chris Manners, who chaired it, began by saying that the economic downturn presents a threat and an opportunity for marketers: the opportunity to play an integral part in helping the firm find its way through lean times and emerge stronger at the end, balanced against the threat of appearing expensive, wasteful and irrelevant. Marketing needs to understand the managing partner's priorities; managing partners equally need to make their priorities clear.
Management was represented by Kevin O'Connor, managing partner of Baker Tilly in Leeds, who said that his firm concentrates in the SME market, and that he has overall responsibility for results - so takes a close interest in activities that generate income. The Marketing function was represented by Sue Murdoch of national law firm Pinsent Mason (and coincidentally the Chair of PMF Yorkshire), and Stuart Brown of fast-growing accountancy firm Armstrong Watson. Sue emphasised the need for fee-earners to be selective in their marketing activity, and prepared to act as rounded business advisers. Stuart emphasised client care, and the need to understand the customer's agenda while providing outstanding levels of service.
There are two schools of thought about marketing in a recession: one advocates drastic cutbacks in spending while the other, smaller one holds that a firm should invest heavily to build a market position ahead of the recovery; often there's the analogy with long-distance running or cycling, that the strongest competitors work hardest on the hills.
The panel, however, felt neither of these approaches was especially helpful to a substantial professional service firm. The best answers lie in focussing attention, time and effort on the firm's most influential clients and accounts and on the most productive marketing activities. These are the ones that provide face-to-face time with clients and show demonstrable new business benefits. Marketing "wall paper" on the other hand - advertising, sponsorship and the kind of PR devoted simply to profile raising - had few defenders. In a recession, for a firm that's well established in its market place and which has a reasonably stable client base, above-the-line marcom's activities are areas where economies can be made.
There are, however, some tricky areas, and these differ from practice to practice. Here, the difficult judgement is to balance expense against return coupled with public perception: what would the effect be, for instance, if a big property firm were to miss attending MIPIM altogether; or if a leading law firm chose not to take an entry in Legal 500 and/or Chambers - especially if leading competitors were still prominent?
Chris Manners
ICAEW
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