What are the top marketing priorities in a down economy? Part 2

In the six weeks since I posted Part 1 of this series, economists have issued a number of conflicting forecasts about how long and how deep the downturn will be.  Similarly, lawyers seem split about what the economy means to them. 

In those same six weeks, I’ve given talks on “The top five ways to increase your legal marketing results in a down economy” at a number of law firms, at the Massachusetts Bar Association, and at the New England Legal Marketing Association.  (For information on future public presentations, and a discount offer on my June 18 National Law Journal webinar see the list of presentations on our web page.)

I always begin by asking for a show of hands on the question, Will the down economy affect your practice?  I spoke to one group last week where everyone said no.  The day before, I had spoken to a group where everyone said yes.  Most of the time, the response has been mixed.

I believe that many lawyers who predict “no” will be wrong.  In my post on the economy last January I quoted a Business Week cover article about how the US has spent $3 trillion more than we have earned since 2001.  That’s a lot of money:  three million piles of a million dollars each.  Some day China and our other creditors are going to want it back.  In the meantime, that monthly interest keeps piling up.  (Full disclosure:  To put my answer in context, you should know that at my first non-academic job I earned the nickname “Doctor Doom.”  Let the record also show that I was correct, and that company went out of business a few years later.  But I digress.)

The legal profession moves slowly, so it takes time for bad news to be translated into reduced revenues.  Most lawyers don’t care that much whether the average practice will be hurt.  They only care about whether their practice will be hurt.  And many will be, unless they figure out how to turn this challenge into an opportunity, and take business away from less nimble competitors by delivering more value.

Which brings me back to the topic of this series of posts:  how does the economy affect your top marketing priorities?  The answer depends not just on the nature of your practice, but also on whether you choose to play offense, defense, or not at all.

When I spoke on a May 14 panel at LMA New England, Mark Greene, the chief marketing officer at Nixon Peabody, said that in a down economy, “Everything should be focused on driving revenue.”  He also explained the need to devote more energy to current clients:  “Now is a good time to visit clients, to learn more about their business and their industry, and a good time to offer additional services.”

When somebody from the audience asked what marketing item should be cut last, Mark said sales consultants and coaching.  In his words, “Anything that gets lawyers out with clients is good... I recommend that in a down economy firms put at least as much stress on sales and sales coaching as they ever have.”  But he also emphasized that “It would be a big mistake to completely abandon other types of marketing and lose momentum until absolutely necessary.”

It will be interesting to see how many firms follow this advice.  According to American Lawyer Media’s 2008 Law Firm Business Development Practices Survey, 76% of large firms offer “ongoing coaching, mentoring, or other sales training support,” and 57% offer sales training.

Will those percentages hold steady?  Or maybe even increase when lawyers find themselves with more non-billable time for marketing and want to maximize results?  We’ll see.