Professional Services is not normally a sector that first springs to mind when thinking about digital marketing transformation. But the sector now presents a real opportunity for Digital Specialists to make their mark.
“Digital disruption needs to come from within”
Recent industry research highlights that 91% of the FTSE 100 are on Twitter (Source: CityAM). 80% of industry CEO’s are engaged online via social media – a figure that has more than doubled in the last five years (Source: Weber Shandwick). The majority of industry CEOs primarily engage online through their own company web and mobile optimised pages, and corporate video is also increasingly becoming a key form of communication for top executives. Therefore, the need for advisory firms to engage with their target audiences on a more innovative level is paramount. Several Managing Partners and Executive Boards are now realising the value of investing in new digital technologies to promote their brand and to better engage with their clients and people.
The demand for digital marketing talent across the sector has never been higher. But this appetite for digital investment and surge in demand does not come without its challenges for talent attraction and retention, not least those surrounding culture and management of expectations.
At tml Partners we’re currently partnering with management teams and CMO’s to support the development of in-house digital marketing teams. It is becoming increasingly accepted that digital disruption needs to come from within.
Many firm’s will have a wish list of hard/technical skills required for new digital projects, many of which appear as loaded buzz words in profile job descriptions; such as Content, Social, Analytics, UX & UI, SEO/PPC, eCRM, Performance and ROI.
But here are examples of some softer priorities and challenges which are not to be overlooked, and impact both digital marketers and their employers when embarking on professional services digital transformation. Jason Bell and David Sayce also share their views on the opportunities for the sector. Jason is a Digital Planning Director at award winning digital agency ORM. David is a digital marketing consultant for the legal sector and was formerly Head of Digital for international law firm Ince & Co.
Embedding a culture of ‘think digital’ first
For many professional services firms, digital investment has traditionally been as much about ‘keeping up appearances’ with competitor activity, a channel engaged primarily as a tactical ‘bolt on’ to traditional marketing and BD campaigns. With this approach firms often miss out on the full strategic opportunities of digital marketing, with a lack of focus on return on investment. eCRM becomes uncoordinated resulting in poorly optimised lead generation, with web duplications in larger firms and an undeveloped social media strategy exposing a firm to brand inconsistencies.
A primary challenge for a Digital Marketing specialist is therefore one of cultural change: to embed a holistic digital strategy with clarity and purpose, to create a culture of ‘think digital’ first. In addition to a sound technical digital marketing skillset, strong stakeholder management skills are therefore essential. Digital Marketing Director’s must have the ability to take Partners on a digital journey, to gain buy in from early adopters, identify advocates and showcase best practice.
Jason Bell at ORM agrees, “From our experience of working with clients of this nature it seems that the ability to shape a coherent digital strategy is only half of the challenge. The most successful (and seemingly happy) digital marketing strategists in this space are also able to win friends and influence people. The ability to act as a change manager and educate colleagues, taking them on the journey of digital change is key.
“We see a lot of companies focus their talent succession planning on building an in-house digital centre of excellence (DCofE) in order to put a sustained organisational focus on digital excellence.”
David Sayce suggests law firms in particular should be going further, “Culture change is one of the biggest issues holding back far too many law firms and often this comes out of a fear of the unknown. The internet has been a business tool for almost 20 years, in 2016 it should be business as usual and focused on business goals. My view is it now goes beyond the digital first thinking, to a fully integrated and optimised experience that matches the requirements and expectations of the client/consumer. For law firms there is still the opportunity of competitive advantage for the early movers.”
Breaking the time barrier
Setting a clear road map for digital marketing takes time, there are very rarely many quick wins and expectations need to be managed for both sides.
For the dynamic transformational specialist motivated by the latest innovation and acute performance measures, a professional services partnership can sometimes be a frustrating environment. Decision-making processes can be slower than other corporates. This can impact smaller projects just as much as the larger investments, for example an everyday challenge over speed of content and delays with partner sign off (practising professionals remain the primary sources of thought leadership content which is hard to balance with existing client work). All of which can impact negatively on Google trends and web performance.
Digital Consultant David Sayce agrees, “There is no doubt that for most working within professional firms (and also agencies supporting them) processes are far too slow and there is no doubt this is damaging business.”
Similarly, firms seeking a ‘silver bullet’ solution from digital investment expecting it to generate immediate new client revenue streams must be prepared to see things through. Digital offers multiple touch points for raising brand awareness and showcasing expertise. You can also receive results in real time, for example measuring web traffic, blog engagement, subscriber numbers and email opening rates. All of which provides an excellent source of client intelligence and a deeper understanding of customers on a personal as well as professional level.
ORM’s Jason Bell continues, “Professional service firms are better at monitoring data in real time than releasing content in a timely manner. We see great enthusiasm and contribution to shaping a content strategy when we work with clients. The challenge comes with releasing content at the right time, in the right format for the audience’s consumption on an ongoing basis. Once a website (or any other digital property) is live the hard work really starts in giving customers a reason to come back, engage with it and share.”
David adds, “I hear a lot about the ‘silver bullet’ solution, unfortunately it does not exist. Using social media for example as a business or brand is very different to a personal twitter account. An understanding of clients, content, technical setup and analysis are just the starting points; it takes time and can become a significant investment for even the smaller firm.
“Over the next few years we are going to be hearing more about digital transformation projects and the use of clear roadmaps being used more effectively to overcome these challenges.”
Therefore, a holistic strategy that integrates all online and CRM platforms, combined with a clear content strategy and strong internal communication is paramount. This enables a firm to successfully convert digital data into client intelligence to drive more effective business development and client relationship programmes, which ultimately leads to new revenue opportunities.
Mind the ‘skills’ gap
With demand now outstripping supply, this relatively new age of digital investment has created a war for talent. Whilst the pressure is on to retain in-house specialists with sector experience, there are compelling reasons for many professional services firms to now look outside the sector in search of digital transformation specialists. The lines between B2B and B2C marketing have become increasingly blurred in this field, digital is a strong enabler of B2P (Business to People) marketing, therefore the candidate pool available is potentially vast.
David Sayce adds, “There is huge value in bringing people in with skills gained across other industries, especially for legal. All too often firms are losing out to some of the best talent because they do not have x years experience in professional services, in my view, a dangerous stance to take.”
Naturally, these appointments can bring an injection of creativity, new ideas and best practice into the firm, but it’s not always that straight forward. By its nature, professional services marketing can be complex and the partnership environment often requires a special approach. But firm’s can overcome these barriers to talent, by setting clear objectives and investing time in a thorough recruitment process. By aligning technical expertise with a strong cultural fit, all parties can look forward to what is a very exciting and opportunistic time for digital disruption across the sector.
Charlie Green is a Partner at tml Partners.
tml Partners is an international executive recruitment firm specialising in senior marketing appointments. Charlie is currently partnering with professional services firms to support the development of in-house Marketing, Business Development, Communications and Digital expertise.
For more information please visit www.tmlpartners.com
To find out more from David Sayce and Jason Bell, please visit:
David Sayce: https://www.dsayce.com/consultant/law-firm-marketing/
Jason Bell: https://www.ormlondon.com/
