Greentarget

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Twenty-first century leaders that refuse to recognize the social needs and interests of key actors will fail to capture market share. CMOs can help CEOs understand and act on emerging opportunities honestly, openly, and strategically.

Old norms die hard.

Nowhere is that more true than in corporate America, where executives are struggling to understand and accept, let alone keep up with, the expectations and demands of a new reality: what’s good for society is good for business.

As Fortune reported recently, more than a few CEOs are now “more willing to speak out on controversial social and political issues;” some leaders at the helm of progressive brands like PayPal, Intel, and Lyft have in recent years not only taken stands on selective social issues but changed company policy to connect company values with to shifting opinions and beliefs.

Still, many leaders cannot or simply will not waver from old business norms—specifically, the expectations that government, not companies, should address and tackle social issues. Not necessarily because they’re blind to complex issues like diversity, equity and inclusion, and voting rights but because they haven’t been able to reconcile both the philosophy and logic of capitalist economics, as Milton Friedman explained it in the last century. And do so with genuine, not performative, expressions of social responsibility.

For an elevated CMO, the C-suite’s “new utility player” as we reported in the first of our series of articles on the new norms of executive leadership, this moment presents a unique opportunity to serve and support his/her/their CEO and other members of executive leadership by designing new ways of connecting the social to business in this still-uncharted reality.

And before said reality leaves present-gen leaders behind.

Words followed by deeds

Once upon a time, a CEOs’ greatest tool was the language of obfuscation. Secrecy and privacy of a company’s top leader created an aura of control and power; decisions were made almost exclusively and unilaterally on the golf course or at the dinner table

Before the digital age, a CEO had limited inputs – and a certain degree of control over – predictable outcomes. Now, information and inputs to consider in decision-making at the C-suite level are seemingly infinite.  As such, sticking one’s digital head in the digital sand on everything from climate change to voting rights, whether through avoidance, obfuscation or silence, bespeaks of indifference or ignorance (or both) at a company’s highest levels.

On the other hand, if a company assumes a hastily conceived position that smacks of the performative, then it’s “let fly the rotten tomatoes!”

But the days of lip service and “let’s not and say we did” are over; the pandemic and technology made sure of it.

Part of the challenge – a big part – is understanding how, when, why, and where to have the conversation. Rare is there alignment between what is communicated one-on-one and in confidence over an almond milk latte at the nearest coffee bar, and what is expressed publicly in the conference room in the presence of executive and senior leadership, and peers.

The same goes for external comms – maybe the most effective press release isn’t a press release at all. It’s a proclamation AND a manifestation through deeds. 

Or, said another way, its words with acts.

Whatever a company does, whatever public position it takes or doesn’t take on a social issue, it must be willing to face and accept the fact that it’s going to make some group or groups of actors unhappy. That’s actually OK, if a CEO means exactly what he/she/they declare publicly; backs it up with swift, decisive action; and is willing to explain to clients and employees the reasons for the company’s behavior.

Most rationale actors in a corporate setting can live with said unhappiness; but no one likes to be left in the dark.

Or worse, deceived.

At such moments, the CMO can step in and help the CEO connect a social position to a company’s strategy and long-term goals; and in a way that makes sense for existing and future employees. He/she/they can use data and insights through a marketing lens to inform and influence discretionary behavior of employees; motivate them through new sets of expectations, and imaginative performance goals, thereby being a friend to the CHRO, too.

Why? Any CHRO worth his/her/their salt knows that talent is an asset on the balance sheet; and companies do well when said asset trades at a higher value.

Working together, the CMO and CHRO can, for example, design incentives for brand ambassadorship for all organization talent; confronting social issues and framing them in ways that make employees believe that they’re about something bigger than the product or service; bigger than even the company itself. (Think of a famous business school case study of a hot dog company that proclaimed its mission was to head-off a protein shortage in the future.)

Even if it’s simply an invitation to be a part of a larger conversation about the issue—in fact, corporations that convoke assemblies to discuss issues openly and honestly with actors of all ilks may find themselves in the best possible position of all if there is one in such highly charged times: the convener.

Such initiatives can have a direct, positive impact on employee efficiency and effectiveness, which are absolutely critical to a company’s growth, and, as important, to raising the value of the talent asset. These assets are  welcomed, not shunned, from the table in a corporate-sanctioned forum and encouraged to discuss the most important, meaningful, and complex social challenges of our time.

Coming up next in our executive leadership series: The Virtue of Accountability

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Another transformation brought on by the pandemic? Internal communications have become more important than ever before.

We all experienced it: the constant emails about safety protocols, reassuring check-ins about remote work logistics, regular video messages (often from the CEO), and any number of other efforts to stay connected during a difficult time.

But already, the frequent, transparent and authentic communications employees have come to expect is waning: a recent survey found that 40 percent of employees have yet to hear any vision on what post-pandemic work life might be, and another 28 percent said what they’ve heard remains vague. For professional services firms whose success relies on recruiting and retaining talent, this poses real cause for concern – especially when 1 in 4 employees are planning to look for a new job as the pandemic subsides.

These headwinds make it all the more crucial to reimagine your internal communications strategy for a post-pandemic future. Here’s how to do it well.

Embrace Authenticity and Vulnerability through Your Internal Comms

Most professional services firms operate in a pretty buttoned-up atmosphere. It’s the nature of the work. But when the pandemic put us all in the same boat — working remotely while juggling the demands of home life — something powerful happened. Leaders invited us into their living rooms for video updates. Unplanned cameo appearances from our children, partners and pets livened up non-stop Zoom meetings. Unscheduled phone calls became a refreshingly analog way to connect. Working from the back patio with birds chirping in the background became a new norm.

The surprising result? Physical distance notwithstanding, many of our interactions became more authentic and vulnerable than ever before. 

Don’t let this new authenticity and vulnerability go by the wayside when you return to the office. No one wants to revert to sterile email updates and canned messages. Create an internal communications strategy that relies heavily on personal connection, harnesses the power of storytelling, and creates a strong sense of belonging. In other words, fight to keep it real.

Leverage the Face-to-Face Communication Cascade

Even as our interactions grew more authentic during the pandemic, official internal communications grew more prescribed and controlled. Emails were painstakingly crafted, those CEO living room chats were highly scripted, and real-time feedback loops often fell by the wayside.

Leadership consultant Patrick Lencioni suggests another, if counterintuitive, route. “The best way to ensure that a message gets communicated throughout the organization,” he writes, “is to spread rumors about it.” In other words, we’ve all seen how rumors can undermine our best communication efforts. But what if we lean into the underlying human behaviors that contribute to the rumor mill and make those tendencies work for us?

That’s where a communication cascade comes in, replacing a dry, top-down messaging strategy with personal conversation and connection.

Start by involving front-line leaders to determine the broader strategic themes you want to get across.  From there, empower those leaders to disseminate the information to their direct reports as they see fit. Employees continue communicating the news down the chain to their own team members, who are free to discuss the information with their colleagues. 

Since you won’t control how every word is delivered, it involves less scripting and more trust. Cascades also create expanded feedback loops, resulting in more ownership of and buy-in for the messages you want to communicate. 

The outcome? A more authentic, effective and comprehensive communication loop than the leadership team could ever have achieved alone.

The Power of Storytelling in Your Firm’s Internal Communications

If you want a cascade to work, turn your messages into stories that make your communications personal and engaging.

For instance, perhaps your organization wants to release an internal statement on the anniversary of a significant current event, such as the murder of George Floyd. You feel pressure to convey a point of view on this important social issue, but you also know that firms like yours often lack diversity — especially in leadership positions.

Sending out a company-wide email could lead to unhelpful rumor mill chatter about your firm’s commitment to racial justice. By contrast, a communication cascade — combined with storytelling — has the potential to inspire your entire organization to talk about the issue in a constructive way.

In this scenario, start by having your leaders tell their teams about your firm’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Ask leaders to invite employees to share personal stories of how racial injustice has affected them or those they care for. This opens up channels for authentic conversation with employees about the firm’s commitment to DE&I. It might even lead to honest reflection and feedback that compels you to think through how to strengthen your firm’s values and better live them out. 

Transformation like this takes thoughtful, open conversation and a willingness to hear feedback and respond to it. It also requires leaders to embrace vulnerability. And it all begins with stories that capture the hearts and minds of your people and inspire you toward action.

Communicate that Employees Belong

Internal communication isn’t just about providing updates on company directives or even weighing in on matters of cultural and historical significance. It can also be used to create a strong sense of belonging so your employees feel more connected to and personally invested in the organization.

One leader we work with noticed a desire among his team to stay connected to the physical office during  the pandemic, especially when the monotony of remote work began to set in. Art is important to his firm and greatly contributes to the atmosphere of the physical office space. Therefore, he decided to begin telling the stories of the firm’s art collection through a series of emails that promoted a sense of connection and place among his employees.

With an imminent return to the office on the horizon, he’s now exploring opportunities to create a guided tour of the art collection for team members. He also plans to include the tour as part of the onboarding process for new hires. The pandemic made this firm’s love for art even more meaningful, all because a leader had the creativity to use it as a visual and symbolic representation of their overall culture.

Opportunities like this one will emerge for your organization, too — if you’re willing to seek them out. Many of your employees have missed the office just as much as you. Find ways to signal that they belong when they finally return.

Now’s the Time to Enhance Your Commitment to Internal Communications 

You’ve worked hard to keep employees informed and engaged during the pandemic and have made great strides in ramping up your internal communications efforts. But the benefits of effective communication transcend COVID-19. Good communication contributes to positive morale and leads to a greater sense of employee loyalty and commitment — pandemic or not. 

Don’t let the momentum you’ve created fade away with a return to the office. Instead, double down on your efforts to make your internal communications strategy more effective and compelling. Your entire organization will emerge stronger as a result.

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Challenge

Remember when PokémonGo was all the rage in the summer of 2016? Law firm Perkins Coie certainly does. By 2016, they’d long been a go-to law firm for innovative technology companies – including developers of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) like that used to catch virtual Pokémon.

So while they were enthusiastic about the mobile app’s success, they were also concerned about losing ground to new entrants clamoring for market share. They were the preeminent legal authorities on AR/VR – and wanted their reputation to reflect it.

But in a space flush with newfound buzz, making their voices heard would be no easy task.

Solution

To stake Perkins Coie’s claim as the premier legal advisor in the AR/VR space, Greentarget counseled the firm to conduct an annual survey of startup founders, investors and industry executives. Our research team developed the AR/VR Survey Report from start to finish: drawing on insights from qualitative interviews, drafting quantitative survey questions, collecting and analyzing the data and writing the report itself.   

And upon completion, Greentarget’s media relations team carefully crafted pitches about the survey tied to relevant news hooks. Since the release of the first survey aligned with the launch of PokémonGo, the team offered the survey data to reporters covering the rising popularity of the mobile app, resulting in interviews with leading publications like the Associated Press and Fortune.

Greentarget has now developed three more iterations of the report – one per year – with fresh themes and questions about emerging legal considerations, industry investment and outlook, applications across other sectors, and global AR/VR adoption.

Impact

  • Greentarget has secured more than 400 pieces of news coverage for the AR/VR report, in leading national publications like the Associated Press, Fortune, Forbes, Venture Beat and Fast Company. Reporters refer to survey data in news articles 12-18 months after the initial launch. Over the years, the report has helped the firm’s partners establish and maintain relationships with influential reporters, who now regularly turn to them for commentary.
  • Social media posts Greentarget drafted around the report have resulted in some of the firm’s highest engagement rates – over 9,500 impressions for each survey iteration.
  • Established the firm as an authority on the business issues facing industry stakeholders.
  • The survey report, media hits, bylined articles and infographics highlighting the findings are consistently used as marketing collateral for client pitches and industry events.

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In January, the leaders of Twitter, Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon did something that no elected representative in Congress can do to the head of our federal government. Each imposed severe, unprecedented limits on the powers of a U.S. president.

Responding much faster than Congress to the will of the people — not as voters but as consumers — the chief executives demonstrated publicly and conclusively that, when it comes to circumscribing the powers of our government’s leader, they’re more effective than members of any other branch.

The heads of Reddit, Snapchat and Shopify followed suit, banning or severely restricting the 45th president of the United States from their platforms.

“[CEOs] have money, they have power, and they have more of the public’s trust than politicians do. And they’re using all of it in an attempt to preserve America’s system of governance,” writes Felix Salmon in his article “How CEOs became the 4th branch of government.”

With this power comes, of course, great responsibility —and a new kind of regulator, more powerful than the courts or the legislatures. Consumers can use their buying power and collective social influence to keep the “fourth branch” — let’s call it the C-branch — in check.

In such a world, the CMO becomes a CEO’s most valuable, versatile ally — a critically important conduit between the C-branch and consumers. These days, they must do more, a lot more, than simply articulate positions, craft messages and disseminate information internally and externally.

The office of the CMO must also have its ear to the ground to pick up what’s on consumers’ minds — their predilections, pain points and latest causes for social and political concern — and be able to transmit all of that back to CEOs to help them make critical, high-stakes and well-informed decisions.

Like whether it’s time to deactivate a sitting president’s Twitter account.

The C-Suite’s New Utility Player

These new conditions – driven by the primacy of social and environmental concerns among present and emerging generations of consumers – have changed the game for CMOs.

The game-change has accelerated the diversification and elevation of the importance of CMOs duties and obligations that had been occurring steadily over the last 20 years. For much of that time the primary driver was technology, especially the increasing importance (and sophistication) of data analytics and AI.

Far more than just a chief marketing messenger, the CMO is now something of a CIO too — an executive who, if not working directly with information technology, must understand it well enough to take full advantage of the growing array of digital marketing tools.

Additionally, the roles of the CMO and Chief Communications Officer are becoming more integrated by the day. They must be in order to achieve what Maja Pawinska Sims calls a better alignment with “brand and corporate narrative.” As honest, relevant, human tale-telling becomes even more closely connected to the P&L, the C-suite’s storytellers are increasingly relied upon to develop new tales.

It is not incorrect, then, to refer to the CMO as the C-suite’s new utility player, the executive who must know a little bit about every other position in order to help the CEO make sense of challenges and opportunities, especially in relation to the Three Rs: Revenue, Relationship, and Reputation.

Revenue & Relationships are the CMO’s Job Too

Reputation has long been in the domain of the CMO. Marketing’s ties to revenue run deep, but the new order makes them inseparable. And relationship has traditionally resided outside the chief marketer’s purview.

Using a deep understanding of both customers and community, CMOs can and must actively identify and broker new kinds of relationships for their companies. Success will make them indispensable lieutenants, especially when it comes to helping CEOs influence “constituents” — as elected officials do.

A focus on revenue means CMOs need more than just hallway collegiality with the CFO; they need to develop an active, healthy relationship. They must also help persuade the finance chief that today, what’s good for customers and communities is good for the company’s bottom line.

Rather than be put off by such a prospect, chief marketers should view the present as an opportunity to, as Jann Schwarz writes, “reclaim a more strategic role” through a key relationship with the CFO.

“[The CMO’s] creativity and imagination (combined with commercial discipline and a customer lens) can drive a sustainable and competitive advantage” through such a rapprochement, writes Schwarz.

Clearly, this is not your mother’s or your father’s CMO.

The New Corporate Narrative: Social Responsibility

In this brave new world, the CMO is the CEO’s eyes and ears, both messenger and oracle, watching how our market-society, and the people who comprise it, are moving, shifting, aligning and re-aligning.

This means that CMOs can no longer compartmentalize company narratives, social responsibility and profitable growth. As the last Business Roundtable made eminently clear, these are now intertwined and interdependent considerations, not to mention the focus on the three Rs.

CMOs who are paying attention and playing the long game know that social responsibility is the narrative and that terms such as “social impact” and “sustainability” are something more than fleeting hashtags to be expressed merely through a sprinkling of green on the logo.

And it will remain the narrative until norms have changed so dramatically that, among successive generations of consumers, it will be one of many unspoken expectations that leaders must be, at the very least, as committed to doing no harm — socially, environmentally — as they are to generating a return on investment for shareholders.

Perhaps the CMO’s greatest value, then, will be in perceiving what is moving the market. Or more accurately who is moving it: consumers and clients who are not data points, who are not math problems, but real, live people, governed by ever-shifting social norms and fickle human nature.

And who can vote any time, from anywhere, for unelected leaders in that fourth branch of government using something that may soon be more powerful than the ballot: their credit cards.

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The professional services marketer who sets out to develop a content strategy is likely to find the process frustrating, the execution lackluster and the results disappointing.

The process of creating a content strategy can be a nightmare in consensus-driven partnerships. Strategy requires setting limits, which can invite the fury of practice groups that aren’t identified as priorities. Most law firm leaders aren’t going to go there. Marketers who do manage to create a strategy are likely to find strategic elements like governance and promotional schedules completely ineffectual when dealing with partners and their impenetrable calendars.

Instead of putting yourself through that agony, try stripping your content strategy down to the essentials. Create a basic, realistic plan to produce content with strategic value – and put your energy and resources into content that establishes the firm’s authority and ultimately helps it win new business.

Four Elements of a Better Professional Services Content Strategy

A plan with the following four elements represents a strong framework for most professional services firms:

  • Authorities: Which subject matter experts you want to amplify
  • Audiences: Who your authorities are trying to influence – and what they need to know
  • Formats: Client alerts, bylines, LinkedIn posts – whatever will be the most effective vehicle engaging those audiences
  • Schedule: How many pieces do you want to publish, in what time frame?

Note that a content plan like this won’t cover all the content your firm produces. It should be designed for only the firm’s most strategic and valuable content – perspectives that open doors. Client alerts from non-priority industry groups, bylines lawyers write without telling you about it, blogs of low-margin practice groups – all of these things should be optimized with efficient editing and targeted promotion. That frees the marketing team to direct its editorial, creative and budgetary resources at the content most likely to generate new business.

Here’s a closer look at the four critical elements of a feasible content plan.

Authorities: Impact players With Something to Say

Choosing which of your firm’s advisers deserve the most marketing resources comes down to knowing where the firm has the greatest opportunities to grab new revenue.

Ideally, the decision derives from firm-level business strategy set by leadership. Firm leaders who identify priority practice or industry areas, or create annual strategy documents that identify key growth areas, make the decision for you.

Marketers who don’t have firm strategies to guide them will most likely have to sit down with leadership to identify which professionals or groups merit the team’s strongest support.

We’re not advising anyone to simply anoint the biggest rainmakers as your authorities. The advisers you’ll want to work with are those who are willing to invest the time and, most importantly, willing to deliver the goods: the insights and perspectives that will ensure they are not just heard, but heeded.

Audiences: Finding a POV

What do your target audiences need to know that they’re not getting elsewhere? The answer will provide the first critical element of your content plan.

Traditionally, we rely on the advisers to tell us what their clients and prospects need to know. That’s fine – they should know – but it’s also imprecise. A cybersecurity consultant might tell you her clients want insights on privacy rules in California – because a single client asked her about it that morning. Or because the client they care most about raised the topic. Or because they think their clients should care about it – probably just because it’s what they want to say.

To paint a more accurate, objective picture of the audience’s needs, we use technology tools that assess search data, which we view as a proxy for audience need. To get an even more complete picture, we use voice of the client research. At the very least, a thorough review of the media landscape will tell you what’s already being said, and what’s not; juxtapose that with your expert’s view of the audience need to figure out which unmet needs you can fill.

Formats: Follow the Data and Focus on What’s Inside

Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be. Our research tells us that the folks in the C-suite, especially in-house lawyers, mostly want written content, especially articles. They want brevity in client alerts and depth in research reports.

Consider repeatable, standardized forms that will be easy to replicate. For instance, a series of short (less than 400 words) pieces, by multiple attorneys, framing the pressing issues in an industry with strategic value to the firm can help showcase the breadth and depth of the firm’s authority. A magazine-style approach that quotes the firm’s experts – but doesn’t ask them to write or even put their byline on anything – can expedite production and establish the firm’s value as a resource.

Editorial Calendars: Creating Reasonable Constraints

An editorial calendar with columns covering every stage of production, publishing, distribution and measurement will be useless if you have no way of enforcing deadlines with partners – whose schedules are already packed and who will always prioritize client work over marketing (as they should). But you need to create some constraints, if only to give yourself and your team some urgency. Just keep it simple.

Decide how many pieces you believe you should publish and in what time frame (weekly? monthly?).

Neither decision should be all that complicated. Consider the audience need, the depth of insights your advisers have to offer and the pace of the news around the issue you’re addressing. You want to produce enough content to establish your adviser’s authority, and you want to ensure your insights address the issues your audience cares about now, before the issue evolves or all of your competitors have already written about it.

Content That Rises Above the Noise

Your content plan won’t get you anywhere if you’re not creating content that will rise above the noise. Creating a simple, feasible plan allows you to spend more time ensuring your content will connect with audiences, establish the firm’s authority and open the door to client development.

To accomplish that, focus on four qualities: relevance, novelty, urgency and utility. If you’ve done the audience research, you’ve got the first three at your fingertips. You know which insights will impact readers’ businesses (relevance), which ones they’re not getting anywhere else (novelty) and which ones they need today (urgency).

The fourth, and most critical, component has to come from your advisers. Utility is what separates authoritative content – the stuff that moves clients to pick up the phone and call your firm – from all the other content out there.

To get at it, focus on pushing your advisers to answer this question: What do I need to do to navigate or address this issue today? Then take the answer and build your content around it, starting with the headline. Getting to utility isn’t always as easy as asking a question, but it’s worth holding out until you get to it. Readers want it above all else.

If this all sounds oversimplified, it’s supposed to be. We’d all love to have sophisticated content strategies – they work for companies that can execute on them. But marketers at lots of businesses, especially in professional services, face a different reality. And while that reality will often frustrate their efforts to execute on content strategy – or even to develop the strategies at all – it doesn’t have to prevent them from creating effective content.

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Advising business leaders in 2020 means helping them see through the fog of a pandemic, run their businesses from afar and keep themselves safe, not to mention sane. For the marketers who support advisors, it’s critical to stay abreast of those leaders’ fears and challenges, the shifting and often distorted market dynamics they’re facing, the opportunities they’re discerning, and even their personal travails.

Enter voice of the client (VoC) research, a tool for helping professional service firms get multi-faceted understandings of clients’ needs, expectations and most importantly, their pain points.

Built through client interviews, focus groups or surveys, VoC research arms marketers with a wealth of insights. It delivers individual insights that fuel business development, organic growth and client retention. And it produces broader qualitative data the firm can use to identify market challenges and opportunities.

The pain points unearthed in VoC research also fuel stronger thought-leadership research. After discussing their own business and professional challenges, interviewees generally get more candid and insightful on industry topics and trends. The resulting insights add depth, credibility and authority to a firm’s thought leadership – and turning it into a valuable business development tool.

Voice of the Client Research: Interview Best Practices

Research into client pain points aims to first understand what keeps the client up at night and where they seek guidance. The interview findings inform how the firm serves its client’s business, but the priorities and opinions of each individual interviewee matter too. Topics, for example, could be:

  • Attitudes about where their business was, where it is now, and where it’s going
  • Constraints that prevent them from accomplishing more, personally and organizationally
  • What better outcomes would look like from both personal and organizational perspectives
  • Assessment of the most pressing and emerging business and legal risks and opportunities

For example, when a law-firm client wanted to evaluate the ways it assigned and delegated work, we conducted interviews with clients that produced blunt insights on where the firm’s approach diverged from its clients’ business objectives. The firm responded by reconfiguring the project management process and tailoring roles and responsibilities according to project scope.

While pain points are the primary focus of the interviews, the conversations often lead to insights on where the advisor or firm have fallen short. The conversations can evolve into discussions of the subtleties that advisors can’t see from the outside – how a particular business’s needs are different than others in its industry, for example.

Clients may not be expecting those discussions. But business leaders always appreciate transparency and candor. And while the conversations occasionally get awkward, pushing through the awkward moments breaks down communication barriers. Knowing their outside advisors care enough to ask makes clients eager to open up.

Picking the right interviewer

It’s important to think about who’s asking the questions. Putting interviews in the hands of a trained researcher always pays dividends; aptitude in eliciting candor, probing for fresh insights and analyzing the interview content will ensure nobody’s time feels wasted. And interviewees tend to be more candid with a third party.

At the same time, the firm has to be a collaborator – connecting the interviewee with the interviewer, introducing the project and process through an initial email or phone call. The advisor or firm rep should also thoroughly brief the interviewer on any pertinent issues. For the interviewee to feel at ease, the interviewer should understand the relationship history and any hot button issues.

The right approach for your clients – and for you

There are several options for undertaking this type of research. Selecting one approach versus another depends upon the topics and objectives at hand:

  • One-on-one, in-depth interviews often make the most sense for pain points research. There are situations where clients will dish frank insights if they feel they’re engaged in conversation with an audience of one and that person is a trained moderator who they can trust to report the conversation accurately – and with the right discretion.
  • Focus groups, online or in-person, can reveal challenges and serve as forums for testing potential solutions. In some cases, it’s preferable to have a group of peers weigh in on business pain points in an iterative discussion, particularly if a firm wants to get a sense for differing priorities among executives in different roles. The CFO and CMO may be thinking about the same problem with very different levels of urgency, for example. 

    Working on behalf of a financial institution, Greentarget moderated an online discussion between attorneys, claims administrators and the judiciary regarding pain points in class action settlements. Each group provided a different level of awareness about our client’s capabilities (and letting them interact with each other enhanced the discussion). Our findings gave the client a road map for determining which of their services and audiences – clients and prospects – deserved greater focus and attention.
  • Online surveys can also foster pain point conversations. Greentarget sees stronger data sets overall – with more decisive opinions – when we kick off a survey with a series of thoughtful questions around how respondents are feeling and where they are most desperate for guidance. In a recent survey about business operations in Latin America, we uncovered a business challenge that had not been directly addressed in messaging by any of the respondent’s outside counsel. It was easy for our law firm client to address the issue – but they didn’t know about it until we asked the right questions in the right setting.

Turning interviewees into advocates

Finally, engaging clients in one-on-one or small-group interviews, even surveys, can generate advocacy. There are a couple of important considerations for professional service providers here – and they should be considered in advance, lest an interviewee feel his or her insights were wasted or commoditized.

First, the firm should have a clear follow-up plan. Keeping in touch with the interviewees through individual outreach, even with just a summary of the interview content, can prove important in generating their long-term advocacy. Second, in cases where VoC research is part of a thought leadership initiative, the firm should have a clearly defined role for interviewees in the resulting article or report. In some cases, it may have an opportunity to quote them as experts.

Steve Jobs once urged companies to get as close as possible to customers, “So close that you can tell them what they need before they realize it themselves.” Getting to that level of intimacy takes more than treating clients to the occasional dinner – especially in the social-distancing era.

Asking the right questions, in the right moments, knowing how to process the answers and acting on the results helps a firm stay a step ahead of its clients’ needs.

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