Blog

May 11, 2023 by Aaron Schoenherr

The partners at your professional services firm are essentially owners of their respective business units, which means the cost of your marketing initiatives comes out of their pockets. And given the pressure they’re under to hit their revenue and growth targets, they expect you to support their individual marketing needs as if those partners are your team’s top priority. That can make it tough to advance the overall business objectives for your firm.

Sure, it might be tenable if you’re only managing a handful of competing agendas. But if you answer to dozens — or even hundreds — of partners and myriad other stakeholders, chances are your audience is on the receiving end of too many messages, or diluted messages that don’t speak to their needs.

When you’re bogged down by the tyranny of the urgent — and when your firm’s partners are focused on their messages and their goals — how can you shift gears to create a cohesive and meaningful marketing strategy? Instead of disparate initiatives, you need to create a comprehensive plan organized around a focused objective.

Once that focus is in place, it’s time to switch into campaign mode: building an integrated program to reach your desired audience through paid, earned, social, and owned (PESO) media .

Here’s how to build sophisticated PESO campaigns that elevate your firm’s digital marketing — and win the buy-in and support you’ll need to bring them to life.

Building Blocks of an Integrated PESO Marketing Campaign

Your firm is not the only voice vying for your audience’s attention. To combat this information overload, lean on integrated campaigns that highlight authoritative content with a unique point of view.

What does it mean to adopt a PESO campaign orientation? You’ll leverage:

Paid channels by buying ad space in traditional outlets and/or on Google and LinkedIn
Earned media by reaching out to reporters and earned media outlets with quotes and snippets that demonstrate your firm’s authority
Social channels by sharing your firm’s insights via email and social media
Owned media by publishing articles, eBooks, white papers, and other assets to your website

Furthermore, each campaign should:

Align to a measurable business objective (e.g. increase awareness of your firm; demonstrate your firm’s position of authority; drive revenue growth)
Present a unique point of view on an issue that’s important to your audience (make them think “hmmm, I hadn’t heard that before”)
Drive specific KPIs (like number of organic site visitors, downloads, audience reach, LinkedIn engagement)

Reddit used several elements of the PESO model effectively when the social media platform took out a five-second Superbowl ad that made it look like the company was hacking a car commercial. It simultaneously posted the video with a “What just happened?” caption on Twitter. From there, Reddit drove users to the site with a link to a sampling of its community forums. And in the aftermath, the platform earned positive media coverage from high-profile outlets praising its ingenuity.

As a professional services marketer, you can use creativity and drama to reach your audience, too. Your firm’s experts are writing and speaking on a variety of topics. Don’t shy away from promoting their hot takes with catchy copy and your version of a grand reveal.

How To Persuade Your Firm’s Partners To Adopt a Campaign Orientation

Talking about the value of an integrated marketing campaign to marketers is a bit like preaching to the choir. But if your firm’s partners aren’t on board with your plans, all the campaign know-how in the world won’t matter. And when you first launch an integrated campaign, you’ll undoubtedly encounter pushback from leaders who (wrongly) think you should focus on a marketing plan that is all things to all audiences.

You know the most effective marketing campaigns are targeted to a specific persona looking for help with specific questions at a particular moment in time. But how can you get your partners to buy in?

Show Partners What’s in It for Them

Partners may initially balk at investing marketing dollars into campaigns that don’t directly benefit their business unit. That’s why it’s crucial to demonstrate the value a campaign model will offer them both immediately and over time. They need to understand that:

Rising tides lift all boats. Successful campaigns drive increased traffic to useful content on your site. And when these visitors discover relevant content that meets their business needs, they’ll be primed to learn about your firm’s partners, service offerings, and additional areas of expertise.

Every campaign is rooted in your firm’s authority (and that of your partners). Invite partners to participate in your campaign plans by authoring bespoke content that fits in with the broader objective, whether it’s offering a unique POV that fills in “white space” in your industry, or providing insight into how your firm solves tricky client problems. Putting your partners’ expertise in the spotlight is a great way to win their support.

Coordinated campaigns shed light on what your audience is looking for. Tracking the content that resonates with your audience and learning what drives engagement helps business development team and partners better meet your prospects’ needs. Importantly, it also demonstrates the return on investment.

It’s an opportunity to outshine and outperform the competition. Your partners are undoubtedly paying attention to what their peers at other firms are doing. Well-crafted campaigns give your experts something worth sharing and promoting in their spheres of influence.

Start Small, Then Build on Your Campaign Success

Your PESO campaigns don’t have to be perfect to be impactful. Nor do you need to devote all your time and energy to adopting a campaign mindset. Carving out 20% of your work week to create and implement thoughtful campaigns is a great place to start.

The best campaigns tend to be recognized with awards from industry publications. Using the format of an award entry to craft your campaign is another smart way to make the case for its value. Identify the opportunities and challenges to the business, then lay out the strategy, tactical approach and measurable results. In other words, try reviewing the award entry format of an organization you respect and work backwards to structure your campaign idea.

Just remember: Useful, relevant content is what powers your digital marketing engine. If you need help identifying the types of content your audience is looking for — and honing unique points of view that will cut through the digital clutter — don’t hesitate to reach out. We know what it takes to create campaigns that drive audiences to action.

April 27, 2023 by Greentarget

If the prospect of a publicly traded U.S. law firm seems unlikely, consider that more than five decades ago, there was no such thing as a publicly traded American investment bank. Due to a nearly 200-year-old rule requiring that the New York Stock Exchange approve all shareholders of its member firms, the NYSE didn’t allow them. But thanks to Dan Lufkin, who engineered the 1970 initial public offering of his investment banking and brokerage firm, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the NYSE amended its rules and it’s now difficult to imagine the big Wall Street firms like Goldman or Morgan Stanley as private partnerships. But they were. Just like today’s big law firms.

According to William Cohan, who relays this story in his article, The Next Big I.P.O. Scramble, it may be only a matter of time before a bold and enterprising law firm follows in Lufkin’s radical footsteps and converts its private partnership into a public corporation – a structure that would provide greater access to capital, help streamline law-firm mergers and allow retiring partners to cash out their shares. Like the NYSE once prevented investment bank listings, most state bar associations still have rules against non-lawyer ownership of law firms. But that has begun to change.

Utah and Arizona have relaxed the American Bar Association rule barring nonlawyers from sharing in law firm ownership. To a fiercely competitive industry that has few options for raising capital, these changes could open a door to a source of affordable growth capital, a liquid market for partners’ equity, and a reliable method for determining a firm’s relative value in a highly acquisitive marketplace. The two states have granted a total of 91 licenses for alternative legal business entities, according to The American Lawyer. Once a major law firm walks through that door, many more could follow.

Skeptical? If the true story of the investment banking industry’s conversion isn’t a sufficient analog, the rapidly growing appetite for litigation finance, even among the legal industry’s biggest firms, is further evidence that law firms are eager to tap alternative sources of capital to fund their growth.

So if this potential shift becomes reality, law firms that take the IPO plunge will need to communicate frequently with an entirely new audience — public shareholders. And meeting shareholders’ demand for information will require significant, fundamental changes to how law firms share information with stakeholders.

What does this mean for you? Effective shareholder communication is not a switch you can flip on the first day of trading. If you harbor hope that your law firm will someday ring that iconic opening bell, plan to implement the following five tactics well before you file your registration statement. Doing so will support a successful IPO and enhance your ability to communicate effectively with your shareholders going forward, supporting quarterly earnings and other material disclosures, and ultimately an appropriate valuation.

1. Generate Pre-Filing Awareness

When contemplating a public offering, the way your firm communicates right now matters. Once you file your S-1, or registration statement, you can’t be perceived as promoting the offering as you prepare to begin trading. But you are permitted to continue sharing certain information about your business as you have in the past.

To establish an appropriate baseline, your external communication plan should include:

Announcements of your involvement in major matters, litigation wins, and other noteworthy milestones
Timely content conveying unique positions of authority from your firm’s partners and subject matter experts
Media interviews that result in your partners’ appearance in the press, sharing points-of-view on issues that matter to clients
Information about your firm’s social impact, e.g. pro bono and DEI initiatives

Chances are you’re already doing many of these things as part of your owned and earned media efforts. And of course, all of these activities are valuable and worthwhile even if the opportunity or desire to take your firm public never arises. But to set your firm up to communicate more freely throughout the process of going public, begin covering all these bases by ramping up your external comms strategies now.

2. Establish Metrics for Your Business

Partnerships are evaluated differently than publicly traded firms. The American Lawyer ranks its A-List firms based on these measurements: revenue per lawyer, associate satisfaction, diversity, pro bono initiatives, and the percentage of female equity partners. Firms rank on the AmLaw 100 according to self-disclosed or estimated figures like gross revenue, profits per partner, and revenue per lawyer. This will not satisfy Wall Street.

Law firms weighing IPOs should consider a mix of metrics that your shareholders demand – which would be similar to those disclosed by most listed companies (revenue, income, and earnings per share) – and those that you want your shareholders to track as well, such as realization rate, total billable hours and utilization rates, and client acquisition and attrition rates.

Regardless of which metrics you choose, you need to identify them before your offering, educate investors about their value and importance during the offering roadshow, and set up systems that allow you to track those metrics on a weekly basis. Weekly? Yes. Most newly public companies trade below their offering prices within six to nine months of the IPO, often because management lacks visibility into their own metrics. This can result in quarterly financial results falling short of expectations and surprising shareholders. And surprised shareholders sell stock.

Establishing the right metrics now — and tracking them weekly — is the best way to guard against a future market flop.

3. Identify Appropriate Comps

Investment bankers always look at comparable companies when valuing an IPO. And naturally, analysts and brokers will want research on other publicly traded firms like yours in order to better understand your performance and persuade their investors to bet on you. But until several law firms go public, it will be difficult for them to find the comps they’re looking for.

This is another area where being proactive matters. Look for publicly traded firms in industries with similar models, like consulting, to give analysts and investors the comps they’ll need to evaluate your business.

4. Adopt IPO Disclosure Policies and Procedures

As a law firm, you’ll likely have a leg up in understanding the regulatory landscape that listed companies must navigate, particularly regarding the disclosure of material information. But it’s still worth mentioning that once you’ve filed to go public, leadership and other members of the firm can no longer engage in casual conversations about financial performance and news that might impact your valuation.

According to SEC guidelines, anything your firm discloses to one person must be disclosed to everyone. And if you share material non-public information — even if it’s done unintentionally — you could be accused of enabling insider trading.

5. Ramp Up Internal Communications

When the time comes, it will also be essential to communicate openly with employees about your IPO and protect your firm from confidentiality breaches and legal liability.

Employees would need to understand:

The rationale and business case for the IPO
How the shift from a partnership model to a publicly traded model will impact them
Specific guidelines regarding what they can and cannot say to outsiders about their work
Guidance on how they should answer questions they’re asked about your IPO
Examples of common confidentiality breaches (like sharing information with a spouse, friend or a colleague from another firm)

Keep in mind that going public would represent a significant organizational change. To win employee buy-in and support, you must be proactive about managing the change internally.

Going Public Requires a New Approach to Law Firm Communication

Embarking on an IPO could be an incredibly exciting, all-eyes-on-your-firm moment. To leverage the opportunity a public offering could present, you must start planning early.

But it’s not enough to launch successfully. You’d also have to sustain (and build on) your success quarter after quarter and year after year. And all the while, you need to communicate with a level of openness and transparency that might feel totally foreign.

You don’t have to make this leap alone. The Greentarget team has experience helping clients navigate the IPO landscape, and we speak the unique language of partnership-based law firms. So if your firm explores going public, we’d love to walk with you every step of the way.

April 13, 2023 by Greentarget

If you’re looking for tangible ways to improve your PR or professional services firm’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), you’re not alone. DEI is a key business priority for a majority of C-suite executives and in-house counsel, according to Greentarget and Zeughauser Group’s 2022 State of DEI Content report — and the most frequently mentioned area where decision makers want guidance from their service providers is on how to recruit and retain diverse talent.

That report got me thinking about what leaders could learn from my perspective garnered from wearing various hats at Greentarget: a former intern, a current senior associate and intern coordinator, an Asian-American woman breaking into a historically and predominantly white industry, and — last but not least — a member of Gen Z who, like many of my peers, prioritizes the social impact of my work and the inclusive values of my employer.

Two years ago, I navigated a remote internship with Greentarget in the midst of the pandemic. Last summer, I returned for an in-person internship. And today, not only am I an associate serving clients in the legal and professional services industries, with a focus on media relations — I’m also a coordinator on Greentarget’s intern team, responsible for recruiting, training, and overseeing our intern classes (whose seat I was in not too long ago), as well as expanding our diversity recruiting strategy and partnerships.

My internships played a direct role in influencing my decision to further my career in public relations at Greentarget, not only by giving me hands-on PR experience — but also by fostering a workplace with an authentic commitment to DEI, allowing me to envision myself as a team member, mentor, and leader whose perspective would be encouraged, rather than curtailed. And as value-oriented Gen Z professionals continue entering the job market, decision makers at professional services firms can and must take proactive steps to recruit and retain young talent.

1. Demonstrate an Authentic Commitment to DEI at Your Firm

Gen Z is the most diverse generation in American history. We actively tune into DEI conversations and want to work for organizations that align with our values. And we expect employers to go beyond the performative when it comes to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive atmosphere.

Tackling issues of diversity and inclusion is not easy, and it’s not about establishing quotas or simply boosting your numbers. Rather, it’s about creating a workplace culture where diverse talent wants to invest their professional energies. Getting started can feel intimidating, and DEI initiatives can and should be ongoing. But the good news is there are thoughtful ways to start embedding DEI into your culture that aren’t overly complicated or expensive.

At Greentarget, we started a book club that gives interns and employees an avenue to explore DEI-focused topics. Reading Minor Feelings, for example — an autobiography by Korean American author Cathy Park Hong — particularly resonated with me. Not only was I able to voice how my Asian-American identity has impacted me personally and professionally, but our whole team engaged in open discourse about the Asian-American psyche, and how we can be more culturally competent in the workplace.

If you’re looking to start a similar initiative at your firm, don’t be deterred by your level of understanding about a given identity or aspect of DEI. Initiatives like our book club are, after all, about education: providing a platform for your team to share their experiences, and actively listening for insights and opportunities to become a more socially conscious professional and person.

It’s also important to give interns a seat at the table, and for them to see employees from underrepresented backgrounds taking part in the business, including as decision makers. One way we do this is to invite interns to participate in many of the same professional learning opportunities that associates and leadership team members attend — from company-wide trainings on media relations and strategy, to brainstorms during which we discuss current events and explore new pitching angles. Of course, it’s also important for interns to see diverse employees in action, whether in client-facing roles or leading internal initiatives. Representation matters.

2. Elevate Diverse Voices Internally and Externally

It can be challenging for people of color and members of underrepresented groups to speak up and share ideas freely at work. And frankly, it can be especially intimidating to interact with powerful (often white male) senior executives.

This is as true for associates as it is for interns.

That’s why people in positions of power within your professional services firm should look for ways to open doors of opportunity and amplify diverse voices. This can be as simple as:

Asking questions and truly listening to the answers
Encouraging interns and young associates to share their ideas and giving them merit
Staying curious about perspectives and lived experiences that differ from your own
Seeking input about ways to improve your culture
Offering one-on-one mentorship and support

It’s also important for your interns to see you promote diverse perspectives through your owned and earned media efforts. Greentarget is deliberate about representation on our own Insights page. We use it as a platform to amplify voices from across our entire organization, from our CEO to associates and interns.

The diverse employees at your firm have unique and compelling points of view that will resonate with your audience. Use your platform to make their voices heard.

3. Provide Interns Access to Meaningful Work

The best internships offer students a glimpse of what their professional futures could look like. So if you want your internship program to become a powerful recruiting tool that advances your DEI objectives, you need to give interns work they can be excited about.

From day one of my internships at Greentarget, I felt I was part of something bigger than myself. I was able to:

Immerse myself in topics that matter to society as a whole — like tax law, healthcare/drug pricing, and labor/employment law
Create a start-to-finish media campaign addressing corporate responses to the Black Lives Matter movement and present it to the entire company
Interact with and learn from junior, mid-level, and senior members of the team

That’s not to say I didn’t also handle lower-level tasks as an intern. After all, I was there to learn the business from the ground up. But employers can elevate even menial tasks if you share the “why” behind each one. For example, I initially overlooked the importance of the media lists I assembled — but by educating my intern cohort on the media relations process and how our work shaped this process, my mentors at Greentarget illuminated the significance of a “simple” task like a media list.

4. Connect the Dots Between Your Firm and a Larger Societal Impact

The media and the PR industry help shape our understanding of the world around us, from business trends and political news to social issues. Consider what role the media has played in cultivating your awareness of the most pressing issues today — climate change, inflation, racial and gender inequality, presidential elections and geopolitical struggles happening halfway across the world?

When most people read a Washington Post article or watch a CNN segment, they probably don’t think about everything that occurred behind the scenes to produce those pieces. Before I entered the PR industry, I certainly didn’t. But PR professionals like us at Greentarget often play a key role in helping that work come together.

Reporters often say to me, “My reporting is only as good as my sources.” Journalists rely on trustworthy, expert authorities — lawyers, accountants, consultants, and more — to explain complex issues in straightforward language and provide credibility for the accuracy of their reporting. PR professionals may spend weeks, even months, cultivating the reporter-source relationship behind a three-sentence quote.

Over the two years since my initial internship with Greentarget, I gained an understanding of the end-to-end media relations process that has illuminated the value in even the most routine tasks. From helping a client articulate their unique perspective on a topic, sharing that perspective with reporters, coordinating and attending an in-depth interview, and eventually seeing our clients’ words from that discussion contribute to a tangible story, I see how my efforts contribute to the larger conversation.

So, how does this apply to you? To reach intern candidates who value the social impact of their work, highlight the larger results of their role. Remind them that when they do research to ensure the stories we pitch are rooted in fact, not fiction, we help fight fake news. And underscore the reality that when they secure a writing opportunity or a quote placement for a source with a diverse perspective, they’re giving that individual the opportunity to shape a broader public discourse.

As a PR firm with clients constantly grappling with big issues, part of our job is imbuing big stories with their insights — and interns play a foundational role in this process. Developing a media list of healthcare publications or researching energy tax credits might not seem all that exciting or meaningful. But that media list could be used to pitch a story on drug-pricing legislation affecting millions of Americans. That research might prepare an energy lawyer for an interview about sustainable financing that could help businesses or communities tap into programs aimed at reducing their carbon footprint.

Your interns and associates — especially those who are part of Gen Z — need to see a connection between their work and the most pressing social issues of our day. Being part of something bigger — something that’s driving progress and change — is a significant motivating force for my generation.

Create an Inclusive Culture Interns Want to Be Part Of

As an executive leader, you set the tone for your professional services firm. It’s up to you to establish diversity, equity, and inclusion as an organizational priority and empower your team to allocate the necessary time and resources to bring new initiatives to life.

Change won’t happen overnight, and making real strides will require sustained time and effort. But if you truly want to attract and retain a more diverse workforce: now’s the time to get started.

March 30, 2023 by Pam Munoz

No matter how hard your firm tries to keep M&A talks under the radar, it’s inevitable that employees and other stakeholders will notice and start speculating about a potential changeover. And when rumors and leaks attract unwanted media attention, it’s only natural to focus on controlling the public narrative.

But it’s a mistake to de-emphasize internal communications in the process. While employees are your strongest brand stewards, they are the likeliest source of leaks. By proactively discussing a potential merger or acquisition with them at the right time, senior leadership may be able to stop (or at least significantly reduce) the spread of unhelpful rumors or misinformation around your upcoming deal.

Even better, with a thoughtful internal comms strategy, you can empower employees to become advocates and champions of your message which, in turn, prepares your organization for a smoother post-M&A integration process. Or if a deal happens to fall through, it’s important to communicate internally why it was abandoned.

Either way, there’s no upshot to avoiding an internal dialogue with your senior leadership, who have a line of communication to employees. It’s important to provide them with the tools to communicate to their teams about prospective deals—whether or not they close.

The Dangers of Neglecting Internal Comms During Deal Making

Employees expect transparency and vulnerability from employers now more than ever. And because they can easily amplify their own voices on platforms like Fishbowl and Reddit, you have a vested interest in helping them internalize positive, believable and strategic messages about the inevitable organizational change your M&A deal will usher in if a deal is completed.

In particular, employees need to understand:

The business strategy that’s driving the merger or acquisition. Communicating the “why” of organizational evolution is a vital part of gaining buy-in and support.

Where your firm is headed. Paint a picture of the new work you’ll be able to take on thanks to the deal. Give employees a reason to be enthusiastic about the next stage.

How the deal will affect their jobs. Even if you can’t give specific information outlining forthcoming changes to positions, roles, and responsibilities, address the elephant in the room and let employees know when they can expect to hear more, and from whom.

Failing to communicate can result in:

Leaks. Whether accidentally or intentionally, employees who feel anxious and reticent are more likely to let sensitive information slip.

Misinformation. If you don’t provide employees with a narrative regarding your M&A transaction, they may receive and spread false details, or fill in knowledge gaps themselves.

A culture of mistrust. Although every organization will always have its skeptics and cynics, you don’t want your internal culture to be defined by suspicion. A lack of trust can erode morale and impede your organization’s forward momentum.

Employee attrition. M&A deals can threaten employees’ sense of job security–which means they might start looking for another position, rather than risk sticking it out only to lose their job later on.

To ensure a successful post-merger or post-acquisition integration, you need key talent to stay on board. Here’s how to communicate effectively and win their trust.

Seven Stages of Communicating About M&A Internally

As important as it is to regularly communicate with internal stakeholders, the fact remains that there’s a right and a wrong way to do it. Legally, there will be details you can’t disclose until the contract is signed.

There are basic stages of communicating an M&A deal externally. In what follows, we’ll explain how to align your internal communications plan with those steps, assuming a deal has closed, or will soon. Some stages can even be applied to deals that have fallen through.

1. Rumors and Speculation

You may not be able to provide much detail about preliminary M&A negotiations as rumors swirl–but even a simple acknowledgment of the situation can quell employee anxiety. This is also the time to solidify your comms plan, so you can roll it out once you’re able to share more details.

Meet with your senior executives and managers to explain the situation at a high level and arm them with talking points. Instead of a knee-jerk response to rumors, employees will appreciate information from a trusted source (e.g., a direct manager) and are more likely to wait for more information than fan the flames of speculation.

Identify your internal audience segments and think through the questions they’re most likely to ask. Then empower regional leaders, practice leaders and front-line supervisors to cascade your message to the employees within their purview. This can be done a number of ways, depending on existing internal communications protocols and cadence. Tools range from a simple statement to an FAQ to an agenda item for a regular staff meeting with talking points.

2. Confirmed M&A Talks

As soon as you’re able to publicly confirm you’re in talks regarding a merger or acquisition, let employees know, too. Provide the initial rationale for exploring this move and share how it could advance your firm’s overall growth strategy.

Be careful about the optics as you proceed. If one firm is doing the acquiring and another is being acquired, don’t categorize the move as a merger of equals. Rather, make sure both firms are communicating a unified message that articulates how the deal is a force multiplier for all involved.

Consider how you’ll address concerns about redundancies as well. If you can truthfully tell employees that you don’t expect any reductions in your workforce, say that. If layoffs will be part of the deal, give employees as much assurance as you can without providing false hope.

3. Speculation on Business Case

Once you’ve confirmed your firm is in talks regarding an M&A transaction, people may begin to dig deeper into your business case. Anticipate that your employees may have questions (or even doubts) about your stated reasons behind exploring the deal.

To manage this stage effectively:

Leverage the pre-established communications cascade to counter incorrect narratives.

Clarify the rationale and restate the business case to reinforce prior messaging.

Communicate clearly and transparently about the organizational changes you foresee occurring as a result of the deal.

If you begin to encounter concerns and objections you didn’t see coming, use this moment as a gut check. It’s never too late to make sure your stated business case aligns with your firm’s overarching mission and values.

4. Progress Updates

As talks continue, internal stakeholders will gradually become accustomed to the impending change. They may ask fewer questions and speculate less about what’s coming. Even so, it’s important for you to stay ahead of the narrative and continue communicating regularly.

The more you can share about the deal’s progression, the more you can turn employees into advocates who advance your message and correct misinformation within their sphere of influence.

5. Quiet Period Around Closing the Deal

The most precarious point of any merger or acquisition is when it’s time to seal the deal. During this stage, you really do need to go dark and stop communicating externally and internally while the parties involved iron out the final details.

But if you’ve adhered to a proactive internal comms strategy, you’ve laid the groundwork and have made your business case with stakeholders. That means you can afford to hold the line and maintain silence for a short period of time until you can make an official announcement.

6. Official M&A Deal Announcement

When it’s time to announce your merger or acquisition, do your internal audience the

courtesy of sharing the news with them first.

For your employees and stakeholders to truly embrace and champion this change, they need to know:

Specific details regarding how the deal will be structured, especially if there will be changes to how employees should talk about and deliver your firm’s brand promise.

The best way to respond to client inquiries and concerns.

Any immediate changes to the way roles and responsibilities are structured — as well as an overview of changes that will be rolled out over time.

Although the news of the deal should come from the top first, use the communications plan you’ve already established to further socialize the message and anticipated merger integration activities and roles across the organization.

7. Post-Announcement Integration

In this final and ongoing stage, it’s time to turn your organization’s collective eye to the future. What will your firm achieve in the coming week and months? How do you plan to bring your separate entities together? What efficiencies and synergies do you expect to achieve as a result? And who can employees turn to when they have questions and concerns along the way?

It’s wise to ramp up face-to-face communication strategies during this transitional period. Use group meetings, forums, and town halls to underscore the shared values that will guide your continued integration efforts.

Keep Internal Stakeholders Engaged During Your Merger or Acquisition

Partners and employees are the lifeblood of your firm. And in order to advance your M&A-driven growth strategy, you need these key advocates to be properly informed and on your side. A deal is an opportunity to reiterate firm strategy and get your people excited about the future.

That’s why you can’t afford to go silent when a merger or acquisition is on the horizon. It’s imperative to get ahead of the rumor mill, address speculation head-on, and give employees the “why” behind the business strategy you’re advancing.

March 16, 2023 by Diana Dixon

For most professional services firms, periods of economic uncertainty bring a renewed focus on shoring up and strengthening existing client relationships while also identifying ways to bring more value to the organizations that have already placed their trust in your firm. In other words, client retention and organic growth take priority over new client acquisition – or at least maintain an equal footing.

As a marketing leader, you can play a key (and maybe even surprising) role in supporting the deepening of the client relationships that are vital to your firm’s long-term well-being. After all, you’re the steward of your organization’s brand promise. And by empowering your internal relationship leaders to deliver that brand promise consistently and effectively, you can directly impact your firm’s bottom line.

To that end, here are three strategies designed to help you serve your internal teams as they work to reinforce their high-value client relationships — and a look “under the hood” at Greentarget’s formalized approach to client service.

1. Codify Client Service Behaviors that Promote Retention

Defining and documenting your organization’s unique approach to client service is a powerful exercise and can serve as a roadmap to navigating economic uncertainty. A good place to start is among your primary relationship leads whose clients tend to be steadfast and have increased their investment in your firm over time.

Some relationship managers are truly exceptional at what they do. They anticipate their clients’ needs and always seem to be one step ahead. But do you know what specifically they do differently than their peers? And have the leaders within your organization made it clear that other client-facing members are also expected to live up to the high bar these shining stars set?

Years ago, an advisor to Greentarget talked to us about the concept of “unconscious competence” – the idea that while it may not be explicitly documented, we had developed a “way of doing things” that was understood by most within the firm but not formally expressed. He encouraged us to formalize our approach to client service which evolved into an effort we refer to today as the “Greentarget Way” of client service.

A first step for your organization might be codifying the behaviors your high performing relationship managers regularly and consistently exhibit. Their “unconscious competence,” so to speak. To do so, try asking questions like:

How often do you interact with clients? What does your client work look like on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis?
What’s your philosophy around client service? In what ways do your behaviors align with our organizational values?
How do you maintain empathy for clients while also protecting approved budgets? What’s the right balance between setting and exceeding expectations?
How do you anticipate your clients’ needs? What actions do you take to stay ahead of their business challenges and the industry trends they’re adapting to?
Tell me about your best client relationship. What makes it so?

Based on what you learn, you can leverage these insights and begin to spell out the behaviors that promote trust and establish credibility. The more relationship leads you speak with, the more you’ll be able to spot commonalities and patterns across key client accounts which will allow you to create best practices that scale across your firm. And in the process, you’ll create the opportunity to position the firm’s marketing team as a valuable resource to your internal clients for insights on successful client retention and growth strategies.

2. Underscore Your Firm’s Role as a Trusted Authority and Advisor

It’s common for clients to scrutinize everything when they’re feeling the pressure of a challenging economic environment. After all, uncertainty can cause even the savviest business leaders to panic. And when they feel unsettled, clients may question your firm’s methodologies, attempt to pivot away from overarching priorities and strategies, and expect your relationship leaders to respond immediately to any and every top-of-mind issue they throw your way.

Now is the time for your relationship managers to lean into — and demonstrate — your firm’s authority.

Again, this requires you to codify and champion the behaviors that help your clients see you as the high-value partner you are. When it comes to emphasizing your firm’s ability to serve as an expert advisor, these behaviors may include:

Taking time to deeply understand each client’s vision for the year and the strategic objectives they want to reach
Making recommendations and providing advice that aligns with those overarching objectives
Pushing back against projects and requests that might ultimately distract the client from reaching their big-picture goals
Keeping the client focused and centered around business-critical tasks
Invest in a “voice of the client” research initiative to understand the critical challenges and pain points that your firm can help address

Of course, you can also underscore your firm’s expertise by doubling down on your owned media efforts. For example, you might develop and promote a series of case studies that showcases specific ways your team used their unique positions of authority to solve clients’ trickiest business challenges. Or, you could help key leaders write articles, research reports, and other collateral to share a compelling point of view on issues that impact your industry.

Regardless of the approach you pursue, your marketing orientation and instincts can be a tremendous asset for relationship leaders within your firm who are challenged to navigate economic uncertainty and contraction. Now’s the time to move beyond the traditional boundaries of marketing and communications by exploring new ways to serve and support the relationship leaders who drive your firm.

3. Create an Internal Rallying Cry Around Client Retention

As a marketing leader, you are also your firm’s “chief repetition officer.” It’s your responsibility to continually beat the drum about your firm’s priorities and keep your team energized around your common goals.

Setting a client retention goal at the beginning of a new year is a good start. But to achieve the results you’re after, you’ll also need to develop creative ways of reinforcing your firm’s commitment to delivering your brand promise.

This can be as simple as encouraging your practice group leaders to carve out a minute or two in team meetings to share anecdotes and stories about how they’ve provided excellent client service. Or you might infuse every piece of internal communication with updates and reminders about your client retention goals and the specific behaviors that support them.

Whatever the case may be, look for ways to repeatedly communicate that providing excellent client service is a key strategy to thriving during a downturn and provide the examples that illustrate those behaviors.

Draw Inspiration From The Greentarget Way

At Greentarget, we’ve spent more than a decade defining and refining the brand promise we deliver to clients. As a result, “The Greentarget Way” has become an integral part of our team culture. Every employee knows what it takes to live out our ideals when working and collaborating with clients.

The Greentarget Way lays out a seven-step approach to client service. Each step maps to specific behaviors that members of our team are expected to embrace in their client work. For example:

PROCESS	BEHAVIORS
1. Identify the problem, challenge, or opportunity	• Ask “how can we help?” • Look to peers for lessons learned and best practices • Get uncomfortable – we are creative problem solvers
2. Understand the objectives	• Ask insightful questions • Focus on the details • Bring a “yes…and” attitude
3. Empathize with the audience	• Ask the right questions to learn everything you can about audience needs • Stay on top of industry trends • Be open to pivoting and changing course • Avoid assumptions and be willing to test your theories about audience preferences and behaviors
4. Build the strategy	• Take calculated risks • Deliver fresh thinking • Trust your reservoir of experience • Ask colleagues for help
5. Craft the narrative	• Be authentic and credible • Work to build connections with the desired audience • Execute with vigilance, diligence, and purpose
6. Distribute across channels	• Deliver results • Build personal connections with media, clients, and peers
7. Measure and assess	• Track appropriate KPIs • Recharge and gain a fresh perspective before the next project • Ask insightful questions about how results impacted the client’s business

This is a brief overview of our in-depth and comprehensive approach. But now that you see what’s possible, how might you develop a similar strategy to improve your firm’s client retention rate?

We’d love to help you think through a model that will enable your firm to deepen and prioritize your high-value client relationships in light of your mission and values. So if you have questions, just reach out.

March 2, 2023 by Greentarget

It’s no secret that law firm profits and productivity slipped last year, as 2021’s legal bonanza gave way to a more challenging stretch in which many firms found themselves with too many lawyers, and not enough work to go around.

Demand for legal services dropped 1.9% in 2022 compared to 2021, while expenses increased 7.9%, according to Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group. Some law firms have already laid off lawyers and staff, while others may be considering reductions.

Last year, when the war for lateral talent still raged, we recommended that firms emphasize culture over profits in their legal media interviews as a way stand out in an environment where strong financial performance was the rule.

But as legal demand dries up while expenses climb, law firms need to adjust their messaging accordingly. Below, we outline considerations as firms prepare for those discussions.

What to Expect During the Interview

Economic uncertainty continues dominating headlines and will be a recurring theme in conversations between legal media and law firm leadership. Expect questions about how your firm plans to navigate the unpredictable financial environment in the coming year, from reining in expenses and headcount to balancing fiscal restraint with the need to invest in technology and talent.

With law firm mergers gaining momentum after a pandemic-era dip, legal reporters may ask whether your firm is open to a combination to grow headcount, expand its regional footprint and/or expand capabilities. Smaller firms and those with softening financial results should prepare for questions about potentially being acquired by larger or more prosperous firms.

The legal media knows your firm’s expenses increased last year, but you can talk about how they grew in 2022 and how you plan to manage them in 2023. On a more granular level, expect journalists to ask how your firm dealt with overcapacity last year – and how it plans to address the issue in 2023. Are you instituting programs to fill lawyers’ unused time through expanded pro bono work or business development initiatives?

Headcount Reductions

Nobody wants to talk about this. However, the legal media has widely covered the firms that have already reduced their headcounts in 2022 and 2023, and reporters will not shy away from questions around this topic.

If your firm plans to lay off attorneys and staff, make sure to announce those reductions internally before discussing them with members of the media. Keep in mind that any memo sent to lawyers and staff will be leaked – so when drafting the announcement, have your external audiences in mind, too.

If your firm has already reduced its attorney or professional staff ranks, interviews can help contextualize those decisions by framing them around your firm’s overall 2022 performance and strategy for 2023.

Real Estate, Technology and DEI

Where and how lawyers work will also be top of mind. Hybrid and remote work continue to be topics of interest. Firms should expect questions about changes to in-office policies and whether they remain open to fully remote hires.

Reporters will likely ask about firms’ physical footprints, too. Firm leaders should plan to discuss any changes in office space, and the adoption of strategies like hoteling. If your firm has a hiring strategy for 2023, this interview offers a great place to share it with potential talent.

Leaders should also expect questions about their firms’ technology investments. Has your firm splashed out on new software or platforms in the past year? Does your firm plan to scale back technology spending in the coming year?

Prepare for questions about potential retrenchment in other areas – including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which many firms prioritized after the social and racial reckoning of 2020. Reporters may ask about what measurable progress you made against those commitments last year, and whether your firm plans to cut or pause its DEI and/or talent development initiatives amid profit pressures. Consider sharing your organization’s DEI targets and how you plan to meet those goals in the coming year.

Reflect on 2022 – And Map Out What’s Next

When preparing your talking points about 2022, think about how you would characterize the year at a macro level. Be prepared to talk about the practices, regions and industries that drove growth last year, and where your firm saw shifts in demand. This is a great opportunity to discuss notable matters from 2022, so ensure you have those details on hand.

During these interviews, firm leaders can discuss their strategy for 2023. Any major investments your firm plans for the year – office openings, new practice group focus, ancillary practices – should be shared here if possible.

Explain where the firm will focus this year in terms of practices and initiatives, as well as areas where you will be creating efficiencies. Where do you anticipate increased demand? Leaders should plan to talk about practices that may be ripe for growth, such as bankruptcy and restructuring, data privacy and security and regulatory.

With the economic outlook for the legal industry still uncertain, firms can find value in being transparent about financial results, strategic plans and cultural considerations – topics that will resonate with current employees and potential talent.