Fortunately, most of the legal profession seems to have weathered the recession. There were some notable flops and failures, but things have clearly been picking back up. We’re getting aggressive again, and firms are spending more money polishing their brands, developing new websites, rebuilding their infrastructure, and hiring people. Recently, at the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) conference, I found people to be remarkably upbeat regarding law firms’ renewed interest in growth.  

It’s a positive sign. Below is a summary of the conversations law firm marketers complained that they had been having with their marketing committees for the past five years.

Does this sound familiar?

[Marketing Partner:] “Don’t even LOOK like you’re spending money.” 

[Marketing Director:] “But it’s in the budget.”

“You can’t spend it.”

But we need to keep marketing or we won’t have any business next year.

“We just fired some lawyers.”

So we need to keep marketing or we’ll need to fire even more.

“We can market, but it can’t look like we’re marketing. Nothing visible.”

Marketing that people can’t SEE? That defeats the purpose. That’s like buying coffee you can’t drink?

“We’re eliminating the coffee too.”

We can get a great deal now; the consulting companies are lowering their rates, just like we are.

“Don’t do it.”

It’s practically free.

“It has to LOOK like it’s practically free.”

We can get great work, but it has to look like BAD work?

“Yes, so people will know that we didn’t spend money on it.”

Why don’t we just rip up our suits so they look tattered?

“Good idea.”

Wait, are we trying to look unsuccessful?

“No, just not frivolous.”

Since when did marketing professionally look frivolous? Aren’t successful firms supposed to LOOK successful?

“Not today.”

Not today?!!!

“No.  We want to look like we only laid off our lawyers because we had to.”

What?

“We’re a partnership. We have to look sorry.”

Sorry like apologetic? Or sorry like pathetic?

“The first one.”

So what can’t we do?

“No traveling.”

But we have clients all over the country. We have to visit them if we want to keep them as clients.  Traveling is how we get in front of clients.

“Not this year.  And no conferences.”

But that’s how we develop our networks.  We have to go where the clients are, and they’re at those conferences. That’s why we attend them. We can see hundreds of clients and prospects in just a few days.  It’s incredibly efficient.

“We’ll see them next year.”

But that’ll be two straight years without seeing them.

“They’ll remember us.”

How? We’re not doing any of our other marketing. No public relations, no ads…,

“No advertising.”

But every study shows that organizations that advertise aggressively in a recession do much better than their non-advertising competitors.

“We’ll be fine this year.”

And they do better for many years after the recession too.

“We’ll start to advertise when things pick back up.”

But then EVERYONE will be advertising again!  We don’t get the big impact if everyone is ALSO doing it again.  Aren’t we trying to gain an advantage? Isn’t that the point?

“No, the point is to not look like we’re spending any money, so the people we fired won’t feel bad.”

They’re going to feel bad either way; they just got fired!

“We’re calling it ‘right-sized.'”

Isn’t that a term from the last recession?  A couple decades ago?

“It worked last time; it’ll work this time too.”

But this economy is different.  We have to act differently.

“I don’t understand your point.”

Just because it worked in 1994 doesn’t mean it’s going to work today.

“I’m still not following you.”

So what can we do?

“Get close to our top clients.”

But not in person.

“Not in person.”

Sure. What could possibly go wrong?