Trends for Legal Marketers in 2021
2021 has been an interesting year for the law firm marketing industry, like many others. There has been substantial change and trends that have been developing. These trends were discussed by legal marketing professionals during a recent Legal Marketing Association Webinar. Featured in this webinar was;
Alison Janzen - Torkin Manes LLP
Chandler Lauzon - Bennett Jones LLP
Terry Moore - Cox & Palmer
Sharon Murray - Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP
Brenda Plowman - Fasken
Strategy for Task Completion
When completing a task in 2021, the way firms have been going about it has completely changed. Most firms are still choosing to work remotely due to the current pandemic. With this being said, the way individuals communicate has to be adapted. “Many employees are working from different parts of the world and different time zones, so it can often be difficult to complete tasks the way people are used to,” says Sharon Murray.
The main way employees have been completing group tasks is online over Zoom calls and using shared Google Docs. When discussing this, many of the speakers stated this strategy of completing tasks often causes miscommunication. In the context of legal marketers there is not a lot of room for miscommunication. “To ensure accuracy the firm put together a COVID resource center,” says Alison Janzen. Many of their clients are working with strict deadlines and sensitive information.
A trend in regards to strategies of completing work in 2021 has been the shift towards more individual tasks. Instead of focusing on large tasks as a group, it is often broken into smaller work loads to be completed by an individual. This allows for employees to complete work on their own schedule and not have to fear miscommunication errors.
Nurture Leads
In business it is very important to create and maintain relationships with your clients. This is what makes them faithful business partners and ensures they do not switch firms. “Now more than ever it is important to establish relationships and personal connections,” believes Terry Moore. The process of maintaining and creating relationships has changed throughout the year.
Due to the current situation, prospective clients may never meet in person with Account Managers. This has changed the way the relationships form. Most of the relationships with clients are now strictly online. This can be difficult because it is now becoming harder than ever to establish trust. In the past Account Managers would often meet with clients in a very casual setting to understand one another and their needs, but this is no longer a trend in 2021.
Lead nurturing is now becoming more of a taught skill than a natural ability. Regardless of how much someone may be a “people person,” their ability to communicate online means more. This comes down to how they can incorporate their personality into emails and how charming they can be over Zoom.
Internal E-Newsletters
A new trend this year is the use of Internal Newsletters. Many firms are doing this to stay up to date with more personal manners. “Employers know and understand the value of in person relationships and how they vary from online ones. Right now it is important to have all hands on deck,” says Brenda Plowman.
When discussing 2021 trends, a recurring topic was mental health and its importance. These Internal Newsletters often contain resources such as fun and engaging activities that can be completed at home with your family. Some of these newsletters even contain recipes that can be tried from simple ingredients in your home.
The purpose of these Internal Newsletters is to restore the sense of community and connection that has been lost during the pandemic. It is easy for employees to feel lonely and isolated during these times. These curated Internal Newsletters are to remind employees that they are indeed not alone.
Future Remote Working
When discussing remote working in Law firm marketing, a trend that was recurring was the topic of employees mental health. Many stated that there were increased feelings of loneliness that affected their productivity levels. Many employees made it present that in the year of 2021 they are not feeling the same internal motivation to complete tasks that they felt in past years.
A trend for years to come that was discussed was the increase of remote working. Many firms believe that even post pandemic there will be a shift to more remote working. It allows for employees to work from different parts of the world and be in different time zones. It will also cut down on costs to the firms and increase productivity. Chandler Lauzon stated that “I have grown to appreciate remote working as I feel less time is wasted.”
2021 has been a year of significant change and new trends are occurring. It is interesting to predict which may stay post pandemic and which will become obsolete in the future. Trends in Law Firm Marketing are applicable to other industries and businesses and taking them into account can be very beneficial. For more information about the Legal Marketing Association, visit their website.
Written by Zaniah Friesen