Andrea Miskolczi, Chief Business Development & Marketing Officer, Wolf Theiss
We caught up with Andrea Miskolczi, Chief Business Development & Marketing Officer at Wolf Theiss, ahead of her participation at the Law Firm Marketing Summit. Andrea joins us this November as the chair of our incisive panel on the applications and possible future of legal tech.
When you look at how other professional services sectors are adapting their marketing and business development strategies to changing market conditions, what do you feel the legal sector should be emulating?
Innovation, particularly in client relationship management and service delivery, must start with talking to and listening to clients. Far too many law firms start innovative BD ideas in hidden back offices without client input or even as a response to a competitor’s press release. Knowing your clients and their needs allows you to think with their minds, to discover their real needs and come up with value adding opportunities, i.e. the real ‘jobs-to-be-done.
What do you think is the biggest single challenge threatening the profitable future of law firms?
Not taking the opportunity to review business models, to consider change and innovation in the light of / as a response to changing client demands, technological developments and the disruption coming along with these trends.
One of the biggest challenges for marketing and business development teams working within law firms is to engage the managing partners in the process – what’s your personal tip for getting this to work?
Start with small steps, quick wins, deliver results. If possible, start with an area that many partners support or see as an area to develop. Your success is the managing partner’s success. He/she is happy if the partners are happy. In that way, you can win him/her as a sponsor / change agent for larger projects, bigger investments or changes.
What do you believe is essential to creating a positive and effective content marketing strategy?
We must understand that ‘push’ marketing does not work any longer and must adapt to ‘pull’ marketing. Observe how people get information and know-how and adapt it for sharing legal information and know-how. Keep in mind that it must be relevant and a potential lead generator, so keep it simple and thought-provoking.
What do you believe are the most common errors in customer relationship management?
Lack of collaboration by partners, silo mentality, the ‘my client’ approach. These are partly cultural, partly supported by performance management / remuneration systems.
Looking at the agenda for the Law Firm Marketing Summit, which sessions [apart from your own, of course] are you most looking forward to?
Understanding the client perspective
If you were to relocate to work in another country, which would you pick?
Spain!
For more information on the Law Firm Marketing Summit, view our agenda for 2018.
