Karolina Šilingienė, Business Development and
Marketing Manager, Sorainen
Prior to the Law Firm Marketing Summit 2018, we caught up with Karolina Šilingienė, Business Development and Marketing Manager at Sorainen for her insight into the key challenges involved in marketing law firms in the current day.
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?
Lawyers believe in evidence, facts, and arguments. When a BD team demonstrates evidence, highlights personal benefits and is more advisory by showing easier ways, potential examples for recycling and experience of successful cases, then it is easier to find a thought leader and if a leader is persuasive enough it can create a snowball effect.
What do you believe is essential to creating a positive and effective content marketing strategy?
I believe effective content marketing has to cover the most important matters for your client and it has to Stand Up, Stand Out and Stand For. By demonstrating growth, uniqueness and meaning you can try to be remarkable. Someone once said that Marketing is a tax you pay for being unremarkable. It is us, BD&M professionals, who can get the most of it out of this inevitable tax.
What do you believe are the most common errors in customer relationship management?
I am a true believer that wilful blindness drives you straight to crash, therefore I see taking customers and their problems for granted as the biggest error in client relationship management. Every client is unique and different, lawyers need to find the best value propositions for each and every one.
Scepticism and sense of immediacy are typical personality traits of lawyers which are their enemies within. Usually, they know a solution right away when a client starts explaining one’s issues and it is a role of a BD specialist to impact lawyers’ DNA before they engage in action, and encourage them to take a flick of time and evaluate whether a proposed solution truly meets exact client needs and creates not only trust but a relationship that would last.
Looking at the agenda for the Law Firm Marketing Summit, which sessions [apart from your own, of course] are you most looking forward to?
I am looking forward to the “Change management: creating a marketing culture within your firm” session. I would appreciate even the tiniest advice on how to engage leaders and grow employee advocacy.
If you were to relocate to work in another country, which would you pick?
If I could pick, I would not choose a country, I would choose a magic circle firm just to experience a true force of an immense business development and marketing departments.
For more information, check out the agenda for the Law Firm Marketing Summit 2018.
