Rob Chamberlain, Senior Marketing & Business Development Manager, Eversheds Sutherland
We caught up with Rob Chamberlain, Senior Marketing & Business Development Manager at Eversheds Sutherland, ahead of his participation in the Law Firm Marketing Summit, where he will be part of a panel exploring partner engagement in a marketing culture.
What do you think is the biggest single challenge threatening the profitable future of law firms
Definitely inertia about disruptive business models within the sector. Firms that innovate to focus on helping clients achieve success are the ones who will protect margins. Those that stand still, or treat their entire product portfolio as a commodity – effectively entering the race to the bottom – will suffer.
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?
I’m not sure we should necessarily be emulating others – why not try to do things that others want to emulate. I think the beauty of being a marketer/business development professional in the legal sector is the fact that we marry many of the traditional methods with new – often digital – approaches. We haven’t yet forgotten that we still operate in a market where knowledge is the currency procured by people from people (in the main!) and that digital techniques must compliment this, not replace it.
If there is one area I think we should improve upon as an industry it’s social selling and the concept of developing business through your network.
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?
I think if your aim is to engage your managing partner, you’re probably missing the point. I have a healthy relationship with Eversheds Sutherland’s managing partner and this is based on the outputs he sees as a result of focusing on our clients and working with our partners and practice group heads to deliver that. Do the right things well and they will naturally engage.
What do you believe is essential to creating a positive and effective content marketing strategy?
Having something different to say, or at the very least a considered view that adds value to the content being put out. Beyond that it’s the basics of content marketing; regularity, multi-channel and aligned to the information your audience wants to consume.
What do you believe are the most common errors in customer relationship management?
Not treating it as a relationship. This speaks to not taking the time to understand client organisations and sectors, not devoting enough time to understand aims and objectives of those organisations and your contacts within them – often we miss this last point.
Looking at the agenda for the Law Firm Marketing Summit, which sessions [apart from your own, of course] are you most looking forward to?
International trends
Using technology to enhance the client experience
If you were to relocate to work in another country, which would you pick?
The United States (specifically New York) or France (Specifically Paris)
For more information, check out the agenda for the Law Firm Marketing Summit 2018.
