Digital White Papers

MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 17 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER Admit it: You would always like to have the latest and greatest technology at your fingertips. Who wants to work with old tools when the new tools look so alluring and easy to use? But maybe you cannot have the latest and greatest because of budget, time or other reason. You can still find a way to get the job done with what you have. A Little Perspective Legal marketers have been common in Big Law for years; but over the last decade, small to midsize firms are also finding value in hiring dedicated marketing and business development professionals. As the hiring trend continues to rise, the tools these marketers use continue to get more sophisticated and technologically advanced. Unfortunately, they also seem to get more expensive, especially for smaller firms. Further, the tools being utilized are not always best-suited to the legal profession. This can lead to frustration and wasted time, which can ultimately lead to the belief that buying new products will fix the problem. I struggled with this oen and was continuously bringing new programs to my director to discuss for next year's budget. But deploying new tools comes with a price. Many legal marketing tools overlap significantly with processes once strictly associated with information technology (IT), and these tools must have supporting technology infrastructure. This makes legal marketing tools a much broader category than knowledge management or IT, and legal marketers can have a harder time selling their "need" to firm management when that new and shiny thing comes along. Oen marketing departments in law firms, especially midsize ones, struggle to find a balance between usability, efficiency and functionality of tools. All of this is weighed against cost factors, such as initial purchase price, integrated modules, rollout materials, training and myriad others. Combined with the fact that some of your users will not be thrilled about learning the new technology, marketing staff must do all it can to ensure the purchase is absolutely necessary. by Rachel Sindorf of Cairncross & Hempelmann, P.S. When You Cannot Have the Bright, Shiny New Thing When You Cannot Have the Bright, Shiny New Thing

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