Client communications - On The Edge Digital file“Customer expectations are shifting...
Transcript of Client communications - On The Edge Digital file“Customer expectations are shifting...
Client communications
1991
2016
“Customer expectations are shifting dramatically.
They are not necessarily being shaped by peer-
competitor banks. They are being shaped by
Apple. They are being shaped by Google.”
Jim Smith, EVP of virtual channels at Wells Fargo
Why bother?
Client communications
Objective is to provide our contacts with relevant content in a timely manner that will assist them in
their daily duties while having a favourable opinion of us.
getting “us in the door”
underpinning and enhancing the client relationship
increasing “visibility”
developing reputation
content – moving away from local, technical content to more themes around cross border, cross
practice issues.
What are we trying to achieve
Absolute must do
Approach
Ideas generation – strategy.
Create an editorial board to develop, screen and
select ideas that Links should be associated with
Content generation – development.
Develop ideas into compelling, relevant editorial
(industry experts, 3rd party contributions,
proprietary research)
Creative treatment & packaging –
implementation.
White papers, reports, email marketing, video
content, webinars, publications (online/print),
events, media relations, advertising, pitch
materials
Distribution & evaluation – measurement.
Targeting of audiences, press coverage, online
measurement, attendance at events, how material
was recycled across network.
Build infrastructure to help develop and deliver themes/issues that are important to our clients.
Volume of material per type per quarter
Type Americas Asia EEMENA Germany UK WEELEG Total
NY Brazil China HK Japan Thailand Dubai Moscow Warsaw F&P Commercial Corporate Belgium France Italy Lux Netherlands Spain Sweden
Newsletter
(no. of
issues)
9 3 26 18 6 9 5 76
Hot Topic/
Stop
Press/
Flash
2 1 11 13 1 7 53 31 11 25 8 9 1 8 1 8 11 201
Technical
bulletin10 1 3 8 1 1 2 13 4 1 2 46
Total 12 10 12 16 9 1 1 2 7 69 31 41 43 8 16 1 17 1 8 18 323
Total 22 38 10 69 115 69
Definition
Newsletter: Several articles summarising key issues across practice/geography. They can be viewed as a pdf or as a web
publication (similar to briefing)
Technical Bulletin: Detailed written report on a specific area of law or legal issue circulated either as an email attachment or
viewed through a website (similar to Legal Analysis, Guidance Notes)
Stop Press: Distributed as an email that contains a short summary and a link through to either a briefing or report document
(similar to Hot Topic and Flash)
Current communications are not targeted - we currently have no way of determining
when, who and how frequently clients received and/or open communications from
Therefore the data is inconclusive as it can’t be analysed further – this is addressed in
recommendations
What does this tell us
Communications audit brief and process
Review, map and audit all existing client
communications to identify what constitutes
good and supports firm strategy
Identify examples of excellence and best
practice and develop less but better material
To make recommendations to secure the
maximum effectiveness of the firm’s marketing
collateral in the future
Review our publications processes and bring
governance to how we coordinate our
communications with clients.
Phone interviews with the following clients:
Deutsche Bank
Vodafone
in-house counsel, Morgan Stanley
in-house counsel, BAE Systems plc
HSBC
and with a selection of authors of
communication pieces
The greatest legacies are created by those who ask
‘Can this be done better?’
They guard information too much given the
amount of money we spend with them. We
want information they have to be freely
available.
We spend loads of money with them
but they don’t actually produce
newsletters in the areas we
specialise in.
The pieces we value the most are the ones we
specifically request to be written for us. These are
the most tailored.
Pithy, attractive and
relevant is what is key.
We want to have more tailored content. That
would be much more useful for us. It would be
great to know they are going that extra mile for
us.
… The communication pieces that stand out are the ones that are tailored.
It is as simple as that…
Waffly headlines do not help: If I
do not understand the headline,
I don’t bother opening the
piece.
Aesthetically pleasing is
important. If it looks ugly, my
team and I are not going to
bother reading it.
Am I getting anything new relative to
other law firms? No
They do not offer up as much
content as others. That grates a
little.
I am not put off by weightiness. I like it and
you know what…every so often a firm
comes up with a big piece that makes a
real difference.
They are doing some things
very well. The weekly corporate
update is very useful.
It is always useful to have the analysis:
Tying the facts down to how they will
impact our business is very important to
us.
So what do the clients really think?
In summary
A very crowded space - every competitor wants to “own” content
Level of comment and analysis on communication pieces is variable
Tailored and relevant is the ultimate ambition from our clients perspective
Inconsistent format of templates
10 different external templates – confusion – no guidance on use of existing templates leading to
widespread interpretation
Authors are often writing for both internal and external audiences with same piece
No style guide for tone of voice
Reason for producing material often unclear
Templates are designed to be printed - but are mostly distributed electronically
Level of comment and analysis variable
Need for greater understanding of value - either in-depth analysis vs. first to market. Don’t get
stuck in the middle
Sign off process can be long
No visibility or sharing centrally of what is being planned or produced
No way of tracking who has been sent what or monitoring recipients activity/response
Current situation - client publications
Recommendations
Build out central mailing service capability to coordinate and undertake all mailings for the firm
Implementation of client comms portal (HighQ). This portal will allow clients to self select which
publications they wish to receive
PSL and Marketing training programme around use of new templates, procedures and writing
skills
Agree proposal on sign off protocol
Review and streamline client communication templates
Implementation
Stage 1
Proposed templates
Agree on a proposal to consolidate templates
including clear guidance notes for
1. use of templates
2. tone of voice
3. distribution
4. optimum time to email clients e.g. Tuesday
morning (not Friday evening) and frequency of
mailings to each client.
Author briefing template
Create a standard briefing template to ensure all
collateral is produced to the same specification
PSL/Marketing best practice
Pilot PSL/Marketing best practice – Corporate UK
Sign off protocol
Agree proposal on sign off protocol
Stage 1: author briefing template
Before producing a stand alone publication, PSL/author must answer following points.
1. Objective of communication and short abstract
2. Defined target audience criteria (by sector/job title/geography)
3. Proposed circulation date
4. Confirmation on partners that will sign off
5. Name of marketing person coordinating distribution list
Customer Experience is
the next frontier