If you’re a marketer, then this probably isn’t breaking news to you: costs are rising, and budgets are shrinking.
What is new? The demand for multichannel marketing and the number of paths to consider keeps growing. That means doing more with less, and we’re here to help. By investing your budget in strategic projects rather than diluting scarce resources, your marketing spend will have more impact. Here are the key areas we’ve identified as valuable investments for 2024:
- Brand audits. How is your brand performing from your clients’ perspectives and in comparison to your competitors? In today’s fast-changing marketplace, many organizations are realizing that their messaging lacks relevance to key audiences and fails to differentiate them effectively. Conducting a brand audit can be instrumental in honing your positioning and ensuring that your messaging aligns with your promise of value.
- Website refreshes. A full website redesign can be a costly and time-consuming endeavor and may not always be necessary. Consider a more limited website refresh to address usability issues while revitalizing a dated design. A website refresh is also a great time to address important UI/UX trends. For example, an early preview of our latest Top of Mind research (based on a biennial survey of 100+ legal services buyers) shows a growing interest in personalization among key audiences. More than half of the buyers surveyed said they’d be willing to share information about themselves and their needs in exchange for a personalized website experience. Enabling your landing page to display personalized content can help you create a more valuable experience for your audience.
More than half of the buyers surveyed are willing to share information about themselves and their needs in exchange for a personalized website experience.
- Practice and special initiative campaigns. Professional services organizations are actively seeking fresh approaches to attract and engage targeted audiences, such as campaigns aimed at recruitment, special initiatives, specific geographic regions or industry-focused services. Be it a microsite, focused business development collateral, video, digital advertising or a combination of activities, specialized campaigns will be a priority for many organizations in 2024.
- Content development and design. The foundation of successful marketing communications lies in effective storytelling. But simply reciting a set of facts doesn’t make for a great story. Creating a strong brand relationship depends on the story you build to illustrate your value promise. This is especially true for organizations that don’t sell something that can fit into a box. To attract and engage your target audiences, update your content to ensure that it holds genuine value and pays off your brand messaging.
- Video. Our Top of Mind survey preview also showed that buyers crave a human touch when consuming content online — more than 80% are likely to watch a video that introduces a real person on a law firm website. By providing a touchpoint that’s notably more personal, short, “snackable” videos are an effective and engaging tool that give buyers an early connection with your lawyers and a taste of what it will be like to work with them. For added value, videos can also be shared across social media platforms, in newsletters or in emails.
- Digital brochures. Interactive digital brochures are powerful and cost-effective tools that leave a lasting impression on prospective clients. Combining the interactivity of a website with the depth of a publication, digital brochures are an impactful way to showcase your most valuable and important content. Whether it’s a firm overview, a survey or benchmarking piece, or an annual report, digital brochures should be on your short list in 2024.
Want more ideas? With the end of the year fast approaching, now is the time to make sure your firm’s 2024 budget includes your high-priority strategic marketing investments. Get a jump start today by scheduling a meeting with Dawn Michalak, Director of Business Development.