BD/marketing leaders 2024
reports|July 2024What does law firm MBD most need to go further or faster?
INSIDE
Law firm business development and marketing leaders on why their organisations must invest in the strategic management and understanding of data to deliver more focused and fruitful firm-wide client relationships
WHAT'S ALL THIS?
Briefing business development and marketing (MBD) leaders is our annual survey and interview-based research, tracking progress against the biggest senior leadership and firm investment/transformation challenges — from harnessing data more effectively to understanding growth opportunities, and building a better-connected and more consistent client journey across the firm.
Read the full report in the Briefing app here. Discover:
- Do MBD leaders have the necessary influence on strategic decision-making, which other factors do they feel are holding them back, and in which areas would they focus additional resource/roles for maximum business impact?
- How confident are they that the firm’s approach to data is gearing them up for success, where would they see value in getting hold of more, and can it be used to mould a more efficient marketing machine by applying the latest in artificial intelligence?
- Is there a framework for delivering a consistent client journey through the firm, and how well are firms able to measure success in client acquisition, retention and growth?
Read on for the full picture, with abundant insight from Briefing firm leaders facing these forces and balancing business priorities across both day-to-day delivery and strategic decision-making — and the perspective on transformation still needed from our expert report partner Intapp.
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Or you can download, read and share the research as a pdf here.
The top challenge for MBD leaders in 2024 — and a theme throughout the report — is securing reliable data with which they can plan, monitor performance, and make decisions (47%). A similar number say they’re challenged by either availability or capability/skills of talent within their teams (44%) — and likely connected but unsurprising, almost two-fifths face budget constraints.
Leaders in 2024 are less confident in their firm’s “data maturity” than they were in 2023 (although just over a fifth remain confident). Almost half (48%) are now less than 50/50 on the question — a considerable increase from under a third (31%) saying this was the position in 2023. The extent of the challenge may have become clearer to decision makers, or those at the coalface of client relationships, over the last 12 months.
Consistent with results in 2023, almost two-fifths (39%) of leaders say the notion of an established map/framework guiding a single client’s experience across the business remains a ‘work in progress’. However, nearly a third (30%) say they could point to something of substance as a reference point here — an increase from a fifth in 2022.
Recent years have perhaps seen more of the MBD team’s energy prioritised into this space, with levels of consistency across the full suite of client interactions, areas where technology could support the experience, including possible points for direct information access and self-service — and of course, effective collaboration and cross-selling across areas and offices — all seen as key to growth.
