The gameplan for marketing keeps mutating. And, during COVID-19 times, with so many businesses failing, survival of the fittest keeps requiring new plays.
While some law firms are engaged in the bonus wars others are still wobbly.
Sure, for certain players, the tactics can still include publishing a book. Venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal Peter Thiel put out there "Zero to One." That was in 2014. Currently it still ranks high on Amazon - 8,140. Expect an uptick.
In that guide for entrepreneurs, Thiel discusses applying to clerk for two justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, being rejected and lessons learned. Given the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, sales of any book reflecting on SCOTUS dynamics are bound to soar.
In addition, if layoffs become the norm should COVID-19 circle back or a contested election throws the world economy into disarray, those in the RIF loop will have to reflect on what Thiel had to find out. Namely that a setback can be opportunity. Those suffering that blow have upped the odds of winding up on their right career path.
Here's another kind of lesson to learn. Public affairs Manhattan boutique owner Bob Dilenschneider published "Decisions" on December 31, 2019. Currently it ranks quite low on Amazon - 1,024,555. That makes publishing a book, at least for Dilenschneider, a - not a +. His shop does have a niche for the public opinion aspect of litigation as well as tort reform. The Dilenschneider Group helped promote Philip Howard's "The Death of Common Sense."
You bet, book publishing is risky for the non-Thiels as well as the non-Woodwards. Sales are made public on Amazon. That is information available to the author's competitors and enemies. Prospects for the author's services are also aware of the rankings. In America, we count. That's why resume experts hammer to quantify accomplishments. Your team's wins and settlements totaled X amount for 2019.
What Dilenschneider ignored was this: All the other cool marketing tactics he could have invested his resources in. They include podcasting, YouTubing and Instagram. The content of those could have been entertaining.
The essence of marketing is a distraction from the existential tragedy that is life. Ginsburg, like all human beings, really did die.
The marketing message is supposed to lift the targeted demographics from focusing on what is to the promise of what could be. That ability characterized Don Draper's creative talent in AMC's programming "Mad Men."
Successful marketing is actually a process of not-marketing. The response is built-in. The targets respond, kind of on autopilot. And it transcends the inherent hatred of being sold to that iconic Harvard professor Ted Levitt warned about. He made famous the meme Marketing and Its Discontents.
In constructing his gameplan for 2021, Dilenschneider can dismantle his in-place marketing machine and conjure up the voodoo of sales w/o selling. So can law firms.
The genius in that category is chairman of law firm Paul, Weiss Brad Karp. Each and every outreach doesn't look, walk, talk or smell like marketing. Those range from social justice initiatives to acquiring brandname laterals from his competitors. There is no heavy-handed marketing imprint.
When I consult with displaced lawyers for my career coaching services, early into the session it is usually appropriate to introduce the question: Have you considered experimenting with how you are marketing yourself?
Their answer is always "yes." That is because the answers for our economic survival are always within us. Otherwise, caveman wouldn't have had endured long enough to produce the next generation of the human species.
If what's inside you is sending out signals to assess your marketing, then Stop, Listen, and experiment. Most things in business don't pan out. All that's needed are for a few to produce results.
Small changes can have big impacts. Results-driven career coaching. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download UnleashingPossibilitywithJaneGenovaCareerCoaching