Shortly after September 11, a slice of uncertain Corporate America attended an International Advertising Association program, "The Global Economy: Looking Forward," in San Francisco. The question before the panel of San Francisco bureau chiefs from the Wall Street Journal, the Economist and the Financial Times was: How should they repackage themselves to remain viable before consumers?

"What's the message advertisers need to convey now that the economy is headed into a recession and the future is uncertain?"

"Value," was the resounding answer.

Today, a short six months later, pundits are beginning to question whether the recession was real. The cover of an upcoming issue of BusinessWeek touts the "Surprise Economy" and looks at the "new forces driving the turnaround." Still, one hopes the lesson sticks. We got so swept up by the new, new thing and the new, new brand that we forgot the value of the product or service we were selling--quality, dependability, confidence, integrity--all "human" characteristics.

Fortunately for law firms, the human "value" element is there. Instead of repackaging it, firms need to promote it more clearly and consistently in strategic, yet cost-effective, marketing and business development activities that are of "value" to the clients, i.e. that affect their bottom line.

Now is the time for firms, regardless of size, business objective or compensation structure, to reassess their marketing and business development plans and invest in those initiatives that are regular points of contact between them and their clients. Following are five ways to stay close to your clients.

Face-to-Face Programs

Conferences and other face-to-face programs are typically among the first things to be cut in an economic slump. Ironically, that's when clients (and law firms) need them the most. The growing signs of an economic recovery should serve as last chance warnings for firms that want "top-of-mind" status. Cost-conscious law firms can create and offer substantive client roundtables and workshops, free to clients, in a cost-effective manner.

Regularly scheduled, in-person, "off-the-clock," client roundtables provide forums for clients and attorneys to discuss openly a variety of client issues, business goals or even administrative issues on matter management or billing. Roundtables are a firm's golden opportunity not only to introduce clients to other key practice areas and lawyers but also to demonstrate to clients that it is a truly invested business partner.

Law firm-created workshops and seminars on topical, substitutive legal issues are also effective reminders to clients about the firm, its services and expertise and, most important, the person behind that expertise. In addition, they can be invaluable networking and business development opportunities for clients.

Today, a number of issues affect clients: the fallout of Enron, the continuing wave of reductions in force, alternative forms of financing, the resurgence of asbestos and now mold litigation, to name a few. Stuck for an idea? Call your top client and ask him or her what issues are most pressing. Concerned about going it alone? Consider collaborating with closely aligned industry leaders, which will enrich the substance of the program, attract more clients and prospects and defray overall program costs.

Save additional money by hosting the program in your office or at one of your clients' offices. Alternatively, many hotels, which have been hurt by the recent economic slump, are still willing to negotiate conference packages and provide optimal client service.

Technology

Web sites, extranets, e-billing, internal portals, knowledge management databases, matter management technology, cell phones, BlackBerrys, to name a few, are different types of marketing, business development and client service technology investments that directly affect how you communicate to your clients and how they perceive your firm.

Two marketing technologies to focus on are Web sites and internal portals.

Web sites, dynamic external promotional tools where clients and recruits can download everything from practice descriptions to video-streamed conferences and can order attorney publications with their credit cards, are becoming portals to client extranets and other online services. Such ancillary service requests are becoming more common, and the benefits to the client and firm can be great.

For instance, as part of its law firm consolidation, Heller Financial enlisted Winston & Strawn and its other legal providers to develop an encrypted extranet where Heller and its attorneys could safely share, house and manage client documentation. Before taking the plunge, however, conduct feasibility studies and test with pilot programs. Now is also the time to spruce up your site. Make it more user-friendly and a "go to" resource.

Likewise, Intranets or portals are becoming essential internal law firm marketing technology, allowing attorneys and marketing professionals to access disparate client and firm information easily from various programs and databases.

HubbardOne, a leading law firm Web site developer, for instance, is developing a portal for business development and tracking purposes by bringing together essential client accounting, contact information and matter management information, as well as pitch tracking and pitch packet generation tools into a highly organized and user-friendly format. Such technology can make business development initiatives more focused and efficient. Then again, technology is only as good as the data that's plugged in.

While not inexpensive, technology development is essential for keeping up with client demand. Keep costs down and the systems highly integrated with the firm's software and brand by leveraging from the talent in your information technology and marketing departments. In terms of overall aesthetic and design, look to ease of navigation as your guide and keep the design and layout simple, clear and brief, yet interesting.

Media

Looking beyond advertising, cost-conscious firms should invest in bolstering their press relationships. Good, consistent and targeted press is not only one of the most effective third-party endorsements, but also justification for client hiring decisions. By leveraging talent within the marketing department and key press-savvy attorneys, media development can be very inexpensive. Even if your firm looks to outside public relations firms, the benefits your firm can achieve will make up for the expense.

Some California law firms, such as Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison have designated marketing professionals, who exclusively oversee media relationships, including advertising and other communication objectives.

Other firms can easily develop a centralized media control center and protocol programs, where key marketing professionals collect firm statistics, standardize press intake and communication procedures, nurture press relationships with attorneys, train attorneys and staff in talking to the press, and capitalize on the wealth of good press opportunities within the firm. Likewise, attorneys should be nurturing their press relationships.

What forms of media do your clients read or watch? Effective press, for business development purposes, are law firm stories targeted to the decision-makers in the business community. In May 1998 and April 2000, both Inc. magazine and Fortune featured Venture Law Group as the "go-to" law firm for emerging company representation. Right magazines, right audience and right time.

Business media, however, are generally unfamiliar with law firms and legal issues and how they relate to Corporate America. Law firms should capitalize on this knowledge gap and develop media campaigns that address underlying business or litigation issues. For instance, approach your top client with a media campaign that would favorably highlight your unique business partnership. Targeted legal and business press would be receptive to a campaign that offers industry precedence and insight.

Training

Your attorneys, associates and partners are the most direct point of contact with your clients. They should convey the value of the firm to your clients through their responsive, accurate actions and their clear, consistent communication. Investing in communication and marketing training programs for your attorneys is more essential now than ever before.

While an initial investment may look expensive, especially if you are hiring an outside trainer, the rewards can be many: happier clients and boosted attorney morale. Also, trainers may be willing to negotiate discounted fees, especially if they will train in multiple offices, or they may be willing to train internal marketing professionals to be the trainers.

Training coaches should work closely with marketing and practice development professionals to develop comprehensive programs that not only respond to internal and external communication and marketing needs but also have a long shelf life, i.e., retain their value after the coach leaves.

If your firm has multiple offices, especially international ones, trainers should be sensitive to cultural or other "personality" issues within those offices. Also, if your firm is rolling out a new value or mission statement, incorporate that into the training program. The value statement will give the training greater context and the training will make the value statement stick.

Successful training programs are smaller, interactive ones, where attorneys get to test their communication and marketing skills and find their comfort level. Programs should demystify marketing, engage attorneys in client pitch or "beauty contest" scenarios and arm them with consultative selling skills, i.e. asking questions about business needs, as well as understanding personality and communication style differences and developing rapport.

While teaching attorneys how to sell the firm's services is important, the primary objective of training programs is to teach attorneys to be effective communicators and trusted client partners. That is what clients value.

Practice Integration

While Corporate America continues to consolidate its legal services to reduce overhead and manage legal matters more efficiently, law firms have virtually untapped pools of client consolidation candidates.

The term "cross-selling" has become a dirty word because it is tied to reasons why practice integration does not work, including difficult personalities, politics or lack of trust between partners. Focused leaders and a team of attorneys that appreciate the breadth of the firm's legal services, can overcome these obstacles.

Regular internal communication about a firm's services, wins, growth objectives and well-leveraged internal portal technology, as discussed above, can help enlighten attorneys about their own practice areas and clients the firm represents. Collaborative programs, such as client seminars and regularly scheduled practice group meetings, however, are the best venues for other practice group leaders to discuss their services and how they work with other firm practice groups.

Strong leadership and planning is essential to making practice integration work. On a semiannual basis, law firm leaders should sit down together and review accounting analyses of the firm's top 100 clients, broken down by practice and region, and do a comparative analysis of what additional services the firm can provide those companies.

With the client relationship partners, they should develop a plan to introduce the targeted client to the firm's other services, maybe at a client roundtable. Research the firms your target client uses for the practices or regions your firm doesn't service. Develop incentive packages, such as discounted pricing and/or development of ancillary technology services, and strategic alliances with other firms with whom the client is wedded, and develop a series of arguments why consolidation can be a smart, cost-effective change for them.

If nothing else, your client will appreciate how much his or her company means to your firm and the client-service standards you have set, and he or she will always keep the offer in mind and may benchmark its other firms by the standards your firm has set. Acknowledge attorney participation in such strategic planning initiatives. The growth of the firm and the welfare of clients depend on a strong, united team.

Values are, in effect, the sum of old behavior, but they also can be the denominator of new behavior. Proactively developing and executing well-defined marketing and business development initiatives can help refocus and reenergize your firm and get you closer to your clients.