1) The document discusses alignment gaps between firm-wide leader expectations and marketing/business development capabilities during the pandemic, based on a survey. 2) The survey found that while traditional marketing/BD services require minor enhancements, larger gaps exist for commercial advisory skills like developing new services and pricing strategies. 3) The largest gaps were for sourcing new client opportunities and direct client approaches, indicating a need for recruiting specialists or consultants in sales and business development. 4) The Managing Partners' Forum chair recommends more frequent communication between marketing/BD directors and firm-wide leaders to ensure resources are aligned with shifting needs in the volatile market.

1. 12 pm | Winter 2020
research report
A
n essential part of any profes-
sional services marketer’s role
is aligning with stakeholder
expectations. Understanding
these and ensuring the function is
meeting business requirements while
advising on best practices is critical for
the success of BD and marketing teams,
and for the businesses they advise.
In many firms, BD and marketing
directors have historically checked-in on
needs and provided recommendations on
resourcing and investments primarily
during annual planning. The impact of
Covid-19 has been to rapidly move
markets, creating much uncertainty and
regular change. Not surprisingly, require-
ments for BD and marketing services
have also shifted substantially. In certain
situations, this has created a sizeable
‘Alignment Gap’ between what firm-wide
leaders want today, and existing capabili-
ties in some areas. More frequent reviews
of market conditions and how the func-
tion fits business need are now required.
Our survey says…
A survey of firm-wide leaders by the
Managing Partners’ Forum shines new
light on pandemic-era supply and
demand for marketing and BD services in
the professions. Thirty-seven such
leaders responded to the study in
November. They identified numerous
areas where limited additional assistance
is now needed, and five where supply
more significantly lags demand.
‘Traditional’ BD and marketing
communications
Four key areas were highlighted in the
‘traditional’ BD & MarComms discipline,
more time on their hands with home-
working and less billable hours, this pres-
ents an opportunity for the function to
have ‘face time’ and provide advice on
best practices. Again, resourcing tweaks
may be required, and perhaps external
training support may be useful. In
summary, survey respondents report that
‘traditional’ BD and MarComms disci-
plines require only incremental enhance-
ment, which is likely deliverable with
redeployment of resources and learning
opportunities in many situations.
Commercial advice
Commercial advisory skills in some firms
rest in dedicated Strategy groups. In
others, this skill set may sit with M&BD
teams. The Alignment Gaps between
supply and demand in this discipline
(shown in orange on the graph) are
greater than for traditional services,
implying a lack of resource in many
groups. Advice on ‘Developing New
Services’ showed a 21% gap, suggesting
that numerous firms are simply not
receiving sufficient support in this area
today. There is likely a need in certain
functions for recruitment or use of
external consultants to rapidly bring in
professionals who can help formulate
new commercial opportunities to serve
clients.
Advice on ‘Pricing’ shows a gap of
14%. Given that many firms are today
seeking to win work in challenging and
highly competitive markets, this need is
perhaps unsurprising. In some teams,
such expertise may rest with senior BD
staff, but in others, this may be an area
where additional resources or training
may be required. Finally, a 10% gap has
M&BD directors
willing to advise
leaders to act quickly
to resolve specific
alignment gaps will
give their firms the
best chance of
winning market
share.
Mind the ‘Alignment
Gap’
Firm-wide leaders’ expectations have shifted during the nine months
of the pandemic. Leor Franks believes that regular communication is
required to ensure the right resources are in place.
(shown in green on the graph). Firstly,
‘CRM’ support around maintaining and
updating client data was identified as
pretty much in line with current demand,
with a narrow Alignment Gap score of
6%. This suggests that CRM teams are
performing well, and only a little more
assistance in this area is required in
today’s environment. The next two typical
BD services on ‘Pitches’ and conventional
‘MarComms’ work on events and collat-
eral also show a small gap of 6%. Given
the recent upturn in market activity
levels, this is not unexpected. As many
firms had trimmed back on spend and
resource earlier in the year, additional
work is now needed to catch up. The
action required in this area is therefore
likely to be some limited fine-tuning of
resourcing.
Next, ‘Coaching of fee earners’ on BD
activity showed an 8% gap. Given that in
some firms, front line staff may now have
This article originally
appeared in PM magazine.
For further details go to
www.pmforum.co.uk

2. pm | Winter 2020 13
research report
short term, often reviewing internal func-
tions. But experience shows that merely
maintaining, let alone expanding, market
share in difficult conditions requires
investment, rather than cuts, in functions
such as M&BD. Data from the survey
shows that funding is most urgently
needed beyond ‘traditional’ core disci-
plines, where resources are seemingly
already on hand. Instead, new hires,
training or consultants are required by
many practices in areas that either
directly ‘touch’ clients, or those that
provide intelligence on market opportu-
nities.
Today, the professional services
industry press teems with stories of firms
reconfiguring fee earners to meet growing
demand. Restructuring teams are staffing
up, often redeploying professionals from
adjacent service lines, eg. transactions,
where volumes may be down. Similarly,
disputes focussed practices are seeing a
sizable uptick in case load as the fall-out
from the early months of the pandemic
becomes clearer. And overall law firm
revenues, for example, which fell
substantially in the first phase of the
crisis, picked up over the summer period,
only to fall back again in the autumn.
Having only recently cut costs, firm-
wide leaders will understandably pause
for thought about hiring senior non-fee
earning individuals at a time when
revenues are unpredictable, partners are
under pressure, and drawings are being
restricted. But forward-thinking leaders
may be willing to act strategically for the
long term and commit to such invest-
ments today. In many cases, it will be for
M&BD directors to push this point of
view. Based on precedents from the
dotcom crash and financial crisis, firms
able to make focussed spend now are the
most likely to not only defend existing
market share but potentially win clients
from those in retrenchment mode.
The challenge in many firms is the
understandable need to build consensus
and seek buy-in for investment. But
today, perhaps bold, decisive action is
required to succeed in these difficult
times. M&BD directors who are willing to
advise firm-wide leaders to act quickly to
resolve specific alignment gaps will give
their firms the best chance of winning
market share now, and in the future.
also been identified around ‘Change
Agent’ skills. This, in certain environ-
ments, sits within HR or Strategy func-
tions and is in demand today as practices
seek to keep pace with volatile and unpre-
dictable market conditions. Firms will
likely now want to look to bring in new
hires or consultants to remedy these
gaps, or at least supplement existing
colleagues with training, as current staff
may not have the skillset to provide such
advice and assistance.
Sales support
‘Sales’ is often a controversial term in
conventional professional service firms.
Leaving the debate on nomenclature
aside, firm-wide leaders identified the
largest Alignment Gaps in two key areas
(shown in red on the graph). Firstly,
around ‘Sourcing’ of new client opportu-
nities – intelligence gathering and
research services to bring potential
assignments to the attention of fee
earners. Here a sizeable gap of 30% is
shown, identifying that many respon-
dents are being significantly underserved
in this area. And secondly, a 24% gap in
‘Direct Client Approaches’, where BD
staff personally enter the market to build
relationships and win work.
In a period when many fee earners
may have less client-facing projects
coming in than at other times, provision
of such advice and support would typi-
cally be well received. The large gaps in
these two areas are most likely due to
historical planning decisions, in that indi-
viduals with research and sales skills are
often not on staff in conventional BD and
marketing teams. The urgent need for
recruitment of specialists, or the use of
consultants in this area (there are a
number of good quality firms operating
in the industry) is particularly clear.
What next?
In my role as Chair of the Strategy &
Marketing Group of the Managing
Partners’ Forum, I have had the opportu-
nity to discuss such challenges with
numerous M &BD directors. Collective
experience suggests that insights such as
the above, in the worst-case scenario may
lead to rather unconstructive partisan
‘finger-pointing’. Is the gap the conse-
quence of poor listening and planning on
the part of the ‘supply-side’, ie. function
directors? Or is it a result of insufficient
vision and investment from the ‘demand-
side’ of firm-wide leaders? In most situa-
tions, the reality may be a combination of
the two, amplified by the fast-moving
nature of the markets this year.
A little more than nine months ago,
the majority of BD directors and firm-
wide leaders were feeling comfortable
amidst strong trading conditions. The
sudden shift has, as with past economic
crashes, exposed the need for improved
communication and greater flexibility
and variety of skills. In many firms,
annual planning for resources and invest-
ments was the norm. Today, Finance
functions will no doubt be forecasting
revenue and cash balances on a monthly
or even weekly basis. M&BD directors
should now be checking in with leader-
ship with increased regularity to ensure
the Alignment Gap is narrowed, and wise
counsel is provided as needs flex.
In a highly volatile, unpredictable
market, countless firm-wide leaders have,
however, been looking to cut costs in the
Leor Franks is CMO at
Augusta, and Chair of the
Managing Partners’ Forum
Strategy & Marketing Group.