I scan the media regularly to capture insights into the latest marketing and business development (BD) strategies and campaigns in professional services. Delegates on my public and inhouse training sessions often ask for case studies into what their peers and competitors are doing. Case studies allow you to compare and benchmark your firm’s performance in areas such as web site traffic, email, social media, lead generation and conversion and ROI. And case studies can inspire creativity. So here’s a roundup of marketing and BD case studies in legal, accountancy, consultancy and property firms – both large and small. They span topics such as AI, brands, thought leadership, digital marketing, social media, internal communications, advertising and sponsorship.
Law firms
Herbert Smith Freehills – Sponsorship
In PM Magazine (January/February 2024) the firm described its sponsorship of the relaunched National Portrait Gallery’s flagship portrait award – a painting competition to profile leading artists of portraiture.
It follows its sponsorship when the Gallery reopened its doors after a three-year renovation programme. The exhibition has been seen by more than six million people since its inception 45 years ago. Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024 – National Portrait Gallery (npg.org.uk)
Taylor Wessing pioneered professional services firms’ relationships with the National Portrait Gallery in 2008 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize – Wikipedia. It continues to support the photo portrait prize Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 – National Portrait Gallery (npg.org.uk)
Simmons and Simmons – Internal AI engagement and media relations
In November 2023, the firm launched “Percy” (named after one of the founders of the firm) – an Open AI GPT 4 for internal use only. It has been modified to align with the work of the firm – with added safety and security (third parties are unable to access the information).
There’s a programme of staff training in its use to support client and internal work (e.g. composing responses, summarising text and drafting documents) – creating a strong culture of AI literacy. Simmons launches “Percy” – its advanced Generative AI tool | Simmons & Simmons (simmons-simmons.com).
Also at Simmons, Clare Rodway (a leading legal sector PR professional) interviewed Laura Klysz in November 2023 as part of her series of conversations with law firm CMOs in conjunction with New Law Journal. The Conversation: Laura Klysz | LinkedIn.
Laura discussed her approach to their marketing mix and giving partners the confidence to sell as well as well as communications with external audiences. Her focus is on facilitating face-to-face contact and supporting strategic conversations with clients, prospects and referrers. She encourages lawyers to get under the skin of clients through dialogue and by asking the right questions. Ther’s also a focus on media relations so that the firm’s authority is underwritten by articles in FT or Bloomberg. She refers back to the firm’s business plan constantly and limits central support for activities outside the strategic scope.
Addleshaw Goddard – Creative thought leadership
The firm won a gold award in the 2023 B2B Marketing Awards for “Best use of creative” for its ‘Perfect Harmony’ campaign.
“In what is quite possibly a B2B marketing first, law firm Addleshaw Goddard turned traditional tactics on their head by launching the first ever legal thought leadership campaign recorded in a music studio.
Interviewing over 110 business leaders at large companies, the firm uncovered more than a dozen practical, human-centric insights into how company legal teams can add even more strategic value to their Boards and Executive teams. Pivotally, it revealed that companies report far better harmony when a General Counsel (GC) is involved in strategic projects. And Addleshaw Goddard brought that core finding to life in an utterly unique and evocative way…
The firm invited musicians to record songs inspired by the research. But there was a twist… With the G and C notes removed from the music, the songs sounded terrible and lost their meaning – dramatically underlining that ‘everything is better with the GC.’
That distinctive approach to thought leadership struck a chord with business leaders, earning thousands of content views, driving contact with hundreds of senior businesspeople, and earning immediate new work”.
The firm also won bronze for ‘Fish and Chipmunks’ campaign which addressed the growing market demand for freelance lawyers.
Who won at The B2B Marketing Awards 2023? Check out the full list of winners here – B2B Marketing
CMS – Rebrand and advertising
A March LinkedIn post mentioned the rebrand and advertising at CMS. With the brand focusing on a simple message “Law – Tax – Future”, the advertising message throughout London was “Tomorrow started yesterday* (*and so did we)”.
Workshops explored CMS’s style and culture to understand how different parts of the firm see the future for their clients. They took these inputs and developed new high-level messaging and a refreshed creative identity that brands CMS as a future-facing law firm.
They created an internal launch campaign for CMS’s global partners’ summit and an internal competition that showcased the most exciting work from around the firm.
Gather agency posted a case study CMS brand identity – Gather in November 2022.
Womble Bond Dickinson – Advertising campaign
The stunning photos representing the “Fresh perspectives” campaign marks the five-year anniversary of Bond Dickinson’s combination with American firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice.
Themes included the consistency of teams and speaking the clients’ language. Veteran professional services marketer Lee Gunnell (CMO) – working with McCann Agency – developed the creative campaign to raise awareness while repositioning the firm from regional to international player. A key message was “A transatlantic firm closer to home”.
There was research on the key points of difference – and they identified that the strongest asset was its people. The minimalistic adverts showcase the diverse range of backgrounds, experience and viewpoints within the firm.
The campaign launched in major media outlets including The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Economist in November alongside a social media campaign on LinkedIn. Adverts will also be displayed on taxis in London and Edinburgh next year.
Womble Bond Dickinson – Advertising campaign
Mills & Reeve – Sector thought leadership campaign
This campaign to support the tech sector was described in PM Magazine (March/April 2024). The firm needed an integral pan-regional campaign (Golden Triangle, Midlands and Northern Powerhouse) to showcase tech sector expertise across multiple channels. Services include an affordable Launchpad service for start-ups to tailored advice for multinational technology giants and investors. The campaign was timed to coincide with the appointment of a new tech sector lead partner.
The umbrella theme is uncovering the “Fast growth secrets” of technology clients. The campaign showcases some of the UK’s most dynamic and innovative tech businesses. Each office had an appropriate discussion theme creating content for thought leadership and digital campaigns:
- Cambridge – Focus on successful tech founders and investors who had grown businesses by protecting intellectual property (IP) and navigating from start up to scale up
- Oxford – Collaboration with a local firm of accountants comparing tech businesses with those in Cambridge and nationally and inspiring the next generation of science and technology entrepreneurs
- London – Helping fast growth tech companies embed ESG into the DNA of their operations for competitive advantage, employee engagement and retention
- Manchester – Featuring companies that made it into Top Tech North West (a legacy Mills & Reeve campaign). This will be followed by Midlands and Norwich campaigns.
They used a simple model developed requiring minimal partner and lawyer input. This involved hosting curated roundtables of tech business leaders, policymakers, multipliers and decision makers within the local ecosystem. Dinner discussions were recorded under Chatham House Rules and used for PR and social media engagement. Podcasts positioned them as experts.
The team also created a BD toolkit to help lawyers use the programme to create more noise. This featured key messages around the rationale of the campaign, how to engage with social media activity and identify relevant clients and contacts to whom to send personalised copies of the report.
Mills & Reeve – Sector thought leadership campaign
Browne Jacobson – Marketing Team of the Year award
The firm won Marketing Team of the Year at The Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Awards. Caroline Sumnall, Client and Marketing Director at Browne Jacobson said:
“We’re thrilled to have been recognised at this year’s Northern Powerhouse Awards. It’s been a huge year for us with our firmwide rebrand and our #BeingBrowneJacobson campaign, which has put the spotlight on the brilliant work of individuals across the whole firm. The successes of our BD and Marketing team have been fantastic, and these awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone across the team. We’re looking forward to continuing to drive this momentum throughout 2024.”
Browne Jacobson win at The Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Awards
Higgs LLP – Digital marketing
This 240-person Midlands law firm was mentioned in PM Magazine (November/December 2023). Revenue from digital channels in the first nine months of the new Head of Digital Marketing was more than all the digital revenues the firm had previously earned. Digital marketing is generating over £1m a year and Higgs’ total income rose nearly 15% last year to £19.8m.
The web site is the foundation of the strategy – portraying the brand, achieving Google rankings and creating conversions. There was a four-phase project agreed with the partners with the new web site and rebrand launched in 2023.
A key programme was training 144 lawyers to write in a way that maximises effectiveness in the online world. The training helped lawyers understand user intent – so they now think about the search terms used by potential readers. Most teams have a content plan. One feature article is averaging 2,000 Google searches a month.
Stephen Rimmer – Social media
Consortium Marketing produced a case study in March 2024 about this 1981-established full-service law firm (a member of LawNet) with offices in Eastbourne and Hastings.
There are 100 staff and most growth was built on recommendations. The firm wanted to extend its profile – and started working with Consortium in December 2020. It had previously invested in SEO, creating keyword-building content and social media presence. It had advertised in local publications and exhibited at The Good Life and Lifestyle Show.
Enquiry and conversion rates were important but had insufficient metrics. They identified the target audience and built a new strategy with a 21 month plan. This included building a database and regular communications, an internal newsletter to maximise staff engagement, award entries for recruitment and more web site and social media content.
Social media channels grew to double their initial following – in 2023 Instagram followers grew by 20%. The firm won the Modern Law Conveyancing Firm of the Year (South) in November 2023. And was shortlisted for a LawNet award for excellence in client care.
Bates Wells – Web site development
Bates Wells asked agency Base Creative to help align its web site with its new brand and persona.
The agency investigated existing user behaviour and researched search competitors. They created a site representing the brand which is intuitive to use and performs well against targets. They achieved a 44% drop in bounce rate and a 20% increase in visitor retention.
Bates Wells | Law firm website case study | Base Creative
Symes Bains Broomer – Digital marketing strategy
Symes Bains Broomer – a Lincolnshire and Yorkshire law firm has 50 staff (led by four partners) and is a member of LawNet. The firm had one support person who juggled marketing related activities such as social media, SEO and sponsorships.
The firm had monthly meetings with a marketing agency to forge a strong relationship. A marketing strategy was developed that addressed its goals and achieved competitive advantage by expanding the digital business and driving online growth.
A consistent social media posting schedule was established – with added social media graphics and a formal yet friendly tone of voice. This included three posts a week during the first six months focusing on family and residential departments.
Monthly emails for staff and external contacts were established that needed little input from the firm.
Staff training was provided to upskill staff on the use of LinkedIn and networking. Events were organised for the new Goole office. Then they turned their attention to sponsorship, charity efforts and events.
The firm’s LinkedIn following increased by more than 40%. The more structured approach to regular mailings increased the firm’s open rate to 40%-65% (the legal sector has an average open rate of 22%) and several campaigns received positive feedback.
After nine months, the time users spent on the web site increased by 10.67%. Web site traffic from social media profiles increased by 222%. There was also success in major award ceremonies – the firm was shortlisted in three categories of local business awards and also the Modern Law Private Client Award.
Campmany Abogados (Spain) – Digital marketing
This Spanish law firm specialising in labour and social security matters had a blog, Google Adwords and social media but they were not producing results. Using disparate tools like WordPress and Hootsuite they couldn’t produce integrated campaigns. Their aims were to drive website traffic, increase the firm’s visitor-to-lead conversion rate and close more clients.
It worked with agency InboundLead and HubSpot software (signed in 2017). In four months its lead conversion rate increased from 1% to 4% and client numbers booked increased by seven times. It now has an ebook and other downloads on easy-to-find landing pages.
It uses a Social Inbox to focus social media campaigns. Its Facebook page exploded – becoming the most engaged page of any law firm in Spain. It implemented more calls to action (CTAs) and forms on the web site.
Once details are captured, they are nurtured through the funnel with highly specific workflows tailored to client needs and their stage in the buying process. Staff completed HubSpot Inbound Certification within a week. And it became a HubSpot growth stack customer – using a combination of marketing, CRM and sales software to have a complete view and predictability of revenue.
Sales Pro software was used to create sequences to follow up with leads and the firm is about to start using the messages tool to have online chats with potential clients. In four months, the firm doubled its revenue. It used to receive three clients a month – and now gets an average of 20.
Campmany Abogados Increases Client Numbers By 7X With HubSpot
Cabo F Granato (US) – Digital lead generation
Cabo F Granato – a small firm in Maryland focusing on PI, worker compensation, immigration and landlord-tenant law – invested in a web site to resolve marketing issues but found it demanding in both time and money.
The firm turned to Martindale-Nolo which advertises to get specialized leads. It’s a pay-per-lead programme and this firm says on ROI it pays for itself several times over.
To maximise each lead the firm:
- Follows up within 15 minutes of receipt
- Uses multiple methods of follow up (phone calls, voice messages, text and emails)
- Communicates through the medium most convenient for each potential client (Granato Legal Shield allows clients to communicate through phone, email, Zoom and in home visits)
Case Study: Success With Nolo Leads | Martindale-Avvo
Accountancy firms
EY – Employee engagement
EY won silver in the 2023 B2B Marketing Awards with ‘The NextWave Elevator Challenge’ by Ogilvy UK.
“Having a brand ambition is one thing, but getting employees to embrace, understand, and act on it is another. EY’s bold ambition and strategy, “NextWave” could only be achieved if the entire company played their part. While awareness and commitment were high, employees weren’t clear on their role in delivering the ambition and how it would affect their day-to-day lives.
To bridge this gap, Ogilvy UK had to make NextWave personally relevant. Corporate engagement initiatives can be uninspiring, resulting in limited engagement, ineffective messaging, and failure to adopt desired behaviours. The agency looked for different ways to engage, tapping into the desire to play.
The strategy was to co-create a gamified team experience, maximising impact across culture and skill sets. Ogilvy UK connected NextWave with its audience by offering competition and rewarding achievement. Employees wanted something innovative, fun, team-based, and playable anywhere due to the ongoing Covid pandemic. Part of a phased roll out, so far 80,000 people have taken part in 10,000 teams, 12 languages, across 22 regions and global functions.
Feedback scored exceptionally, over 4/5 across all three key metrics. Employees were inspired, understanding was enhanced and they knew what they needed to do to make NextWave a success”.
Who won at The B2B Marketing Awards 2023? Check out the full list of winners here – B2B Marketing
EY also featured in a business development case study on its use of LinkedIn Sales Navigator EY Customer Story | LinkedIn Sales Solutions
BDO – Client feedback programme
BDO was performing well with generally positive client reviews although the sales and marketing partner felt that the satisfaction scores had plateaued and that clients were receiving different levels of service across the firm.
A new brand proposition (“exceptional client service by empowered people”) was developed to introduce more commonality to service delivery – making it more distinct from competitors. The partner identified six steps:
- Identify the commercial opportunity – primary and secondary research identified that 40% of mid-market buyers of accountancy services were dissatisfied with the service they received
- Identify the potential blockers in the organisations – use the research data to convert partner scepticism
- Remove surrounding messages – they removed a lot of the language that was attached to the firm’s heritage
- Involve HR – align the recognition and reward systems
- Create an L&D framework – allow people to learn on their terms and on the move. Align service to winning revenue
- Invest in the launch – used the partners’ conference to promote the initiative and invited clients to join them on stage
The firm is performing well financially and has recorded the highest client satisfaction score in Meridian West’s annual Mid-Market Monitor study in four of the last five years. Internally there has been buy in from staff with 98% saying they understand the strategy and 96% positively endorsing it.
BDO – Client feedback programmes
Saffery – Rebrand
In PM Magazine (November/December 2023) there’s a short report on how 168-year-old Saffery Champness accountants rebranded as Saffery. The firm is strong in private client, their families and business interests – including some of the most valuable landed estates.
The new brand combines deep rooted values, an agile approach and bold spirit. The firm also launched a new Employee Value Proposition (EVP). There was further elaboration on the brand audit and rebrand process in an article by Richard Crook in January/February 2024 edition of the magazine.
Kreston Global – International network rebrand
The March/April 2024 edition of PM Magazine reported that Japanese firm Proworks adopted the Kreston brand. From Local to Global: The Motivation behind our Rebranding Decision | Kreston ProWorks
The article described the 2021 rebrand from Kreston International to Kreston Global to make the brand more visible, professional and compelling. The accountancy network reported that 60% (100) of its 165 member firms use the Kreston brand and it is expected to reach 120 within a year.
The network grew by 8% in 2021 (combined turnover to US$2.6bn). Around half of the three-person marketing team’s time was spent on one-to-one initiatives. As well as supporting group meetings across five continents and organising sessions in which 23,500 people were involved – many in junior roles. Global pitch tools and templates were also launched.
A Business Connections Academy (including BD Leadership and other courses) was launched in January 2023. A social media course sold out immediately on announcement.
It’s LinkedIn-first marketing approach has seen follower numbers doubled to 19,000 since 2021. A nine-month leadership programme was recently launched. They are now 13th in International Accounting Bulletin’s rankings of the largest networks.
Linford Grey – Marketing team award
The marketing team at digital accountants Linford Grey was named “Inhouse marketing team of the year” at the annual Accounting Excellence Awards 2023 recognising its commitment to innovation, creativity and excellence. This was reported in the January/February 2024 edition of PM Magazine.
The five-person firm was established in 2018. The firm is unusual as all clients are on a monthly payment package – from £125 to £1,150 depending on services used. The firm helps clients rationalise their accounting systems – which can take as little as 24 hours. A marketing professional joined a year later bringing a new focus on brand development, raising awareness, client profiling, product development and strategic marketing.
The PPC advertising scheme then running was not considered ideal as it concentrated on a narrow speciality area (resolving tax debts). The new content marketing strategy primarily focused on LinkedIn. The marketing team researches questions that small business owners are posting.
There is training in content composition. It prioritises two forms of lead generation – SEO and revamped PPC focusing on digital systems. It has a dozen tech stack partners. Other activities include roadshows, webinars and guest blogs. New leads are placed into a nurture box – and receive a light monthly email with quarterly follow up calls.
Property and consultancy firms
JLL – Use of LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Alexander Low (then Head of Client Development Office Agency) found that social selling generated greater sales opportunities than cold calling for UK, Asia Pacific and US teams.
The firm was targeting property investors, developers and owners – and occupiers in its main sectors. It integrated with LinkedIn’s SSI (Social Selling Index) which is a metric to benchmark its performance against competitors.
Eight months after using Sales Navigator, SSI increased to 47.7 (doubling the average employee score of 21.6) and beating the competition’s average of 28.6 by 60%. The JLL team are over twice as likely to connect and build strong relationship compared to competing firms (22.1 vs 10.8) and 57% better at finding the right decision makers (9.1 vs 5.8).
JLL uses the Team Link tool to identify when colleagues have connections with prospects. It recently revealed a senior-level connection to a hedge fund they were targeting. They obtained an introduction and pitched a project worth £40,000. It has brought five new projects with an approximate fee value of £130,000.
“In the past eight months with Sales Navigator, my team has booked in the region of £150,000 in new revenue. Factoring in the length of our sales cycle, the top quartile of users alone have built a pipeline of close to £1,000,000”
JLL Customer Story | LinkedIn Sales Solutions
Bidwells property advisers – BenAI
Bidwells was nominated in “Best Use of AI” at the B2B Marketing Awards.
The firm’s ChatGPT integration led to 12% more tasks completed, 25% quicker delivery and 40% better quality. From a $20 dollar a month standalone solution.
The firm uses AI to transcribe interviews with partners and for editing videos (Descript.com). On content creation the firm achieved 6,000% ROI after investing in AI subscriptions. Human plus AI processes saves an average of 1.5 hours on 69 content tasks.
The firm uses a six-step method to embed AI: select use cases, mapping process, trialling tools and techniques, testing and improving, embedding and scaling up. It is investing time in training to develop more in case uses. AI Operations is a new marketing function.
Who won at The B2B Marketing Awards 2023? Check out the full list of winners here – B2B Marketing
Aspire Partners (Property Advisory) – Web development
Aspire is a specialist property advisory business in London, focusing on development management and compulsory purchase projects. The firm wanted to align its web site with its brand and to better represent its capabilities to help attract more work.
The agency ran a discovery workshop exploring both business propositions (aspireDM and aspireCP). The website was redeveloped, positioning the firm’s industry experts and representing key messages clearly to drive action.
Aspire Partners | Property advisory firm website case study | Base Creative
PA Consulting – Client insights with LinkedIn Sales Navigator
The challenge – Overhaul the innovation and technology consultancy’s sales transformation programme – in the process of retooling its approach to client relationship building: “Think about the people that they should know, understand their challenges and see how our capabilities can help”. For both new relationships and to bolster existing relationships.
Solution – Sales Navigator provided insights and data to adapt strategy to the digital environment – especially as a result of the “Great Reshuffle” where they now get real-time insights. Sales Navigator provided access to the kind of posts clients are posting, what they are interested in, the conversations they engage in and use these as mechanisms to start a conversation that can lead to a relationship. It enables PA to be more present in clients’ lives. It syncs LinkedIn with its CRM.
Results – Identified multiple introduction points across the portfolio of clients in first 12 months (1 million referral opportunities uncovered through Sales Navigator in the first 12 months).
The Team Link feature extended PA’s reach by enabling warm introductions. It also enabled them to maintain first-degree connections, even through career changes. The team categorises targets in three ways: people we speak to every day, people we want to get to know and the people that we should be aware of (e.g. those in the C-suite). They achieved 86% closed and 30% larger deals with Sales Navigator.
LSS_CaseStudy_PA3.pdf (linkedin.com)
An updated version of this case study was published in January 2024 How PA Consulting Uncovered Nearly 1M Referral Opportunities with Sales Navigator (linkedin.com)
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