The Financial Times has just published its list of ‘10 thought leadership predictions for 2023‘.
While it’s a very interesting read, #1 on the list should grab the attention of all law firm Marketing and Business Development people:
1. Marketing will need to prove that it is not a discretionary spend
In 2023, budgets will be tightly managed, and all marketing investments will be scrutinised. Any programme that looks like a nice-to-have will be vulnerable to budget cuts.
This will not be an obstacle for marketers who can articulate a clear business case for their campaigns and present a rigorous strategy that optimises the commercial ROI from each investment.
The most effective marketers will also be able to demonstrate how thought leadership can be activated in ways that drive revenue growth in a tough market. This is likely to include showing how ideas and insight can build the sales pipeline and drive engagement right through the sales funnel.
My take: this approach will not be limited to Thought Leadership but to all marketing and business development activities over the next 12 to 18 months.
Indeed, many of us could argue we have lived with this approach since 2008!
Other than #1 on the list, the other big take-out I took from the FT’s list was #8:
8. User experience will be the decider of thought leadership success
User experience has always been crucial to good engagement, but for too long B2B companies have got away with underplaying it. Now, the expectations of audiences are increasing. They will no longer distinguish between B2C and B2B content and will expect the experience of consuming content to be the same for both.
For marketers, this means making it easier for audiences to access the right content at the right time and in the right place, and giving them flexibility and choice throughout. Poor user experiences, such as cumbersome lead-capture forms and fragmented content journeys, will turn audiences away and do more harm than good.
Amen to that one!
If you can make the time to read the list, make sure you get to #10 🙂
As usual comments are my own.
Random Thoughts On The Business Of Law 
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