Lessons from the field: insights from marketers outside the legal industry.

• Author: Harbour, Kelly

Marketers in all industries are grappling with the effects of sluggish economies, globalization and technology on their consumers, resources and strategies. So, what are they doing about it?

Conversations with a group of marketers who collectively have more than 50 years of experience working in health care, professional services, retail and financial institutions revealed that there are some common drivers behind consumers' buying decisions. Following is their insight into trends and tactics, something that all legal marketers--at firms big and small--can take away.

Deliver an Experience, Not a Transaction

John Zell, global chief technology officer at WPP's Marketing Solutions Center, asserts that the days of targeting marketing campaigns toward clients and prospects are over. Instead, marketers must engage clients in two-way conversations and deliver value before, during and after any single sales transaction.

To enable these conversations, Zell suggests a blend of email, direct mail, social media and tailored landing pages to provide ongoing education, demonstrate thought leadership and expand awareness of services.

Car manufacturers, for example, can engage customers from the moment they express interest in a vehicle to the signing, to the expiration of a lease. Once they move from prospects to customers, communications may include service reminders and how to better understand, enjoy and utilize the specific vehicle they purchased. A service call offers an opportunity for in-person feedback on the vehicle as well as feedback on the customer service received at the dealership via a follow-up email survey. Triggers for renewal by buying out the lease or trading up will still occur naturally as the contract nears expiration, but after regular communication with customers, those messages don't appear as a hard sell out of the blue. "If you engage your customers throughout the year, their continued contact with you becomes the unhesitatingly logical thing to do," Zell said.

Mike Bucell, director of marketing and external services for U.S. Family Health Plan, also employs a multichannel digital strategy that continues to evolve based on customer response. Not surprisingly, his company has significantly reduced its print advertising budget in favor of digital campaigns including Google Ad Words and banner ads. Google ads, in particular, have proven effective. They generate up to a one-third increase in traffic to the company's website and an...