Do You Need a Marketer or a Niche Specialist?
/In the past year, I have been asked to assist with a handful of situations where someone had engaged a niche specialist who adequately addressed the niche issue or project. The complaint? The time and expense devoted to the specialist had little to no impact on the entity’s business development goals.
There are clear situations where you should engage a niche specialist – someone called upon for a specific need, such as the re-design of your website or a writer to craft digital content. In fact, they may satisfy the completion of the assignment, however, their work will reside in a silo unconnected to business development strategy unless you also engage a marketing professional or the person at your firm who actively oversees your marketing and business development efforts.
The person charged with leading your marketing must have a comprehensive view of your business and an understanding of the business and goals of your clients and your target market. They should also have a vision for where you are headed and a plan to get there, and continuously incorporate this vision across all elements related to your business growth and your interactions with clients and prospects – whether the marketer is fully engaged in leading an initiative or merely acts as a supervisor to a specialist who handles the majority of execution. Your marketing leader, whether that’s a hired hand and/or an existing leader with marketing responsibility, must ask the question, “What is the benefit and value to the overall organism and objectives?” A specialist may ask these questions, but often only as they relate to the task at hand and thus may lack the global vision you need.
Today's interconnected world demands interconnected solutions. A marketer empowered with 360-degree vision can help you obtain greater value from your niche specialists.
Flip Cat Consulting works with law firms, practice groups, individual attorneys, and other professionals to design marketing and business development strategy. We work onsite or remotely, from specific projects to global change management. Contact us to arrange a free consultation.