Media & Communications: What's the Deal with That?

The lesson? While it's important to focus on the big picture, don't ignore the details of your professional role (deadlines, messaging, spelling/grammar, e-mail etiquette, etc.). As legal marketers, we often swim in a sea of minutiae. Do what is necessary to navigate those waters effectively. Your credibility and the success of your attorneys and firm often depend upon it. Focus. Plan. Organize. Execute.

Corporate Brands Carry Expectations

As legal marketers, we are responsible for helping to protect and enhance our law firm brands. A brand is a perception, emotion or expectation maintained by a client or prospective client, describing the experience of doing business with a firm.

Two Seinfeld episodes capture the inherent significance of brand expectations. In the first, Jerry, Elaine and George discuss patronizing a very popular soup establishment. Only one problem ' the eccentric owner, a.k.a. “The Soup Nazi,” requires patrons to follow a strict ordering protocol before “earning” the right to partake in his culinary delights. Wrong protocol? “No soup for you!”

In the second episode, Jerry plans to pick up his reserved rental car. The agency has his reservation ' but not his car. In Jerry's words, ” ' you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to “ hold” the reservation ' and that's really the most important part of the reservation ' the holding.”

In both examples, the consumers (clients) have direct or perceived brand expectations ' amazing soup and an available car. Always remember that perceived brand strength drives the level of consumer expectation, which in turn affects consumer behavior and response during and after interaction with your brand. The most successful organizations, including law firms, disseminate, promote and deliver on client-focused value propositions. Failure at any stage contributes to a weak brand.

Is your firm delivering on its promises?

Own Your Personal Brand

Much of Seinfeld's appeal is watching the characters struggle with career challenges and unrealized dreams. One day, George yearns to be an architect and the next he is posing as a marine biologist to impress a woman. On separate occasions, Kramer has an idea for cologne that smells like the beach and then develops a coffee table book ' about coffee tables. Elaine is a book editor for much of Seinfeld's run, but also logs time as the CEO of the J. Peterman Catalog. She then takes a stab at running a bakery that sells only muffin tops.'

While these scenarios make for great comedy, they are anything but amusing when played out in the real world. Your professional success is determined in part by owning your career and the factors that drive impressions of you. Unlike law firm branding, personal branding is a perception, emotion or expectation maintained by somebody other than you, describing the total experience of having a relationship with you.

Personal branding is about what makes you unique. It's about how you project yourself to others and how they perceive you. It is also unavoidable. As you interact with colleagues and clients, they automatically form associations that connect you with certain labels. Those labels become part of your personal brand. Think of your brand as the sum of all associations people hold about you. A well-executed personal branding campaign creates a strong, consistent and specific association between you and the perceived value you offer.

What do your actions say about you?

When in Doubt, Ask Questions!

Seinfeld creators understood the comedic value of miscommunication. It was a common theme across multiple episodes. In one instance, George is given an important assignment while working for the New York Yankees. His manager explains the specifics as he simultaneously enters the men's room (and continues his instructional monologue). George, unsure what to do, remains in the hallway. The rest of the episode chronicles George's attempts to decipher the project requirements without admitting that he did not hear everything the first time. And in what is possibly the most memorable miscommunication-themed episode, Jerry is forced to wear the infamous “puffy shirt” on national television because he did not properly glean what Kramer's “low-talker” girlfriend asked him during a dinner engagement.

Contrary to what many believe, asking questions is not a weakness. As legal marketers, we can benefit tremendously from seeking clarification. Posing questions can help you better connect with your clients; work with your internal/external teams more effectively; gather information accurately; create better solutions; improve negotiating skills; demonstrate leadership; minimize mistakes; reduce conflict; and build consensus.

Any questions?

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone; Embrace Change

One of the most common tendencies in and out of the workplace is to fight change. Fear of the unknown is common. But change is inevitable and can be positive. It results from new market challenges and opportunities, innovative thinking, technological advances and increased knowledge, as well as mergers and staffing changes. And it can create opportunities, promote ideas and innovation, and raise the overall performance bar.

One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes captures the essence of change and its possibilities. George finds himself at rock bottom ' he does not have a job or a relationship. Oh, and he has moved back home with his parents. He tells Jerry and Elaine that he has made only wrong decisions and that his life is the opposite of what it should be.

Jerry observes, “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.” George resolves to start doing the opposite of what would normally be within his comfort level. The result? A new relationship, a new apartment and a job with the New York Yankees!

While “taking the opposite approach” is probably extreme advice in most personal and professional situations, the idea underscores one vital point. Progress involves thinking beyond the norm in the ways you manage your job and career, and in how your law firm is marketed. Employees who embrace and initiate change will thrive, while those who complain about and fear change may soon be on the outside looking in. Employers recruit, appreciate and reward employees who are successful change agents for their team and their organization as a whole.

If your personal or corporate strategy is working today, think of new ways it could perform even better tomorrow. And if it is not working at all, what do you have to lose by trying something new?'

Patience Is a Virtue

“The Chinese Restaurant,” is considered to be the first Seinfeld episode that sparked “water cooler” talk. Waiting to be seated, Jerry, Elaine and George are puzzled as patrons who arrive after them are accommodated immediately. The Seinfeld crew leaves in frustration after 30 minutes. As the door closes behind them, the ma'tre d' calls their names.

The lesson? Good things can come to those who wait.

As legal marketers, we want and need to drive positive results for our law firm and attorney clients. While some results can occur virtually overnight (press coverage, client alerts, ad placements), others take time and effort (rebranding campaign, stronger directory rankings, client acquisition).

Here's a final lesson from Seinfeld. George's father Frank screams “Serenity now!” every time his blood pressure is in danger of going up. Another character aptly observes, “Serenity now, insanity later.”

In other words, while end results are important, so are the processes that help drive victories along the way. Rather than lamenting the missed bullseyes, acknowledge key milestones and incremental progress. Use them as the foundation and motivation for future success.

Conclusion

Legal marketing can be challenging, exciting and frustrating. However, underneath all the webinars, presentations and educational tools is a single goal ' to produce quality work for our clients. And if Seinfeld has taught us anything, it is that inspiration and guidance can often be found in the most obvious place ' everyday life.

David McCann is senior manager of marketing and communications at Snell & Wilmer, a business law firm with offices throughout the western United States and in Mexico. He is also the 2013 immediate past president of the Legal Marketing Association, Southwest Chapter. David can be reached at 602-382-6517 or [email protected].'

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The curtain fell on Seinfeld's nine-year television run in 1998. Through observational humor about mundane, trivial, quirky and relatable human interactions, this “show about nothing” made its way into the American lexicon. And call me crazy, but I think it's a useful lesson source for a most discerning group of professionals ' legal marketers!

The Devil Is in the Details

In one popular Seinfeld episode, George's girlfriend glosses over significant (and sometimes uncomfortable) details with a dismissive “yada, yada.” George learns the hard way that there is substantial content hidden in those missing specifics. In another installment, Jerry and friends spend hours circling a shopping mall garage trying to remember one detail ' where they parked.

The lesson? While it's important to focus on the big picture, don't ignore the details of your professional role (deadlines, messaging, spelling/grammar, e-mail etiquette, etc.). As legal marketers, we often swim in a sea of minutiae. Do what is necessary to navigate those waters effectively. Your credibility and the success of your attorneys and firm often depend upon it. Focus. Plan. Organize. Execute.

Corporate Brands Carry Expectations

As legal marketers, we are responsible for helping to protect and enhance our law firm brands. A brand is a perception, emotion or expectation maintained by a client or prospective client, describing the experience of doing business with a firm.

Two Seinfeld episodes capture the inherent significance of brand expectations. In the first, Jerry, Elaine and George discuss patronizing a very popular soup establishment. Only one problem ' the eccentric owner, a.k.a. “The Soup Nazi,” requires patrons to follow a strict ordering protocol before “earning” the right to partake in his culinary delights. Wrong protocol? “No soup for you!”

In the second episode, Jerry plans to pick up his reserved rental car. The agency has his reservation ' but not his car. In Jerry's words, ” ' you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to “ hold” the reservation ' and that's really the most important part of the reservation ' the holding.”

In both examples, the consumers (clients) have direct or perceived brand expectations ' amazing soup and an available car. Always remember that perceived brand strength drives the level of consumer expectation, which in turn affects consumer behavior and response during and after interaction with your brand. The most successful organizations, including law firms, disseminate, promote and deliver on client-focused value propositions. Failure at any stage contributes to a weak brand.

Is your firm delivering on its promises?

Own Your Personal Brand

Much of Seinfeld's appeal is watching the characters struggle with career challenges and unrealized dreams. One day, George yearns to be an architect and the next he is posing as a marine biologist to impress a woman. On separate occasions, Kramer has an idea for cologne that smells like the beach and then develops a coffee table book ' about coffee tables. Elaine is a book editor for much of Seinfeld's run, but also logs time as the CEO of the J. Peterman Catalog. She then takes a stab at running a bakery that sells only muffin tops.'

While these scenarios make for great comedy, they are anything but amusing when played out in the real world. Your professional success is determined in part by owning your career and the factors that drive impressions of you. Unlike law firm branding, personal branding is a perception, emotion or expectation maintained by somebody other than you, describing the total experience of having a relationship with you.

Personal branding is about what makes you unique. It's about how you project yourself to others and how they perceive you. It is also unavoidable. As you interact with colleagues and clients, they automatically form associations that connect you with certain labels. Those labels become part of your personal brand. Think of your brand as the sum of all associations people hold about you. A well-executed personal branding campaign creates a strong, consistent and specific association between you and the perceived value you offer.

What do your actions say about you?

When in Doubt, Ask Questions!

Seinfeld creators understood the comedic value of miscommunication. It was a common theme across multiple episodes. In one instance, George is given an important assignment while working for the New York Yankees. His manager explains the specifics as he simultaneously enters the men's room (and continues his instructional monologue). George, unsure what to do, remains in the hallway. The rest of the episode chronicles George's attempts to decipher the project requirements without admitting that he did not hear everything the first time. And in what is possibly the most memorable miscommunication-themed episode, Jerry is forced to wear the infamous “puffy shirt” on national television because he did not properly glean what Kramer's “low-talker” girlfriend asked him during a dinner engagement.

Contrary to what many believe, asking questions is not a weakness. As legal marketers, we can benefit tremendously from seeking clarification. Posing questions can help you better connect with your clients; work with your internal/external teams more effectively; gather information accurately; create better solutions; improve negotiating skills; demonstrate leadership; minimize mistakes; reduce conflict; and build consensus.

Any questions?

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone; Embrace Change

One of the most common tendencies in and out of the workplace is to fight change. Fear of the unknown is common. But change is inevitable and can be positive. It results from new market challenges and opportunities, innovative thinking, technological advances and increased knowledge, as well as mergers and staffing changes. And it can create opportunities, promote ideas and innovation, and raise the overall performance bar.

One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes captures the essence of change and its possibilities. George finds himself at rock bottom ' he does not have a job or a relationship. Oh, and he has moved back home with his parents. He tells Jerry and Elaine that he has made only wrong decisions and that his life is the opposite of what it should be.

Jerry observes, “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.” George resolves to start doing the opposite of what would normally be within his comfort level. The result? A new relationship, a new apartment and a job with the New York Yankees!

While “taking the opposite approach” is probably extreme advice in most personal and professional situations, the idea underscores one vital point. Progress involves thinking beyond the norm in the ways you manage your job and career, and in how your law firm is marketed. Employees who embrace and initiate change will thrive, while those who complain about and fear change may soon be on the outside looking in. Employers recruit, appreciate and reward employees who are successful change agents for their team and their organization as a whole.

If your personal or corporate strategy is working today, think of new ways it could perform even better tomorrow. And if it is not working at all, what do you have to lose by trying something new?'

Patience Is a Virtue

“The Chinese Restaurant,” is considered to be the first Seinfeld episode that sparked “water cooler” talk. Waiting to be seated, Jerry, Elaine and George are puzzled as patrons who arrive after them are accommodated immediately. The Seinfeld crew leaves in frustration after 30 minutes. As the door closes behind them, the ma'tre d' calls their names.

The lesson? Good things can come to those who wait.

As legal marketers, we want and need to drive positive results for our law firm and attorney clients. While some results can occur virtually overnight (press coverage, client alerts, ad placements), others take time and effort (rebranding campaign, stronger directory rankings, client acquisition).

Here's a final lesson from Seinfeld. George's father Frank screams “Serenity now!” every time his blood pressure is in danger of going up. Another character aptly observes, “Serenity now, insanity later.”

In other words, while end results are important, so are the processes that help drive victories along the way. Rather than lamenting the missed bullseyes, acknowledge key milestones and incremental progress. Use them as the foundation and motivation for future success.

Conclusion

Legal marketing can be challenging, exciting and frustrating. However, underneath all the webinars, presentations and educational tools is a single goal ' to produce quality work for our clients. And if Seinfeld has taught us anything, it is that inspiration and guidance can often be found in the most obvious place ' everyday life.

David McCann is senior manager of marketing and communications at Snell & Wilmer, a business law firm with offices throughout the western United States and in Mexico. He is also the 2013 immediate past president of the Legal Marketing Association, Southwest Chapter. David can be reached at 602-382-6517 or [email protected].'

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