“What if we showed up and said ‘We’re human too’?” asked Deloitte CMO, Diana O’Brien during last week’s Legal Marketing Association‘s keynote presentation.

It may seem like a strange message from a CMO when talking about marketing your brand, but like many of us, O’Brien has been emphasizing that the client experience is essential for marketing success – and the way to connect with your clients is by “creating moments that matter” and then acting on them.

She focused on a few key themes that supported this idea throughout her presentation: 

• Marketing is a two-way exchange – and clients drive the message. [Think: how do your clients want to receive information, what is the language they use to communicate, what is the information that is most relevant and necessary to them?]
• When polled, the LMA members in the audience responded that today’s CMOs need to have flexibility, leadership, and vision to be successful. [I want to know how these are about the CLIENTS though – there are arguments to be made that those traits encompass things that are client-focused, such as being a good listener, empathy, etc. but why not list those things instead?]
• The foundation of a marketing mindset is client service. As a marketer, you need to think about their problems first. [It strikes me that for marketers, we have two client audiences – the first being OUR clients, who are the lawyers themselves, and the second being THEIR clients, who are also the clients of our firms. We need to consider both sets of problems as marketers in order to be successful.]
• Deloitte says that their employees embody these 10 behaviors when they are at their best:
  • Walk in their shoes (be client-centric)
  • Show up (be present when it matters)
  • Tailor it (make it personal, relevant)
  • Change the lens (see from a new perspective)
  • Bring a point of view
  • Work it together (engage the client as part of the solution)
  • Suspend self-interest
  • Own it (no matter what happens)
  • Say what no one else will (they might need to hear it)
  • Up their game

    O’Brien polled the LMA audience, and of this list, the group felt the most important was the first one – to be able to walk in their shoes. O’Brien indicated that to do this requires a deep dive into sectors and the unique challenges of that industry.

Cesare Pavese said “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” And although it seems trite, it’s true – I will not remember the schedules that we keep, or the order of events, but I will remember the moments with my friends, my family, my clients – the shared adventures, laughter, overcoming obstacles, and winning challenges. So as we all jump into the work week today, how can we aspire to create memorable moments between us and our clients in our interactions with them? That was Diana O’Brien’s challenge to us, and our ongoing challenge to ourselves.