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eDiscovery’s Kate Hutchinson Shares Insights on Marketing in the Legal Tech Space

by Tim Baran • February 16th, 2017 • Digital Marketing | Blog

legal tech marketingMarketing professionals at companies serving the legal industry face unique challenges — and rewards — every day. We reached out to Kate Hutchinson, Senior Marketing Manager at Complete Discovery Source, Inc., (CDS) to find out how the company employs digital marketing and social media strategies to promote their brand, build relationships, and get clients. 

Thanks for agreeing to do the interview, Kate. Please tell us about your role as a marketing professional in legal tech? 

As a technology services marketer, I have to stay actively engaged with developments both within the industry as well as with the technologies that enable effective marketing. All of it can seem like it’s moving at light speed! The basics of marketing remain the same, no matter what platform you use to communicate them: communicate our expertise, reinforce our strengths, and stay top-of-mind with clients. The range of tools and tactics currently available has opened the door to more sophisticated, multi-platform marketing campaigns. Building a strong and recognizable brand now goes hand in hand with developing meaningful content that offers a tangible benefit to clients.

Who uses eDiscovery services and how do you identify the decision makers? 

eDiscovery is the intersection of law and technology, so depending on the firm in question, eDiscovery can be a task shared between litigators and technologists. What makes things more complicated is that, like at many large companies, the professionals who use eDiscovery services are not always the decision makers that select eDiscovery providers. All of this means CDS must tailor its messaging to address the specific concerns of people in these varying roles, who have different concerns that relate to eDiscovery: cost, security, reliability, and even more. Beyond general awareness campaigns, we identify different aspects of our core capabilities and develop content that conveys our specific strengths to different types of users across the range of litigator and technologist roles.

What value has social media engagement contributed to your marketing efforts? 

The advantage of social media marketing lies in the fact that it’s a measurable way to harness the power of word of mouth. When someone reads and shares an article written by a CDS team member, my company is affiliated with that person’s expertise. I can then track the exposure of this article and get an idea of what is resonating with the audience, adjusting my communications approach along the way. Good social media marketing is driven by interaction. This means keeping an eye on online conversations in the legal technology community to see what people are discussing. My team can then respond with relevant information.

Social media is beneficial not just in terms of client-facing communications, but also in terms of how our staff talks about CDS. Having a social media program has helped CDS to unify the message we’re conveying to clients by providing consistent communications that help the whole team.

Content is key to establishing expertise and creating relationships. How do you employ content marketing? 

As we have developed our content library, it has made a big impact on the quality of conversation our sales team’s have with their clients. By sharing a case study or an article on a topic they know to be relevant to a specific client, they are able to spark meaningful interactions that improve relationships.

One of the great things about CDS is that our team is very engaged in the world of eDiscovery. Since launching the CDS Insights blog in June, we’ve had contributors from every department, including business development, technology strategy, and consulting services. Not only is it a great resource for our clients to learn more about CDS’s expertise, but it’s an opportunity for CDS staff to learn about developments in the industry from their peers.

How have you adopted digital marketing in a crowded eDiscovery field? 

It’s no secret that law firms, corporations, and government agencies have many choices when it comes to eDiscovery. At CDS, our goal is to make sure that we are part of the conversation when it comes to selecting an eDiscovery partner. Word of mouth is wonderful, but we are also proactive in getting our name into the marketplace on a number of different platforms. Different professionals rely on different kinds of media for information on legal technology, which means we need to be present on digital platforms, in print, at events, and so on. There’s no single magic bullet when it comes to marketing; the most effective campaigns convey a consistent message through multiple channels.

What has been some of the challenges and successes of your digital marketing efforts?

One of the rewarding things about digital marketing, particularly social media marketing, is that CDS can see the engagement in real time. Our articles and case studies are picked up by publications and partner organizations, resulting in reach that we would not have been able to achieve solely through more traditional forms of marketing.

A great effect of our digital marketing efforts has been the increase in clients who are re-engaging with CDS after seeing some of our new services and technologies via our social media and email campaigns. It’s a great way to keep on the radar of contacts more consistently than we’d be able to achieve otherwise.

Digital marketing allows for immediate feedback and quantifiable results. Tangible metrics allows us to develop messaging and content that will have the most impact and lets us direct our efforts where it matters the most. The management team can see how CDS’s reach has expanded over the past year since we’ve made an investment in our digital marketing efforts. It’s also gratifying for team members to see their ideas shared among peers on social media channels.

In terms of challenges, it’s really a matter of keeping up the consistency mentioned above. Sometimes talking to a writer or helping develop a case study is the last thing a manager wants to do during his or her busy day. It’s up to marketing to keep pushing the long-term benefits to the whole company that come with their efforts.

Thanks for sharing your marketing insights, Kate. Can you tell us a little bit about CDS as we wrap up? 

CDS is a global leader in eDiscovery. We work with law firms, corporations, and government agencies to provide highly secure, cost-effective, and defensible support for litigation and investigations. What sets us apart is our terrific team of legal experts and technicians who leverage our infrastructure to support all stages and types of eDiscovery.

CDS: Website | Twitter 

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