I’ve recently been exploring the opportunities for professional services firms within the sphere of social media and I found a great piece by Suzanne Lowe & David Kipp of Ross & Baruzzini (consultancy) that supports my findings.

It is startlingly clear that due to cultural and structural barriers many firms are not allowing themselves to leverage their internal resources for marketing and selling activities and are thus side stepping the potential returns that shifting towards engaging with social networking environments could return.

To be effective social media marketing relies directly on experts imparting knowledge to those asking the questions. For example if I’m interested in a conveyancing service from a law firm for example then a quick tip from an actual conveyancing solicitor via a LinkedIn discussion would be more welcome than a nod towards the firm from a marketing practitioner.

The case for allowing staff to market on behalf of the firm is doesn’t need to be made any clearer to some firms and there are many that are already taking the initiative (especially in the States) as this quote from the article suggests “This “new normal” professional firm more effectively harnesses people for marketing and selling, no matter what their function or station”.

So the question is not whether you move towards a culture and internal structure where “every person gains competency in marketing and business development”, it’s when.

Another reason why your people are your greatest asset.

Check out the article  http://www.management-issues.com/2009/11/27/opinion/82442-7607.asp#

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