"Antarctica" is not the "South Pole," and "Marketing" is not "BD"
- Matt Plavnick
- May 19
- 3 min read
People who know I've been to Antarctica sometimes refer to my experience at "the South Pole." It's a common mistake.
The closest I've been to the South Pole is McMurdo Station, some 870 miles away. Before you say "close enough," consider:
McMurdo is at sea level.
The South Pole is 9,200 feet higher, sitting atop a buried mountain range. The air there is a lot thinner!
Seals, penguins, and skuas (gulls) are frequent McMurdo visitors.
Wildlife at the South Pole? Unless you can photograph a microbe, put away your camera.
From McMurdo, you can travel in any direction.
From the South Pole? No matter which way you face, there's literally only one way to go: North.
It's in a similar fashion that many lawyers treat "marketing" and "business development" as interchangeable. But perform marketing behaviors when you mean to develop business, and you'll be frustrated.
Indeed, many of the lawyers I train and coach tell me they've tried BD and didn't see much upside. When we scratch beneath the service, what I show them is that they've actually been doing marketing while expecting BD results.
Here's a key way to understand the difference so you won't be left out in the cold.
Marketing is 1:Many. Business Development is 1:1.
Marketing is websites, brochures, advertisements, Chambers submissions, etc. Think of marketing as "broadcasting." We create visibility so people can see us and know of us before they need our services.
Importantly, marketing includes publishing articles and presenting CLEs. In my experience, this is the single most misunderstood activity lawyers participate in and think they are doing BD.
When we market, we make educated guesses about who our audience is and what they want to hear. But we don't know our audience by name.
In contrast, business development is one to one or one to a few. Think pitches, proposals, dinners, happy hours, board service, and so on.
When doing BD, we know our audience specifically. We know their name, title, and organization. We can learn where they fit in an org chart.
We might consider BD prospects to be our friends. We might learn what they want next in their careers. We might exchange personal information about our lives. In other words, we develop relationships with specific BD audiences over time.
Marketing Creates Reach. BD Creates Intimacy.
Go back to articles and CLEs. When we publish or present, we're speaking to a large audience of potential prospects. That's marketing.
When we step offstage and an audience member approaches with a question or comment, now we are doing BD. We shake hands, make introductions, and begin a relationship.
A similar shift happens online. Post on LinkedIn? Marketing. Trade comments with specific individuals below the post, or reach out over DM to continue a conversation? That's BD.
In these examples, marketing and BD complement each other. That's what we want. Marketing creates reach: audiences can see us. BD creates intimacy; audiences feel they know us. We start specific conversations about issues that matter to our prospects.
Just remember:
If you present at CLEs and walk offstage afterward and go home without talking to members of your audience, then you've only been marketing.
Publish an article on Law360 but never personally share it with a contact, and you've only been marketing.
You can't expect to build relationships if you don't personally engage with your audience.
If you set out for the South Pole and only make it to McMurdo Station, you'll be understandably disappointed. Similarly, don't stop at marketing when you are looking for BD results.
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Adapted from the keynote, From Antarctica With Love: Five Principles to Go From Ice-Cold Novice to Red-Hot Rainmaker
Principle 1: Marketing is Not BD. The Difference Matters.
Email matt@axismarketingstrategies.com to bring the keynote to your next retreat.
