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The Simple Difference Between Marketing + Business Development

  • Writer: Matt Plavnick
    Matt Plavnick
  • 22 hours ago
  • 1 min read



Here's an easy way to know the difference between marketing and business development: 


  • Marketing = 1:Many

  • BD = 1:1 


The distinction matters: Watch frustration mount when lawyers conduct marketing activities and expect business development results. 


Want nuance? 


  • When marketing, we know about our audience and make educated guesses as to what they care about. 


  • When developing business, we know our audience directly. We learn their name, their role, where they work, what they specifically care about, and more. 


How does this play out? Simple. 


  • Advertisement: Marketing 

  • Pitch: BD


  • Sponsorship: Marketing

  • Introduce prospects at a sponsored event: BD


  • Present CLE: Marketing

  • Chat with attendee after CLE: BD*


  • Social media post: Marketing

  • Comment, reply, or DM after social media post: BD* 


And so on. 


None of that is BD.

Lawyers often complain that BD doesn't work for them. When I ask what they've tried? "CLEs, webinars, articles, rankings, sponsorships." 


You should see their faces when I tell them none of that is BD. 


Remember, people hire people they know, like, and trust.


  • Effective marketing warms prospects up to business development efforts.

  • BD brings them in from the cold.


*See how marketing shifts seamlessly into BD in thought leadership settings? That's not an accident. This kind of targeted marketing pre-qualifies audiences. The people who opt into the room or thread have identified a topic they already care about. 


I'm amazed how many lawyers are unprepared in these moments for EXACTLY THE RESULTS THEY'VE BEEN SEEKING! It's like watching a batter so stunned by a hit that they forget to run the bases.


Fortunately, there's training for this.

 
 
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