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The Favourability Journey
The Favourability Journey
insight
journey
Leor Franks looks at how marketers can audit the current This article originally
G
appeared in PM magazine.
For further details go to
10 pm | April 2020
insight
How to implement the Favourability Journey series of 2x2 matrices to facilitate partners to think about the
The starting point is clarity on business goals around which you breadth and depth of their relationships. This is an in-depth
are to select marketing strategies. Whether these goals are codi- assessment which I won’t cover here due to space constraints.
fied or not, I seek to detail them with an audit around each of Revenue. The fourth and final question to ask is ‘how do we
the four stages of the Favourability Journey to identify which of perform on tangible opportunities?’ Again, client service assess-
these strategies are required and later to help guide the objec- ment data can be useful. Many firms will also have processes in
tives and tactics that should be implemented (which I won’t place around the review of pitch outcomes. Win/loss analysis is
cover here due to space constraints). Before starting the audit, it often undertaken – hopefully looking at reasons for both failure
is essential to define the target market – the current and poten- and success, where possible with input from the clients them-
tial clients we wish to address at the most granular level which selves. Internal pricing analysis is also often undertaken and
time and resource allow for. Below I outline some of the many external consultants can be employed to provide useful context
options for this audit – you may have your own preferred tools. on market benchmarks.
Appropriate choices depend on time, budget, complexity of firm
and available resources: With a wealth of data now hopefully available on the defined
Recognition. The first question to ask is ‘how well are we market – both current clients and potential targets, the aim is to
known by our defined target market’? If time and budget allow, consolidate this into a map. I seek to plot clients, again at the
a client survey, ideally conducted on an unprompted and unat- most granular level possible, on the Favourability Journey to
tributed basis by a third party, is an effective tool. Niche identify where they are currently in their association with the
publishers and branding consultants are often a speedy option firm, to identify marketing objectives which will later inform the
having ready-made verifiable and GDPR compliant lists. A planning of tactics. The success of this approach relies on the
digital audit around search engine terms and adverts can selection of markets and the availability of data, but even if time
supplement this, at little cost and effort. There are many other and resources do not allow thorough application, a basic imple-
options including client service assessments, but for purity, mentation of this audit approach can prove useful input for
where possible, stick to unprompted and unattributed sources. planning.
Reputation. The second question to ask is ‘what do our The Favourability Journey is just one of a number of
target market think of us?’ Similar tools to the recognition audit marketing planning tools. The power from my experience
can be used. Here, I’ve found it is often helpful to add in third however is around ease of communication and the familiarity of
party sources, eg. directory rankings or award providers. It may concepts to stakeholders. The benefit of moving clients along a
also be possible to conduct a media sentiment analysis, whether journey of favourability towards the firm should make sense to
using technology or a communications adviser. One challenge all. The text above outlines the initial application of the journey
often levied here is that effective or ineffective marketing can be to planning – looking at each of Recognition, Reputation,
cited as the cause of any results. Whilst this is undoubtedly a Relationships and Revenue as strategies, seeking to audit the
factor, data acquired reflects profile in the market, so is current state of the firm in its market, to guide the development
undoubtedly valid as an input to a marketing led audit! of appropriate objectives which then feed into planning.
Relationships. The third question to ask is ‘what do our
existing clients and warm targets think of us?’ Input from the
above can be utilised but additional sources are also beneficial, Leor Franks is Chief Marketing Officer of Augusta, the
usually starting with CRM data to build a picture of the client UK’s largest litigation funder by case volume, and over-
base. Should market share data be available, eg. M&A league sees brand, marketing, communications and business
tables, this can be used as context. If client service assessment development.
data is on hand, this can be added to the mix. Another important
but often challenging source is input from partners. I use a
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