Do Law Firms Need a Marketing Function?

In this current economy, some firms are eliminating their marketing departments altogether. This may be a short term way to save expenses, but is it smart in the long run? There is a critical need for all firms to develop business in order to survive. But if the marketing department is largely a cost-center and not able to contribute to revenue generation then there may be a problem. Is the marketing function in many firms broken? Often, one problem is expectations - most lawyers expect ALL marketing people to be business developers, when in fact developing business is a separate and distinct discipline, procedure and art form. The majority of marketing tasks require different capabilities, skills and focus. If a firm is laying off its marketing staff, it is important to ask: is the marketing function in the firm really broken? And/or are the owners of our firm expecting something other than what has been/is being delivered? There is no better time than now to re-assess.