Gavin Chan - Head of Digital Marketing Operations

Gavin Chan, a marketer with more than 15 years’ experience, joined First4Lawyers last year as the company’s Head of Digital Marketing Operations. Here, the dad-of-three talks keeping up with online trends and what attracted him to his first role in the legal sector.

I’d describe myself as an all-rounder when it comes to marketing. I did business studies at university followed by a master’s in marketing and since then I’ve worked in a range of roles, but all with a focus on pay-per-click (PPC). 

PPC wasn’t really covered in my studies but I’m comfortable with numbers and data analysis, so it’s just something that I naturally gravitated towards and have always really enjoyed.

Prior to First4Lawyers, I worked for Uswitch and, before that, for AnyVan and MyBuilder, all of which are online marketplaces designed to match consumers with the services they need. That’s what attracted me to First4Lawyers and specifically F4LPlus – the idea of building something from the ground up that will be the first of its kind in the industry is incredibly exciting.

My role is strategic in that I’m always looking ahead to where we want to be in 12 months’ time and trying to keep us on course. That’s more difficult than it sounds as channels and consumer needs and wants are changing all the time. We’ve got our own systems to track activity and we’re constantly analysing the data to work out where we could be more efficient and perform better. I oversee the specialists for the different channels – paid search, social and SEO – but we all work together as we recognise that they’re all pieces of the same puzzle.

The legal industry is often perceived as slow moving, but marketing isn’t and, if firms want to find and keep attracting new clients, they need to be in the right place. That is increasingly on the likes of TikTok which wouldn’t have been the case a few years ago. There is, in fact, growing evidence that people are using sites like TikTok and YouTube as search engines, suggesting that Google, which has always been the major player, may be losing some ground.

This is my first experience of the legal profession, and the terminology takes some getting used to, but I’m learning all the time. It’s also an interesting industry for marketing as it’s not just about finding those who need our services now. Many people aren’t even aware of their legal right to redress and may not need our help at that point, so it’s our role to inform and educate in case they do at a later date. That’s why storytelling is so important. Consumers may have multiple interactions with First4Lawyers before they actually use our services and explaining what we do and how we can support them helps build that relationship.

I joined the firm in November last year so I’m a relative newbie, but everyone here has been so welcoming. I’ve lived and worked in London for the last 15 years and more companies offering working from home after COVID opened up more opportunities for me. I do go into the office and usually call in on my parents in Nottingham, where I’m originally from. As they get older, it’s good to be able to see them more than for the odd birthday or family occasion.

Outside of work, I enjoy watching various sports including football, ice hockey and American football, though not for much longer with their respective seasons finished already or ending soon!