MAKE a note of October 6, 2011 – for it’s a date which strikes fear into many small and medium law firms.
Now just a few months away, the Legal Services Act is about to change the way the public can access legal services and, undoubtedly, the way that traditional law firms do business with the public.
This change, and the creation of alternative business structures, will enable supermarkets, banks and other high street names to enter the market and provide certain legal services to their customers. The Act has forced many law firms to think differently about how they market themselves.
Through our consultancy work over the last year, we have found three dominant attitudes regarding marketing in legal practices . . .
1. “Let’s collaborate, strength in numbers”. Firms centralising resources and the creation of umbrella brands with a higher collective profile than the individual constituents;
2. “Let’s act now.” Firms using the Act to really look closely at what they do, and ready to compete, the time to raise our game’ approach;
3. The “we’ve been here 80 years and always been all right, so let’s see what happens” approach.
Option 2 has probably been the sensible current choice for most firms, but what does a firm do to exist alongside the big boys with their high street presence, customer intelligence, highly developed marketing techniques and the resources to undercut on price?
The first thing is develop a marketing plan. Budgets may be tight, so it’s even more important to spend wisely. It’s probably also wise to get professional advice on this plan. Law firms will be up against the likes of the Co-Op and Asda’s marketing teams, so asking one of their partners with little marketing experience to do it, probably isn’t going to cut it.
Firms need to take a leaf out of the big brands’ books and capitalise on their own advantages and communicate these well. Having greater expertise, highly trained staff, and providing a quality personalised service are all good messages which should be communicated to customers in an effective way.
If law firms get this right, October 6 might not be so daunting after all.
RICHARD KENYON is managing director of marketing communications firm Kenyon Fraser.
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