Marketing

Every commercial organisation in the land employs people to work on the business of bringing in new work or new orders - in other words sales staff. They know that they need this input, accept that it will cost something and arrange things accordingly. And yet, for some strange reason, only the larger professional firms do this.

Firms lose clients every year. Our lives change and however much we may have valued our solicitors we will not use them for ever. We might move away, sell our business, or even die! Replacing those lost clients is essential and, as most of us want to grow our businesses, finding further new work is almost as important.

Keeping existing clients is far cheaper than winning new ones and we must always take the greatest care of our existing ones. We value their business, we want them to think well of us and to recommend us to others and we must give value for money and satisfaction.

Clients these days are sophisticated consumers. They are selective and are always looking for better service and/or lower costs. They have easy access to huge amounts of information to help them choose and simply cannot be relied upon to stay with the same solicitor for ever. We need active programmes in place to retain all that we can. That is simply the hard truth in today's commercial world. If we don't do this effectively we will see our client base shrink inexorably.

Good marketing need not cost a fortune. Many of the best ideas are cheap or free so don't be put off because you don't have the budget. And be aware of the real meaning of the word. "Marketing" is not just selling, or advertising and promotion. It is the whole business of working with the market, which none of us can control, to ensure that we make the most of it and get the profitable business we need. Gathering information on what legal services are in demand in your area is as important as anything and a good understanding of what your competitors are doing is as vital . You cannot force services onto your local population and need to understand what they need before you can plan anything. And unless you have a devilish new trick up your sleeve you may find it very hard to sell, say, family services where you already have capable, established competition. So, your strategy must be built on market intelligence and your marketing activity must then drive your firm in the direction your have chosen.

May I, before we start, deal with one vital point. Many many solicitors talk about skill and experience in their advertising material but it is a waste of time. When you last saw your doctor the question of their competency never entered your head. You took it as a given and surveys show that clients do the same with their lawyers. They expect you to be skilled and able and so for the firm to talk about this in their promotional material achieves nothing. Does a car ad tell us in glowing terms that it comes with a steering wheel? I hope you see my point. Only do this if you have something specific and exceptional that provides a real and genuine differentiator between you and the competition.

Instead, try to think of your clients' needs. Have in mind their likely feelings of vulnerability, their fear and their stress. Whether moving house or getting divorced, writing a will or pursuing a claim, clients are stressed. Your message needs to get across the fact that you will take real care of this. Coming to your firm will then be a reassuring experience for them. You can also look for things that you do that are genuinely different, better than the other firms. And if there aren't any, find some or, better still, make some! Look for ideas that would make that difference and implement them.

Testimonials from satisfied clients are always good. Clients can relate easily to real life stories and the press love them and will give them good exposure so whenever you win a challenging case remember to ask whether they would mind you using it in your PR. Many would rather you did not but some will agree and provided you ask sensitively and apply no pressure whatsoever you will not upset anyone. Add this point to your file closing routine.

Let's look now at what we already have. Using existing resources is always the most effective at first.

Database: Your client database is possibly your most valuable asset. Almost everything else in the firm can be replaced relatively easily - staff, premises and so on can be found if you have to, even (shock, horror!) partners - but without clients you don't have a business. Few firms have databases in good condition. FEs are always too busy and too ready to rush on to the next matter. They became lawyers to solve interesting legal problems for clients, and up-dating a database is low on their list of priorities. And yet just think what a wonderful tool a good client database is. With it you can interact with your clients so much more effectively.

But, do you have an accurate database? Is it an automatic step in the file closing procedure (monitored in file reviews) to check that the facts in the database are accurate, are changes made immediately new information comes to light, and are FEs are checked on this as a part of the routine management procedure?

so, do you have a good database and a regular mailing programme that keeps clients informed of every new development that might affect them. Surveys show that they will really appreciate this, seeing you as caring lawyers who are looking out for their clients. Client loyalty and so retention is improved.

Or do you have a database that is updated only when someone remembers? FEs close files without thinking about it and mailings are done infrequently as they cause so much upheaval. Conveyancing clients just do not understand how mailings have to be re-directed from their old addresses when the firm handled their sale and purchase, and the senior partner has just taken a call from an angry and upset Mrs Smith. Her husband died four months ago and the firm is handling his probate but yet another mailing has just arrived addressed to "Mr & Mrs Smith".

So first of all make your FEs deal with this. It is actually a requirement of the work they do but few do it.

Get your IT person to add two new fields for each record: one for the initials of the person that last checked the entry and the second for the date they did. You will then be able to run reports and monitor progress, and later keep an eye on things.Change your file opening and closing routines so that updating the database is always included and check they they do it. To deal with the existing entries, put a programme in plave. Tell your FEs that they must each review and update 20 records a week until the records of their own clients are accurate. Get them to fill in the two new fields and keep reminding them until they have done it.And finally, appoint someone, perhaps your receptionist with the right training, to make whatever changes may arise between matters. Make it a rule that when someone hears of a client past or present moving, marrying, dying or whatever, a note is given to reception who research the facts and update the database.

Staff: It is highly likely that you will have among your team someone who has a talent for or experience of marketing (see HR). A bubbly, outgoing and self-confident personality is often a good starting point, something that not all solicitors have. We are looking here for someone who is not shy and who can promote the firm effectively. If you have someone like this, encourage them, pay them a bit more and ask them to do a few hours a week on promoting the firm. They are not going to be doing it all themselves but will co-ordinate your activity, see that press releases go out and so on. They also need to be persistent, willing enough to keep on at partners and other senior staff until they do their bit.

So, now we have an accurate database and someone looking after marketing activity. What are we going to do next?

A good, regular newsletter is a good starting point. Bully heads of departments into writing articles on current topics but take care to keep them journalistic in style. Clients must find them an easy and interesting read so avoid any legal jargon (I once fell out with a partner who insisted on using "contentious" and "non-contentious" in a press release!). Distribute both to clients and to as many other appropriate places as you can think of - ask all your local contacts whether you can put copies in their receptions - estate agents, accountants, insurance brokers, FSAs, and so on - even the local GP surgery. But when you do this make sure one of your own people goes and does it and takes away any old editions - by doing this you avoid dated material lying about and making you look slow, and you also get them to keep a record of the numbers of copies you leave and later collect, so getting a feel as to how many are being taken and read. These things also look far better in a proper clear plastic stand and these can be ordered easily from any decent stationery catalogue.

Your reputation is perhaps your most valuable asset of all. Everything you do should be done with this in mind. Every decision you make needs to do whatever possible to enhance your public image. Please see the Client Care page for some important points on this.

Remember also the need to make the most of your existing clients in other ways. Few firms cross sell anything like enough and a good policy is to add to your file closing routine, and require FEs to enter meaningful answers, to three questions:

"What other legal services could this client require in the future?" "When?" and "What have you done about this?"

New Clients need a diffferent approach. Virtually all of them will be buying their legal services already from someone else so we need gently to put our firm forward and make it look attractive. For a cost-effective way to do this see the page Marketing - PR and for some more on how to win new clients see Marketing - Pitching & Quoting.

IMPORTANT NOTE

All the opinions expressed are those of the contributors, are based on personal experience and are given in good faith. The ideas and suggestions here have worked for us but every situation is different. As a result, we are sure you will understand that no liability can be accepted for anything that may arise from following advice on this site.