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Marketing of legal services and
Professionalization- Serve the
society not yourself
Marketing of legal services -Ethics, issues, opportunities and
implications
ABSTRACT:
With liberalization launched in India, it was natural that legal services would
also be thrown open to foreign firms like in investment sector and other
areas. There is great potential in India for growth or organized legal
services firms particularly in view of fast coming up MNC network in India,
increase in world trade and international trade laws like patents,
trademarks, copy right and formation of local business organizations,
besides traditional civil and criminal jurisprudence. This article is addressed
to business sector potential and to those law firms which operate in
organized way. There have been in existence several law firms but as
many as in Chartered accountancy or financial consulting business. With
influx of foreign or MNC law firms in India, the legal services market is
going tom hot up for local practitioners. The whole organization structure in
this sector is going to change substantially. The need will thus arise in
focusing on marketing of legal services.
Since we define Marketing as an important professional function of any
firm, there are several issues associated with legal services marketing:
Question of Ethics: Providing best possible legal know-how and services
in best interest of client. But delaying the suit proceedings in courts,
objecting for sake of objection, manipulating facts and court room
procedures and trying to save a client who has actually committed a default
or an illegal act do not construe the professional responsibility of an
attorney.
Commercialization of legal practice: Could legal services, which are
noble and essential service in society like education be allowed to be
commercialized? There has been criticism of the ways in which USA
attorneys and law firms act and share rewards with clients. Can this be
allowed in India; certainly not.
Within the above framework the legal services firms will have to resort to
aggressive and well organized marketing strategies for meeting
international competition, growth objectives and even survival. Like in
typical services marketing scenario, there are many common and simple
methods, these firms can adopt to excel in marketing.
The article is based on research of several well known writings on the
subject and direct interactive experience of the author with legal services in
India over last one and a half decade.
THE NATURE OF MARKETING
Marketing is misunderstood by many solicitors - it is not simply advertising.
Advertising is only one small element of Marketing. A firm's Marketing
Policy is part of its strategic business plan and is essentially a process
whereby the firm's ability to supply legal services is brought into balance
with expected demand for its services from present and future clients. This
mechanism ensures that the firm maintains growth and profitability. In an
era where in most sectors of legal work cut-throat competition prevails, no
firm can afford to be without knowledge, however basic, of marketing.
THE NATURE OF SERVICES MARKETING
Marketing services is accepted as more difficult than marketing products.
Services have several qualitative differences and are:-
• 1. Heterogeneous / Customized - in other words they cannot be
standardized.
• 2. Inseparable - Unlike producing for instance baked beans, the
production, marketing and delivery of services is very often the same
process.
• 3. Perishable and cannot be stored. This means that supply and
demand must be matched or production will be lost { Presently it does
not apply in India where no one is in hurry in matter of law
implementation, until major legal reforms are embarked upon by
Union government which too is now essential}
• 4. Intangible - they cannot be seen and very seldom can they be
objectively measured.
Some solicitors fail to recognize that only the most sophisticated of clients
will be able to value the functional quality of the legal service. What clients
do value is the quality of solicitor/client relationship and firms will be
judged on such factors as:-
1. Who is interested in them?
2. Who best understands their concerns?
3. Who listens most effectively?
4. Who has the best insight into their situation?
5. Who is most likely to work effectively with them?
It is closer to services of estate and insurance agents. Is not it?
The old adage that, in descending order of importance, solicitors
must be
1 Available 2 Affable 3 Able, illustrates that technical competence
is almost taken as read insofar as the public are concerned. Today
many marketing policies will be based on the client-centered approach.
MARKETING TOOLS
When analyzing your client base, segment it along various different lines
such as area of work, local geography and source of business. This will
allow the firm to look at areas of growth and decline and re-allocate
resources where appropriate. In this connection, client questionnaires are
very useful.
Another useful concept for analyzing legal work is the Boston Matrix. The
Boston Matrix can be applied to any business and can readily be applied to
analysis of a legal business and indeed different types of legal work within
businesses. The matrix recognizes that business and products go through
various phases, namely:- Problem Child (e.g. when a venture is new and
requires capital/time); Rising Star (where the venture becomes successful);
Cash Cow (e.g. where the venture is not growing); and Dog (as where the
venture is failing). Legal firms usually provide a wide range of services. The
Boston Matrix can be used to analyze the state of the firm but probably
more appropriately the matrix can be used to analyze the state of individual
types of work e.g. domestic conveyancing, civil legal aid, executries, etc.
The key issue is to apply the Boston Matrix to the business operation, to
recognize the sector within which that operation falls and identify what
action is required to either maintain or to improve the business.
Case of a law firm for strategic marketing plans
Few lawyers at Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC would
ever set foot in court without exhaustively researching their cases and
meticulously planning their arguments.
Until recently, though, such planning never really applied to selling the
firm's services.
"In the past, it was a more shotgun approach," said Joseph Curtin, the
firm's managing director for professional practice and business
development. "Individuals would identify on their own, a possible client and
they might just go off on their own to see if they could get the legal work."
Today, the firm takes a more formal approach to mapping out when and
how to court potential clients. It's not alone.
Law firms of all sizes across the country are mapping out marketing
strategies, said legal consultant Jim Durham of the Dedham-based Law
Firm Development Group.
"It's on everybody's list of things to do this year," Durham said.
The trend is another milestone in the evolution of law firms from collections
of individual professionals to businesses, Durham said.
"Other professional-service firms were probably doing companywide
strategic plans 15 years ago and within different parts of organization were
doing strategic marketing plans," Durham said. "That's just now coming to
the law business. It's an industry slow to embrace traditional management
and marketing models."
Local law firms escalated their marketing efforts five years ago after the
state loosened restrictions on advertising for the legal profession.
Hale and Dorr LLP, for example, is one of many local law firms that claim
superiority in intellectual property law. But to distinguish itself among a
business clientele that may be unfamiliar with its litigation record, the firm's
IP group began custom publishing a magazine about a year ago.
ATTORNEY MARKETING:
CREDIBILITY:
These tools help overcome your prospect's hesitancy if it's due to his lack
of trust in you or your ability to solve his problem or achieve his goal.
WRITTEN SCHEDULE OF FEES: Prospects feel more comfortable when
they see your fees in writing. Some prospects assume lawyers set their
fees based on what they think the prospect can afford. Handing your
prospect a schedule of fees on paper helps overcome this suspicion.
REPRINTS OF ARTICLES YOU WROTE: Few things boost credibility as
quickly as seeing published articles with your name in the by-line.
Prospects immediately conclude you're an expert when they see that
editors have published your writings. And the more well known and
respected the publication, the more credibility they attach to it -- and the
more it helps your attorney marketing effort.
TESTIMONIALS FROM PAST CLIENTS: Like published articles,
comments from clients, colleagues and referral sources cause your
credibility to soar. The more testimonials you have, the better. If a prospect
is in doubt about hiring you, show him 10, 20 or 50 testimonials and you'll
see his skepticism melting. (Check your rules of professional conduct. Not
all bar associations allow lawyers to use testimonials.)
SERVICE GUARANTEE: Show your client the guarantees you make in
writing. You might guarantee to return phone calls promptly, meet all
deadlines, always have a lawyer available, not exceed a quoted fee, and so
forth.
OVERVIEW OF SERVICES: In some cases, prospects aren't entirely sure
what you plan to do for them. By having a written overview of what you do
for clients -- and a breakdown of the major steps under each service, you
help your prospects see on paper the many things you do in exchange for
your fee. Also, by having these services in writing, you reinforce that what
your prospect is asking you to do is consistent with what you do for many
clients.
ACTUAL CASE HISTORIES: Prospects are persuaded when they see that
you have helped other clients in situations like theirs. The more similar the
case history is to your prospect's circumstances, the more persuasive it will
be. Also, the more similar the client is to your prospect, the more your
prospect will be swayed.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
You help your client when you have a document that answers questions
prospects ask. The more questions you answer -- before your prospect
raises the issues -- the more your prospect trusts that you are forthcoming
with information. If your prospect has to draw information from you, you risk
his concluding that you would not have disclosed these facts had he not
asked.
GLOSSARY: If your prospect doesn't understand the terms you use, he
might be happy to receive a glossary of relevant terms. Often, prospects
won't admit when they don't understand. The more you help them
understand, the better they feel.
OUTCOMES: List on a sheet the various outcomes that could result from
your efforts. Ask your prospect to assume that you will get a positive result,
and then ask your prospect to identify whatever choices he will make at
that point. By helping your prospect see past your efforts to future decisions
he will face, he assumes you have already succeeded and is thinking far
into the future.
OBJECTIVES: Hand your prospect a form that includes a list of the
objectives typical prospects want to achieve. Ask him to identify the goals
that are most important to him. This helps clarify to him what you'll do --
and helps him see that you understand what he wants to achieve.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Asking your prospect to provide you with his
contact information gives him something easy to write down.
OTHER FACTS YOU NEED: Regardless of your area of law, you probably
need information from your prospect before you proceed. The easier it is
for your prospect to provide this information, the more helpful it will be in
calming his nerves and helping him move forward.
MINOR DECISIONS: If you've read sales books, you may know the story of
the car buyer who was afraid to make the major decision to buy a
Mercedes. The salesperson asked, "What initials do you want me to put on
the driver's door?" The man responded by giving his initials and, at that
point, agreed to the major purchase. By asking the buyer to make a minor
decision, which he perceived as no big deal, the salesperson effectively
sold the car.
When you educate your prospect -- when he trusts you -- when he
understands what you'll do -- when he knows what you'll charge -- your
prospect has no reason not to move forward.
When you use education-based marketing, you don't need to "close the
sale." The "sale" closes itself through your process of answering your
prospect's questions. Eventually, your prospect says, "What do I need to do
to hire you?" You show your prospect your agreement, explain it to him,
and ask for his signature and a check -- and you've won a new client.
Yes, in many cases, it really could be that easy.
Marketing legal services is much easier when you keep hidden persuaders
at your fingertips. They increase credibility, urgency, understanding and
involvement -- powerful tools as mentioned above that help every attorney
marketing effort.
THERE ARE SEVERAL RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL MARKETING OF
LAW FIRM:
It is assumed that the advertising of legal services will be allowed in due
course.
Rule 1: If you'd like to get a feature article in a newspaper or magazine,
consider approaching a national publication. Every day, lawyers and
business owners compete for space in local publications, but most never
think about nationwide publications. In some cases, it's easier to get into
national publications than local ones. Plus, a widely published article can
do a tremendous amount to enhance your image as an authority {Kapil
Sibbal, Ram Jethmalani, Dr. L M Singhvi}.
Rule 2: Trade publications allow you to reach a large number of specific
types of businesses. Many industries and professions have publications
and newsletters, even in local areas. Therefore, rather than getting articles
in broad-based media, read by many people who are not in your target
audience, consider specific publications that reach highly focused groups.
Most editors respect lawyers and like to receive their articles, providing
they're written in plain English, not legalese.
Rule 3: Display ads in large daily newspapers usually do not pull as great a
response as ads in suburban and small-town papers. This is because
people who buy large papers usually scan them, rather than carefully
looking at every page. People who buy small-town and suburban papers
read them more closely, so they're more likely to see and respond to your
advertisement. In India, however, individual professionals cannot advertise
Rule 4: Radio commercials & Internet web pages may often work well for
lawyers. To make radio work, you need to prepare information you can
send to listeners who respond, or have a web site to which you can direct
them. Either way, radio can reach target prospects quite well and often at a
fraction of the cost of other media. As mentioned above individual
professionals cannot advertise. The lawyers can join legal aid and online
legal advice websites and classified directories like Just dial. Lawyers are
anyway empanelled in district lawyers list and can always put a sign board
outside their office. For Example
Ravi Gupta BA LLB
Advocate Delhi High Court
Rule 5: Fancy web sites that take forever to download do more harm than
good. Every week, People complain about slow-to-load web sites. In most
cases, the person tells that he chose not to wait and moved on. The
problem arises not only because they didn't wait for your site to load, but
also because they later complain about your site to their friends and
colleagues. So rather than creating no impression, the impression you
create is negative. The website should also have a bit of free advice and
should be interactive.
Rule 6: A serious photograph that you think is dignified often scares off
prospects. If you want to see bad photos of lawyers, look through the
yellow pages. In many cases, lawyers look worse than the criminals they
defend. Hire a photographer to take a professional publicity shot, with direct
eye contact and a warm engaging smile because before you make a stern
impression on your adversary, you must make a favorable impression on
your prospect.
Rule 7: Long marketing messages work better than short messages, not
because they're long, but because they're complete. Short messages have
a place, especially when prospects want a quick overview and don't have
time to digest your entire message. (Then a summary sheet of bullet points
works best.) But when your prospect finds time -- and wants to read what
you say -- you're in a much stronger position when you have (1) answered
all his questions, (2) discussed your competitive advantages, and (3)
explained the many benefits of hiring you.
Rule 8: High fees attract better clients than low fees. When creating a
marketing argument, it's much easier to justify high fees based on the
depth of your knowledge and experience -- than to explain why you charge
so little. As consumers, we all use price as a quick way of determining
quality (In services particularly). While price is not always reliable, still, we
form impressions about the other person based on what he charges. Most
often, people who want low prices get what they pay for and are not the
most desirable clients. On the other hand, clients who want to benefit from
your knowledge, skill and experience know that those qualities don't come
cheap.
The future law firms shall have specialist attorneys on various laws that the
business houses will have to deal with.
Patent and Trade mark laws
Public interest and environmental laws
International trade related laws
Routine Commercial disputes and drawing up Agreements of various types.
Constitutional law
Competition Bill and India's internal regulatory laws like Anti-dumping,
pollution, unfair trade practices
REFERENCES:
1. Services Marketing; Christopher lovelock & Jochen Wirtz;
Pearson 5th Ed.
2. Service Marketing; S M Jha; Himalaya Publishing
3. Marketing Legal Services on the Internet; By Alan Gahtan - December
20, 1994
4. Attorney Marketing at www.treyryder.com
5. Marketing Legal Services (Carswell Law Office Management Series)
by Donna C. Wannop
6. http://www.lawmarketing.com/
Originally published by Author Prof R K Gupta, Aravali Institute of
Management in Indianmba.com under “articles by faculty”