Public unable to name a single law firm, research shows
More than 60% of the public cannot name a single law firm, according to research seen by the Gazette| this week, even though 78% have used a solicitor before.
However, more than half of those questioned said they would be happy to buy legal services from a recognised non-legal brand such as a financial services company.
A YouGov survey of more than 2,000 consumers conducted for national law firm network the Legal Alliance found that 55% would buy legal services through existing non-legal brands.
However, of those who had used a solicitor before, only 27% said they would go back to the same qualified individual for a future need.
Solicitors were poor at remarketing themselves to existing clients, the research showed. More than two-thirds of clients who had used a lawyer had never heard from them again, while 14% had been contacted once by the firm.
Consumers showed a preference for local suppliers rather than call centres. Some 88% said it was important to be able to access services locally, while 87% said they were less likely to use a call centre-based service.
Of those consumers who were able to name one or more law firms, most named large City or corporate firms. City and national firm Eversheds was the best-known firm, named by 2% of respondents. Other firms named by 1% of respondents included national firms Irwin Mitchell and Thompsons; Manchester firm InjuryLawyers4U; Newcastle firm Dickinson Dees; and magic circle firms Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Allen & Overy, Slaughter and May, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Norrie Macdonald, business development director at the Legal Alliance, a network of independent medium-sized firms, said: ‘The brands will enter the market sooner rather than later, and every brand owner we have spoken to is happy to meet the needs of consumers through arrangements that deliver local services, with most aiming to launch in the first half of 2010.’
The Legal Alliance works with brands to provide a ‘white label’ law service through its network of firms.
Comments
This is hardly surprising.
This is hardly surprising. Most of the people who will have been asked will only use a law firm for two reasons. Firstly, to deal with conveyancing on property deals - and will then often use a firm suggested by either the property agent or the lender - and, secondly, will be to do with their own will/ estate or that of a close relative.
It has been a well known fact for many years that "branding" and legal services are not easy bedfellows............
Should they care?
On the one hand no - most of the people asked have no need of lawyers most of the time
But it is a fact that in more meaningful analyses like Superbrands, even the well known law firms are still way down the league from the largest accountants, investment banks and many others.
This matters on the wider commercial stage where law firms increasingly want a seat at the table.
Worth noting too that The Law Society consistently comes higher in these league tables than any law firm.
Professional services' attitude to marketing
I would be interested in finding out where these surveys were undertaken, but I'm not particularly surprised. Well-branded law firms (ie those with a considerable marketing budget) tend to deal with either corporates or wealthy private clients - were these clients included in the survey? Otherwise, I suspect that the regular man on the street who wants help with a divorce or conveyance, will simply amble into the nearest office on his local high street, without particularly noting the name or the speciality of the firm.
Having worked as in-house marketer for both Eversheds and City law firm D J Freeman in the past, my personal view is that professional services, despite warnings to the contrary, continue to plough money (albeit less now in this economic climate) into sponsorships - golf days, racing etc. Inevitably, the same people are invited to these events time after time. We all know that 80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers, and that keeping your most valuable clients sweet is vital, but we cannot afford to ignore the rest of our client base, whose current life experience may well bring forth the need for one of our other services or who may be active in recommending us to others.
With CRM packages now available for most firms, however primitive, there is no excuse for not executing regular communication with all clients, encouraging referrals and reinforcing brand recognition.
How Do You Find The Money That's Burning A Hole?
People buy when they are ready to buy, not when you want to sell.
And it's not good enough that people are satisfied with legal services. They have to be loyal. (If you don't know the difference, my wife may be satisfied, but I prefer her to be loyal.)
Surveys tell you what you already know. It's not about legal expertise (because that's a given). It is about marketing, which includes your positioning and communication of your expertise.
You have to know what it costs to get a prospect, what it takes to convert one, how much you make from each client over a lifetime and then you start to understand marketing.
You can only convert prospects properly if you have a marketing sequence. And then the whole return on investment in marketing picture alters dramatically.
If you don't know the basics of marketing then you want to find out fast. It's not because Tesco will steal your market. It's because you are leaving thousands of pounds of profit in pockets that will readily spend when it suits.
That's why you have to keep in front of people all the time, (yes forever) with a sequence so that you educate, persuade and entertain your prospects. When the time is right, they will come to you because they will actually remember your name.
And your phone number.
And mention it to their friends and family.
US Study: 67% of clients left firms due to lack of contact
A study by McGraw Hill in the US some years ago showed that the main reason cited by 67% of clients switching from one professional service firm to another was because they had received no contact from the firm after their bill was paid. This, in itself is not surprising. What surprised me about results was the extent to which it applied to large corporate clients just as much as private clients.