A recent article in the Economist outlined a move away from the ‘billable hour’ toward a ‘value-based system’ that has been happening in the global advertising agency sector. A sceptical note was raised by a commentator in the Economist article, pointing out that the benefits of an advertising agency’s work are often ‘subjective’ and this appeared to be an attempt to reduce costs by big-spending companies. I had to ‘LOL’, to use the internet parlance.

Having read that article, I think solicitors may find the new legal services market a little easier to deal with. A concept of which solicitors are well aware, and should exploit to the maximum potential, is: where is the value in what you do for the client? By their actions, what do solicitors help their client achieve?

I have great respect for the work of advertising agencies, but in comparison the value that solicitors deliver to their clients has to be far greater, in both money and confidence terms.

However, we also need to be creative in how we demonstrate this to clients. The most often-used phrase is ‘peace of mind’. This is, in my opinion, a dreadful, overused sop that is often trotted out because people can’t think of a better way to demonstrate value to domestic and some commercial clients.

As part of using marketing techniques to develop a firm, communicating the value solicitors deliver to clients must form part of almost everything they say to potential clients. Presenting clear benefits that show value, in ways potential clients understand, does takes a lot of effort. In the end there are only two broad types: benefits that help a client do something they cannot (easily) do for themselves; and benefits that make them feel better about themselves and more secure. Usually it’s a mixture of the two. The challenge is finding a dozen or so different ways of presenting benefits that match the client’s requirements and promote the use of a particular firm.

The Law Society ran a good reference campaign that covered the benefits of seeing a solicitor. But what benefits or value do your clients get from your firm, your department or your work? How do you tell your clients about these benefits?