Crank up publicity machine, marketing study urges firms

PUBLIC RELATIONS: routine announcements 'hinder progress'

Law firms continue to lag behind other professions when it comes to marketing themselves, according to new research.

A survey of 103 professional marketers carried out by consultants Marketforce Communications found that legal marketers failed to make use of advanced PR tools, despite the fact that all respondents realised the importance of demonstrating their firm's grasp of client concerns.

Only 9% of the 58 legal marketers questioned used strategy papers as one of their main PR activities, compared with 34% of management consultants and 29% of accountancy firms.

Just 21% of law firms focused on publishing surveys, compared with 30% of management consultants and 52% of accountants.

Law firms appear to concentrate more on internal announcements, with 85% sending out press releases on developments within the firm - such as appointments - as one of their top two PR activities.

Marketforce's managing director David Saunders said firms are being held back by the emphasis on publicising routine announcements.

'Firms need to demonstrate their business understanding to their clients via the media, rather than simply letting the press know when a new contract is won.'

The survey was released at the Law Society's law management section legal marketing forum last week.

Section chairman Nick Jarrett-Kerr said he was unsurprised by the findings.

'Lawyers have only been able to publicise themselves since 1985, and although they are catching up fast with the other professions, they are trying to cram 30 years' worth of marketing into 17 years.'

He said firms' attitudes to marketing were changing from the days when 'promotion' and 'sales' were seen as dirty words.

'Lawyers are gradually learning the benefits of promoting themselves, and realising that, for example, talking to the press can often be a very beneficial and useful marketing tool.'

Victoria MacCallum