In the boom of the late 1980s, the serious use of marketing took root in the legal profession.

In reaction to the recession which followed, some firms dispensed with marketing as part of a general cut in expenditure, but the more far-sighted realised that the new discipline offered the only real prospect, not just for survival, but more importantly, for increasing market share.Although many small and medium-sized partnerships can see the need for some form of marketing strategy, few pursue the idea.

They regard it as only feasible for large firms which can afford a substantial budget and an in-house specialist.

They consequently fail to make use of resources that they already possess, such as partners with strong sales ability or a flair for writing, members of staff with the aptitude for lateral thinking and the levels of organisation and drive present in any well run firm.Once you accept your ability to undertake structured practice development, start by assessing your current position by completing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis.

This is a straightforward tool for focusing a project team (possibly just a group of partners but preferably all members of staff) on the current strengths and weaknesses of the firm, any potential threats it faces and the opportunities for growth and development open to it.

This provides the basis for putting together a marketing plan.A lot of the marketing which is done by smaller firms proves to be of little use because the energies of the enthusiastic amateurs who undertake it are not properly harnessed and directed.

This often leads to a period of intense activity where seminars, press releases, adverts and articles pile into one another, followed by a period of exhaustion and apathy when nothing happens and the initial impact of the campaign fades away.

Consequently, it is essential to put together a formal written plan which will provide a structure for the firm's strategy for at least the next 12 months.Where better to start than with your existing clients? Consumer research has shown that it costs around five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to obtain repeat business from those who already deal with you.

Therefore, your first step should be to survey your clients to establish their perceptions of the service you are providing.

Many partners become extremely defensive when this is suggested as they seem to regard it as covert criticism of their professional competence.

It is an exercise with a high potential for embarrassment, but it is even more embarrassing when a client leaves.

Providing a formal channel for complaint through a quality control programme (which should be continuous rather than just a one-off project) allows you to uncover and deal with problems before they become a serious threat.

This exercise also allows you to identify the need for extra services before your competitors start providing them and, assuming the client is happy with you, provides you with a source of new business by asking them to recommend you to their contacts.Ideally, you should use the lessons learned from the survey as the basis of a client care programme, which would need to be implemented at all levels throughout the firm.One of the fundamentals of a marketing plan is to establish your USP or unique selling proposition.

The USP is a factor which makes your firm stand out from the competition and which will provide a focus for your marketing efforts.

If, like many smaller firms, yours is a general practice, your USP may be something as simple as the fact that you are the only practice with an office in a particular location.

Alternatively, one of your partners may be able to claim an expertise or specialisation in a particular area, although close consideration of the publicity code is necessary here.

Every practice, no matter how small, has some individual feature to be discovered and promoted.The next consideration is how to spread the word of your services to the waiting world and the three main ways of achieving this are through the media of mailshotting, advertising and public relations.The key to fruitful mailshotting is an effective database of potential clients.

The ideal database is one that is put together in-house.

However, if the lack of time and personnel resources precludes this, a good second option is to acquire a list from a list broker and then 'clean' it yourself to make sure that it is as up-to-date and targeted as possible.

When you start to use the database try to get the maximum use out of it by sending out more than just a general brochure or a 'we are a firm of solicitors' letter, which are unlikely to generate much response.

Instead, go back to your USP and stress it to those clients who could most obviously benefit from it.Successful advertising is based on the same approach.

Quick and cost effective results can be attained by advertising your USP to a relevant target group.When advertising or mailshotting, bear in mind that potential clients tend to be attracted initially by a specific 'product' rather than the more intangible concept of general good service, which only gains importance once the relationship is established.

The 'product' may be the particular expertise you can lay claim to, a specialist service you provide or a workshop or seminar you are staging.

The most useful of these are ones which address an unavoidable need (the legal aspects of death would be an obvious example) or that tie into a particular event, such as a change in legislation.

One of the great attractions of seminars is that they give the potential client an opportunity to assess you on neutral ground whilst allowing you the time to present yourself in the best possible light.Many professional partnerships dismiss public relations as only being relevant to large firms and consequently miss out on a highly cost effective promotional tool.

If you can communicate well in writing and are willing to follow a few simple rules, there is no reason why you cannot gain useful press coverage, whatever the size of your practice.

Good press relations provides support for your business objectives as mapped out in your marketing plan.

Think carefully about a publication's audience before sending them a press release or an article; an article on drafting a will or domestic conveyancing could be targeted at a local paper , whereas a more technical, specialist piece would fit better into the relevant trade press.Articles may be published on the strength of your expertise in a particular field but a press release must feature news.

You must have something to say that is current, pertinent and relevant to the publication's audience.Build formal review dates into your plan, preferably on a three monthly basis, when you can sit down with your fellow partners to exam ine progress.

This will give you the opportunity to establish which initiatives are successful and which should be discontinued.

It also gives you the chance to chase up those who have failed to provide their contribution.Finally, remember that marketing works, but it does not work overnight, so do not give up if you have not doubled your client base by the date of your first review.

Persistence is the key and will lead to the desired result given time.