When the Law Society laid on marketing roadshows the profession showed little interest. Why?

Too many childhood hours in front of the TV have left me with an unbreakable association between the term “branding” and the on-screen activities of the youthful Clint Eastwood.

With his cowpoke colleagues, branding involved wrestling to the ground a wide-eyed, fearful and resisting creature, roping together its legs and applying a red hot iron to its rump. Success came with the sizzle of flesh, a bellow of bovine discomfort and trail-hand expectoration into the campfire embers to mark another task well done. Branding was an obvious commercial necessity. No steers would be harmed in the process.

As images go, curiously, it may not be too far from apt in describing the efforts of the Law Society of Scotland to introduce its members to the prospective advantages that the looming legal marketplace may hold for them if they seize the opportunity. A series of roadshows were planned around Scotland this month and next but even the carrot of two hours’ continuing professional development (CPD) failed to provoke a stampede. The roadshows have been cancelled due to lack of numbers and will now be offered online later this summer. The branding and marketing element will be given by Justin Hutton-Penman, managing partner of Edinburgh-based agency, Flock.

“What’s interesting about the legal sector is that it is at a crossroads,” he says. “No-one likes change and this is the biggest shake-up the Scottish legal profession has ever had. But it’s a great opportunity for legal businesses of all sizes and specialities to become clear about who they’re targeting as clients, what their niche is and what their role in the sector is. They can build and grow their business from there. Just because there may be major entrants into the provision of legal services like the Co-op or Tesco isn’t a justification for despair. They will be looking to volume. What do you offer that is distinctive?”

There will be a place for “off the shelf” and bespoke services. The essential difference will be in the nature of the relationship. It is essential that traditional legal practices get to know their clients and build productive relationships. Hutton- Penman says: “My objective is to spark debate, give a bit of information and plant some questions in people’s minds. My sense is that many members of the legal profession have head-in-the-sand syndrome, hoping it will all go away. And it will be quite difficult for some of them who are intelligent, well-educated people who thought that being good at their job as a lawyer ought to be enough.

“They say, ‘what’s wrong with the e-mail newsletter we send out once a quarter?’ The answer is nothing if it’s working and is growing their business. But have they looked closely at whether it is doing that or, more importantly, is it helping to build their continuing relationship with their clients? Is it what the clients value?”

Hutton-Penman sees it as a crusade to promote marketing. “It has a poor reputation among some industries. I tell people to forget what they’ve heard about marketing. If it’s a cost on your balance sheet rather than driving your bottom line and your business, something’s not right.”

Flock is itself a relatively young business and gives the impression of being on a similar journey. That may have been telling in being awarded the Law Society gig. Neil Stevenson, the society’s director of representation and professional support, says: “We were very impressed by the work they did with a small holiday company that was struggling to survive providing a general service in a very competitive business sector. Flock helped the company look at the parts of their client base that were distinctive and built up their confidence to concentrate, profitably, on developing those niche areas.”

Hutton-Penman picks up the theme. “The first time an individual approaches a lawyer is because something has cropped up. It’s a distress purchase. But if your business plan relies on an endless stream of single transactions, that’s some treadmill to be on. When that matter is resolved, don’t just wave goodbye. They may need other services in the future – a will, a lease or conveyancing – and you want your name to be the first they think of. Business is driven by relationships. Even if you don’t provide that service, establish a business connection with local firms which do, so you can refer between one other.”

Hutton-Penman is optimistic about the potential for transformation across the profession, having seen it in his previous career within the whisky industry. “A few years ago it was a bit intimidated by changes in legislation at home and marketing controls overseas. But most of the industry has become far more customer-focused, and has become more profitable as a result. Darwin wrote, ‘The fittest survive at the expense of their rivals because they succeed best in adapting themselves to their environment.’ ”

It’s a truism that it is easier to develop existing clientele than find new ones. “Analyse your customer base,” says Hutton-Penman. “Get clients to write testimonials and refer you on. Ask your customers if they are satisfied. What are their other legal needs? Ask them. They’ll tell you. Who are your competitors? Define yourself. Define your competitors. That’ll reveal to you where you fit in. In my experience, law firms really aren’t very good at that. They are used to thinking laterally in their litigation so they need to learn to do that in their marketing too.”

Of course, managing partners across Scotland are now thinking that they have to find a budget for all this when income may be wobbling. “That’s back to front. The way we do it for our own business is to work backwards from the targets in our business plan. Building awareness, networking and leveraging your contacts doesn’t necessarily cost a lot. Identify your key target group and find out where they go to find information in other parts of their business.

“What you must do is measure the effectiveness of the marketing you do. That’s where businesses fall down most. If you don’t measure it you might as well pour money down the drain.”

Only a few years ago many solicitors were wide-eyed, fearful and resisting the mandatory introduction of customer relations managers. Neil Stevenson says most now understand how effective early handling of grievances can save a firm money and time

“More than that,” adds Hutton-Penman. “Conveying you are dealing with them seriously can often turn an unhappy client into an advocate for the firm. Listening to your client is the first step of good marketing.”