Advertising
1 December 1984(1984 Dec) – Now that solicitors (and accountants) are allowed to advertise, it is interesting to observe how a professional group responds to the challenge.
Advertising in the property market is so much a part of the furniture that it is difficult to remember that corporate advertising is still relatively novel. To market an intangible asset is a difficult task. The nature of service is dictated by the market and most Clients expect certain basic criteria. Any departure from this ‘norm’ reflects either the firm’s inventiveness or inefficiency. The choice of a professional adviser owes much to personality and prejudice, and no amount of corporate advertising is going to influence a prospective Client whose sights are set elsewhere.
At the bottom end of the market, the level of fees dominates decisions and no doubt many solicitors have realised that by cutting fees to encourage additional instructions, response will come from this source. However, low fees are only profitable in conjunction with high volume and one of the snags with official competition is that it dilutes volume.
Response to corporate advertising is rarely immediate. Marketing must be planned and a strategy formulated, as the occasional advertisement is a waste of money. The first principle in marketing is to define the market and in repeating this, the professional marketing lecturers often miss the point that not every company wants to participate in every sector of the market and that indifferent attitudes may be a deliberate policy for deterring unwanted enquirers.
The cost of advertising is generally sold by diving the cost of the space by the circulation or audited readership. This is very misleading, in practice because the position in a suitable publication is usually the key factor and not just simple presence.
Advertising is addictive; once started, there is always the feeling that it is difficult to stop, ‘just in case.’ Furthermore, many people make a mental note of corporate advertising for future reference so that one is paying out money now for potential future business. In my experience, most corporate display advertising is a waste of but essential use of money! Repetition of a theme creates readership immunity and it is only when the reader has a need for the service that contact is made. This highlights the difference between advertising and marketing. Advertising announces the availability of the product or service, whereas marketing does the selling, so a response to an advertisement must be treated with the same degree of importance that the copy in the advertising implies. If, for example, a personal service is advertised, then a personal response must be given to the enquiry.
I shall be very surprised if solicitors continue advertising for long. Most firms get a steady flow of new business and few are short term operators, which means they can afford to wait as their reputation grows naturally. Some firms do need a jolt so the competition is no bad thing, but I suspect the most important outcome of the relaxation in the advertising regulations will be the chance for firms to define their market.
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