Untapped territory: Winning over European medium-sized companies

Following the results of LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbells' study, 'How mid-sized companies in Europe select and review their legal services providers' (aspects of which appear in this issue's cover story), Silvia Hodges provides some tips on winning business from such organisations.

European mid-sized companies, generally, are difficult to reach with conventional marketing tools. They are not integrated in the cross-jurisdictional legal market in the way larger or publicly-listed companies tend to be and typically do not refer to usual sources of information on the legal profession.

When targeting mid-size companies, cold-calling, sending brochures or offering test runs are unlikely to be successful. Furthermore, it is best not to wait for an invitation to tender as these are not widely used by such companies. A more proactive and client-orientated approach is required – the research suggested the following marketing tactics would be the most likely to be successful.

Show, don’t tell
Adopt a pragmatic and flexible approach. Get to know your prospective client’s industry and speak their ‘language’ – that way you will be taken seriously as a partner who can bring focus and really add value.

Satisfy your clients
Word of mouth clearly is the principal means by which European mid-size companies identify their potential external legal-services providers. Getting introduced/referred to prospects by current or past clients should be your number-one marketing priority.

Know the right people
Due to increasingly international work, mid-sized companies usually ask their existing lawyers for recommendations in other jurisdictions. For this, European mid-size companies regularly turn to their lawyers for recommendation in overseas jurisdictions, so be sure you are in touch with a number of independent European law firms to increase your chances of being recommended.

Offer practical solutions
If personal references are unattainable or difficult to secure, try to engage potential buyers with interesting, succinct and useful newsletters. Communicate hot legal topics in a pragmatic, easily read style and offer seminars on current legal issues, offering forward thinking, ‘what to do now’ suggestions and solutions.

Value, not price
Provide realistic estimates for legal work and stick to those estimates. Offer fixed-price work, caps or, better still, work on a retainer arrangement. Above all, be flexible, offer discounts and other favourable financial arrangements. European mid-size companies generally are a loyal clientele. In exchange for this loyalty they do not expect to be charged for every minor task undertaken and seek to reduce costs and drive productivity.

The ideal lawyer
The ‘ideal’ lawyer for European mid-size companies is one that is honest and genuinely displays an interest in their business. They should be results driven, efficient and flexible. In brief, they should display the same qualities and mirror the values of the client company.

Some do’s …

Treat your clients well: be responsive and pro-active;
Minimise your correspondence: explain even the most difficult issues in a few lines;
Remember that your client’s time is valuable: avoid wasting it with too much detail;
Take care of client service in all possible forms;
Ask your clients to give you their feedback;
Understand your client’s business before attempting to establish their needs – give them what they want.

“I was very impressed when facing an – in my opinion – hopeless situation, my lawyer came up with a great solution that I had not thought about at all.” (French retail/wholesale company)

“Client service is always important, if you are not willing to treat us nicely, there’s always someone else who will.” (Italian retail/wholesale company)

Silvia Hodges is founder of legal marketing italia, a network for marketing professionals in Italy, and a consultant. She can be contacted at s.hodges@marketude.it