In our ongoing series on reputation, three contributors dissect the way communications and reputation have changed in professional services

PR revolution

Professional services firms need to change their approach to communications, Geraldine McGrory of McGrory Communications writes

For many professional services firms, the major public relations challenge of the last five to 10 years has been simple: they have had to put in place a PR strategy for the very first time. Doing nothing is no longer acceptable.

Even the largest and most prestigious legal, accounting and professional services firms now appreciate that PR is a crucial part of the marketing mix, one they can no longer afford to neglect and that social media can help shake up their communications to reach a wider audience.

“In the face of increasing competition and market challenges, a good reputation is invaluable,” says Peter Timberlake, head of communications at the Financial Reporting Council, a regulator that works with professional services firms. “So the need to be more on the front foot with PR and other communications is undoubtedly greater.”

Professional services clients have become more demanding about who they will work with. Whilst they might once have simply asked the same handful of large professional services firms to pitch for new business, they are now more likely to choose their suppliers based not on reputation alone but on price, quality and depth of experience.

While the professional services sector largely escaped the reputational damage suffered by the financial services industry – though the Big Four accountancy firms are now under renewed scrutiny – the slowdown has forced all businesses to question how and where they spend their money.

New entrants to the sector, or firms with an ambition to grow quickly, see PR as a more affordable and valuable way to build their brand with potential clients than straightforward advertising. Many more firms are courting the media with storylines they hope will gain exposure not only in print but on radio, TV and digital.

However, larger, more established firms have awaken to the challenge these new entrants represent. Magic circle law firms which might once have regarded speaking to the press as not worth the time invested, have recognised that the challenger brands that seek to replace them are brand building through media exposure.

“The risk-averse nature of professional firms may make their PR less headline grabbing, but the firms with strong, creative PR strategies will find ways of making their technical knowledge newsworthy,” says Paul Finnegan, a partner at London-based accountants Blick Rothenberg. “Being clear on your aims and being prepared to experiment a little are important to getting the best return from your investment.”

Positioning the firm as a credible media commentator on relevant issues is part of the PR thought leadership strategy of many professional services firms. They are increasingly producing high-quality research material that establishes the firm as an authority in its particular market.

International law firm Winston & Strawn will soon publish research into the risks identified by general counsel at some of the world’s largest companies. “As a global legal business which advises these companies on risk, we’re in a unique position to gather these insights and it’s important that we can reflect our understanding of them in the services we provide,” says Michael Madden, managing partner of Winston & Strawn.

This sort of work is even more effective as a PR activity than media punditry, since it is proactive rather than reactive and gives not only trade press, but all media outlets a platform on which to form an opinion.

“Professional services firms are getting very good at creating and branding repeatable assets, such as surveys, rankings, and award programmes, to generate awareness,” says Valerie Di Maria, principal of the10company, a New York based marketing communications agency and the U.S. partner of McGrory Communications.

Such activity isn’t always easy, not least because of the conflicts that can arise. Courting controversy is often the easiest way to ensure coverage, but that strategy jars with the natural caution that is a feature of so many leaders in professional services.

It is not just the message that induces conflict, but the medium of communication. Social media, in particular, is a difficult area for professional services firms. Research from the Harvard Business Review shows that businesses are engaging more with social media – a recent survey found 79% have used or planned to use social media – and the sector must not miss an opportunity to capitalise on a channel that can help with everything from recruitment to marketing.

One problem is these firms are generally still led by practitioners for whom print is the most important medium. Such attitudes won’t change overnight, and print remains important, but PR advisers must help practitioners evolve.

Nevertheless, social media should not be neglected as a valuable PR tool, says Timberlake, “Any organisation that ignores social media as part of its communications mix is living in the past. So many journalists, commentators, customers, and potential recruits use social media as part of their daily and working lives that it is essential to build a social media strategy into your communications plans.” Deloitte, for one, has been lauded for its use of social media. Its website features clear links to its social channels and blogs which in turn push users through to Deloitte-generated content. The overall effect across its social media presence is significant brand enhancement.

Used well, social media can be a powerful weapon as professional services firms continue to develop their PR strategies. It is part of a growing trend towards creative business-to-business PR that recognises the traditional channels of communication are no longer sufficient for firms that want to engage with all of their audiences.

“The services these firms provide have become even more crucial to companies, and CEOs, CFOs and other C-suite leaders are more involved in deciding which law firm or auditor to engage,” adds Di Maria. “That means outreach to the C-Suite and their boards is increasingly important. Gone are the days when trade media was the key element of the PR plan.”

There must be a plan. Professional services firms may have been slow to embrace PR, but the sector is now doing so. A recent Thomson Reuters survey showed that 40% of lawyers increased their PR budgets last year. Those firms that aren’t investing in PR risk being left behind.

Perfect storm

Eulogy!’s head of professional services, David Flynn, talks legal, accounting and a storm of change

Barclays really is Big. Over ten years ago, Leagas Delaney developed a campaign called The Big Bank. It was much criticised at the time and eventually withdrawn, but it captured the swagger and confidence of a certain part of Barclays that is now fully in charge. When the most influential people in the culture are multi-millionaires called Diamond and Ricci, there’s little escaping this.

There’s an old adage about commercialising business and communications: accountancy firms are 10 years behind the wider business community and law firms are 10 years behind the accountants. While often seen as flippant, The Lawyer magazine recently surveyed the industry finding that the legal sector especially is not as commercial as it should be.

Over the last few years, British law firms have begun making strides in embracing a more commercial approach, yet, thanks to the pre-2007 economic boom and increased regulation, the sector was able to grow without needing to evolve.

However, good times only last so long.

The legal sector is facing a perfect storm of change. First, the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession created a new financial reality. Costs are rising while clients are pushing for more, for less. Overall legal spend is not expected to go down, but the number of firms that gain those fees will decrease. Simply, there are too many law firms for the amount of work available.

Second, the implications of the Legal Services Act are starting to be felt. The act aimed to make legal services more accessible, essentially liberalising the market for legal services in the UK. Often referred to as “Tesco Law,” it has allowed

a number of commercially savvy organisations to enter the market. These new entrants are experts in marketing, PR and advertising; using systems and processes more advanced than those of traditional law firms.

With major brands entering the market, and the fact that there are already too many firms for the amount of work available, the management team at each firm faces the task of maintaining morale, retaining clients, and winning business. Even the Solicitors Regulatory Authority says that 160 firms are at financial risk and eight are at the immediate risk of collapse. For some firms, the key challenge has shifted from maintaining revenue to simple survival.

How firms respond is linked to their strategic approach, and already the industry is splitting into two camps: the modernisers and the conservatives. The modernisers are embracing change by implementing new communications approaches, while conservatives are doing what they can to maintain profit. For the latter, the default reaction to pressure on fees is to minimise costs by reducing the size of non-fee earning teams like PR and marketing. Thus, when such firms need to support and increase their communications and business development strategies, they are often removing their capability to do so.

These challenges also call for increased differentiation between the firms. For any firm in the top 100, legal expertise and quality should be a given, not a differentiator, as it so often is in their communications. Firms often think a communications strategy only needs to convey these messages to stakeholders.

However, the way the messages are delivered is key. Firms must show how they understand a client’s business, not only say that they do.

Communications, both internal and external, must be embraced to help set firms apart, turn partners and staff into brand ambassadors and create a clear and consistent message that appeals to current and future clients. The firms that place communications at the heart of their strategy will be the ones that survive.

Content still king

Living Group’s annual Living Ratings survey shows that the professional services need to rethink their approaches to social media. Copyrwiter Nick Smith explains the results

The evidence that retail brands’ use of social media is growing at a rapid pace is clearly apparent. However, B2B companies, particularly in professional services are facing different challenges.

To help understand the changing nature of legal and professional services communications, Living Group examined the maturity of the social media communications of the UK’s professional services sector, specifically the leading legal and accountancy firms. Living Ratings, a social media and brand content survey, shows that – for the time being at least – the accountants hold an advantage over the lawyers. What’s more, there is clear evidence that both sectors are embracing a range of social media channels as part of their suite of PR and corporate communications.

The latest Living Ratings’ analysis shows, perhaps unsurprisingly, that Twitter is the most popular social channel. The majority of the firms surveyed have well designed and strongly branded Twitter profiles with frequent hourly and daily posts link to a host of features and blogs via their company websites. Other popular channels are LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. They feature extensive commercial, social and graduate content supported by links, regular updates and media-rich content. Alternative channels like Pinterest are also attracting leading firms – Deloitte and EY for example – who see it as an ideal forum in which to showcase surveys and research material that is brought to life through visual media.

Social media has the potential to deliver genuine commercial benefits and ROI too. Among the law firms surveyed, some are taking to Twitter to assist with relatively simple corporate profile raising or as part of a sophisticated client acquisition strategy by linking their clients and prospects to specialized commercial advice. Others, such as DWF and Mishcon de Reya, are using LinkedIn to generate new business leads or creating dedicated Facebook or Google+ pages to attract graduate trainees as part of wider recruitment campaigns.

It’s clear that ROI from social media is going to increase as more and more law firms extend their social media communication beyond corporate communications teams and out to their specialized practice or sector groups, allowing for the potential to connect directly with users on specific and relevant topics.

Each social media channel has a different and specific role to play. Integrated, and interlinked, with branded and bespoke content different social media channels can act as stepping stones leading to the corporate website. This interest in social media creates a new challenge – the content challenge. As more and more firms start to integrate Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Google + into their corporate communications mix, high quality content will fast become an increasingly valuable asset. Living Ratings’ research shows that today far too many firms rely on recycled tweets and links to third- party content. A relatively small number are generating engaging and original branded social media content.

Looking ahead, the use of social media as part of the corporate communicators’ armory will grow across all sectors in the future. In order to exploit this trend – one that is set to integrate social media, blogs, video, microsites and websites like never before – companies will need to curate, create and publish more original, and more compelling branded content.