Reviewed by: Steve Gauke
Author: Dr Silvia Hodges
Publisher: Ark Group
ISBN: 978-1-907787-47-8
Price: £295

While many books have been written on the subject of law firm marketing and business development, very few have focussed specifically on the crucial sector that is medium-sized companies.

Silvia Hodges’ Winning Legal Business from Medium-Sized Companies is therefore a welcome addition to the genre and provides invaluable advice for all law firm partners and marketing professionals looking to win more business in this field.

The key strength of this book is its ability to look at the effectiveness of marketing strategies from the client perspective.

Based on extensive research and laced with dozens of excellent quotations that reinforce the point, it allows readers to understand how the buying behaviour of this market is different to that of FTSE-listed companies with large in-house legal teams.

Hodges takes us through this behaviour step-by-step, from how medium-sized companies decide what legal services they purchase, through how they choose which law firms to use, to how they evaluate the service they receive.

Aligned to these steps are practical, straightforward tips, tools and techniques that firms can deploy to anticipate this buying behaviour.

These insights are backed by the sort of extensively referenced examples and strong supporting evidence that should inform any law firm marketing strategy.

One of the most useful features of the book is the numerous sidebar commentaries and checklists that reinforce the text.

Combined with appendices containing excellent examples of questionnaires, marketing models and a sample marketing plan, it makes the book a genuinely practical source of advice.

Many law firm marketing directors bemoan the fact that it can be difficult to persuade partners of the value of marketing and business development activities.

Although this book does not specifically cover this (and perhaps it is a topic worthy of a book in its own right!), any partner that takes the time to read it cannot fail to be impressed by the logic of the conclusions reached.

If you are looking for a book steeped in marketing theory then this is not for you.

However, if you want well-researched commentary, combined with practical advice, then it is a must read.

Steve Gauke is head of the Marketing Directors Network, Winmark Europe

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