It would be quite easy to get wrapped up in what your competition is doing. A firm could be envious to look across the High St, see a number of clients in and out of their office, or in 2011 see that your competition has a 1,000 Twitter followers when your firm has 75!
However, is it that healthy to worry that much about the competition in the legal sector? – after all, if you get your marketing strategy right and be bold and lead from the front then it shouldn't really matter.
Saying that, there are well documented changes in the sector afoot. Law firms are being presented with new marketing challenges like never before, faced with bigger brands well versed in consumer / client marketing, changes that could be quite daunting to some, an opportunity for others.
Yes, there is the likely prospect that a clients path to using the legal sector could change – but the key principle of great client service from individual firms will be a key determining factor in who they continue to work with or instruct.
The current marketing tools available to those individual firms will enhance their ability to grow their client relationships in the longer term. Direct contact via social media, updates through email newsletters and a strong brand online will only help to build these ties with clients and prospects alike.
So yes, you could the follow the competition on Twitter but the people whom clients rely on for great service is... your very own firm – don't worry too much about your rivals – continue to be bold, carve out your own strategy that draw the clients in and keeps them with you. Do that and they won't concern themselves with the latest offerings from your competition – why would they? – when you deliver great client service yourself!
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