When 5% is equal to 95%
4 Min Read
Our Managing Partner, Nick Robison, presents the case for a different form of maths.
In the previous edition of En Voyage, I wrote about whether the interests of employers, employees and clients could ever be aligned. In this supplement to that article, I explore how continuity of the relationships between employers, employees and clients benefits all – but especially clients… including those who don’t even know they are clients yet!
Before I do so, however, I would like to mention the “95/5 rule”.
The genesis of the rule is in the thinking of Professor John Dawes of the University of South Australia. In crude terms, the rule is that, in most markets, only about 5% of consumers are ready to purchase at a given time, while the remaining 95% are potential, future customers: they aren’t currently “in the market” but may be at some point in future. So, rather than focus on the 5% who are in the market now, the rule suggests that brands should instead focus on the 95%, by building and refreshing “memory links” to the brand so that, when a prospective client from that 95% is in the market, your brand is the one that first springs to mind.
A recent example of this can be seen in the way that Jaguar has marketed its latest offering (or not, as the case may be).The initial advertisements made little reference to any car; rather, they focused on creating a buzz about Jaguar in order to start people talking about the brand. Shortly thereafter, Jaguar unveiled the Type 00. However, it is only a concept car; the “real” car is not yet being marketed and is not likely to be marketed for many months. By then, however, Jaguar will have “built and refreshed memory links” so that those (then) in the market will immediately think of Jaguar as an option.
What does Jaguar’s marketing strategy have to do with law firms and their clients – and, crucially, what does it have to do with those who don’t even know they need a lawyer yet?
The answer at Babbé is… “promote from within” and, like Jaguar, “keep a firm eye on the future”.
Our existing clients take priority: they are as much an existing client as they are a potential new client and must be given priority so as to ensure that they feel their interests are being properly looked after. This means having ready access to the most senior lawyers of the firm, even if much of that client’sday-to-day work is performed by a member of the team that is less expensive than their seniors. This, in turn, ensures that when that more junior lawyer is promoted to a senior position, the existing client will have the confidence of having dealtwith them for a long time.
New voices also bring fresh ideas and approaches, however, and staff promoted from within will often have client (or prospective client) relationships of their own. By ensuring that the skills of younger staff are recognised and promoted, it therefore ensures that those with fresh ideas are being lifted to a point where they are permitted to put their ideas into practice, and that their relationships with existing and a new generation of clients are being properly valued.
What this all means, of course, is that every business needs to combine long-term goals with short-term targets.
The best firms are those that strike the right balance between short and long-term thinking. Having focussed heavily on internal promotions and longer-term planning over the past five years, we think we have got the balance right, both for our clients and our staff.