Legal Marketing & PR

Doing business the "old way" must change or ....

By Edward Poll, J.D., M.B.A., CMC

Linda J. Popky, "The Marketing Master," recently had to completely change her diet in order to treat a persistent cough. She compared her experience to that of businesses suffering in today's economy. She says that they will need to change the way they do business, or suffer the consequences...

" ... The old ways to generate business don't seem to be working. Assumptions on how people make purchase decisions, choose brands, and even decide whether or not to purchase products and services have all changed. The trouble is we're so used to looking at things the way they've always been that we don't see the different paths that may be more effective in today's situation.

"Those who are waiting for the old way of life to return are likely to find themselves quite hungry for some time. They're hunkering down and waiting for things to come back to "normal," to the way things used to be. There's no question that we will achieve a semblance of business normality very soon, but it's highly unlikely to be what we were used to before. The world has changed – the strategies and approaches, tactics and approaches we used before are unlikely to be as effective in today's environment.

"Maybe it's time to change the recipe. Time to replace outdated assumptions and processes with ones that reflect the new reality. Time to find substitutes and alternatives to grow your business: new markets to targets, different ways to provide value to customers, innovative ways to be competitive..."

Is this what some of the now defunct law firms did? Did they wait too long before realizing that the world had changed? Today, we criticize law firms that lay-off lawyers and staff ... "right size." But, aren't they the wiser ones who are seeking to adjust to the realities of the new world?

Full post as published by Law Biz Blog on June 19, 2009 (boomark / email).