July 14, 2005
I Have a Question for You
The question is, “Do you subscribe and read publications for corporate counsels?" Periodicals like Corporate Counsel, Corporate Legal Times and Metropolitan Corporate Counsel can tell you what your clients and potential clients are thinking about and what they are looking for in a legal service provider.
The information in periodicals aimed at General Counsels and their team can give you a competitive edge by providing insight into strategies that major corporations are pursuing to control cost. They tell you what traits attract the legal service consumers and what turns them off. They tell you the shared weakness in-house counsels see among your competition. Weakness you can exploit to your competitive advantage.
Publications aimed at private law firms contain articles about trends already impacting law firms. Publications aimed at in-house counsels contain articles about trends and strategies that will impact you and your competitors down the road. Reading what your customers and prospects are reading gives you a competitive edge. Likewise, it pays to read the trade publications for the industry of important clients or prospects so that you know the legal and business issues that are important to CEOs.
Knowing yourself is important and knowing your customers is a must for client growth and retention.