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Craig: We\u2019re currently up to about 110 QS firms, which equates to around 220 \u201cbranches\u201d across England & Wales. This will increase quite rapidly as we are currently on a new firm recruitment drive ahead of our marketing campaign in the Spring. Ultimately, total UK-wide coverage will equate to about 500 firms. Each firm has exclusivity in their local area.<\/p>\n
Delia: Are these firms changing their name formally to (say) QualitySolicitors Venables? (There are only about 9 firms in the Law Society Directory listed under \u201cQuality\u201d at the moment). Or are some firms deciding not to do this?<\/p>\n
Craig: All firms, without exception, are \u201cQualitySolicitors [firm name]\u201d \u2013 just not all are registered that way with the Law Society yet! The name change is fundamental to the QS proposition of combining a recognised, national brand with good local firms with well-established strong reputations in their community. QS strengthens rather than subrogates that reputation.<\/p>\n
Delia: Are they all now hosting their website on qualitysolicitors.com and redirecting their old web site visitors to the new one? Or are some keeping the old one as well as the new one? Some firms will have had substantial sites before joining you \u2013 are you able to take over the content and information they provided previously onto the new site?<\/p>\n
Craig: All firms exchange their existing sites for their QS ones (although there are a few still to be redirected). They are free to carry across as much content as they wish and, indeed, we encourage them to ensure that their QS site is full of quality content. We\u2019re actually re-launching the QS site in the New Year with a fresh design. It will be a photography\/video rich site which we believe will be one of the best in the legal market.<\/p>\n
Delia: Are they all changing their notepaper, signage on the offices, advertising approach, and so on?<\/p>\n
Craig: Yes, it is very important that there is visual consistency in the brand and all QS firms fully adopt the QS branding across all elements of their practice. By doing so, we are able to ensure a uniform look and feel to QS branded practices. This is only one element of the \u201cbrand\u201d but it is an important part of peoples\u2019 whole experience. We are not McDonalds \u2013 we\u2019re not trying to create identikit law-firms and actually the personality and character of each QS firm, reflecting the nature of their locality, is something that\u2019s a vital part of our proposition to the consumer. The key to QS is in retaining that but at the same time ensuring the standards are uniformly high and that the client receives the same quality of service across the QS group.<\/p>\n
Delia: How is the WHSmith initiative going?<\/p>\n
Craig: This has been a revelation. Its purpose is frequently misunderstood by fellow members of the profession who can\u2019t understand people getting legal advice in a busy, retail environment. In fact, it is not intended to be a source of legal advice but a means by which people can get information on the local QS firm, pick up a brochure, book an appointment\/phone call etc. People have responded extremely well to the innovation. Firms have had to work hard at the presence, ensuring the right staff are recruited and that they are well-supported and trained and we\u2019ve had to put a lot of support into this from QS centrally. Where this has been done well, the rewards are now being reaped. Our very best Legal Access Points are generating about 70 details of new potential clients per day.<\/p>\n
Another myth perpetuated is that the demographic of those using the \u201cLegal Access Point\u201d service is somehow lower than that sought by many firms. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth with the highest percentage demographic using the service being shown to be \u201cwealthy executives\u201d, followed by \u201csecure families\u201d according to an analysis undertaken for us by CACI (reflective of the analysis of the wider QS-user demographic). More anecdotally, the fact that the LAPs are producing a surprising volume of enquiries from business owners lends support to this analysis.<\/p>\n
Delia: And your recent investment announcement \u2013 how will that affect your plans?<\/p>\n
Craig: Our investment will, literally, transform QS. We are bringing in talented individuals right across the board, in IT, design, marketing, operations, compliance, training, procurement etc. QS firms will get the benefit locally of a well-resourced central operation focused on ensuring their success in their local market. It also means our forthcoming Spring advertising campaign (which is a brand new style of advert, no longer animated) will be like nothing ever before seen in the legal market in terms of scale and quality of production.<\/p>\n
The investment will ensure we can help our firms to provide the very best service to consumers and also that we can communicate that fact to consumers in a very high profile way. We are investing significantly in training and innovations in the service provided by QS firms, in order to ensure we have a genuinely differentiated offering. We believe that our consumer proposition is entirely unique \u2013 and offers the best of both worlds \u2013 as a true national brand, which will become recognised and trusted, but with a service being delivered by well-established, local law firms.<\/p>\n
Delia: What is your view of the way that the solicitors market will develop over 2012 (and beyond)?<\/p>\n
Craig: The consumer will be king in the \u201cnew\u201d market \u2013 and rightly so. There will be a plethora of options, brands and types of offering for all legal services. Firms will no longer be able to rely on repeat work or recommendations, as more and more \u201cloyal\u201d clients will explore other options, shop around and truly assess the value in what they are being offered. The current asymmetry of knowledge and information about legal services in favour of the provider will diminish.<\/p>\n
Firms\u2019 pricing will be put to the test \u2013 and to command a premium over other options it won\u2019t be enough to simply offer a \u201cpersonal service\u201d or a good legal service. Firms need to look for true differentiators over their competitors, both locally and nationally. To the extent that firms believe anything like the status quo is an option, such a strategy is going to be found seriously deficient in the coming months and years. \u201cWait and see\u201d is equally extremely dangerous as, for many, by the time you\u2019ve \u201cseen\u201d, it\u2019ll be too late\u201d\u00a6<\/p>\n
Craig Holt is Chief Executive of QualitySolicitors<\/a>. He studied law at Oxford University before becoming a barrister specialising in family law. He founded QualitySolicitors following his own frustrating experience of selecting and using a high street law firm for his conveyancing.<\/i><\/p>\n