Advertising and attorneys: some anxiety -reducing empirical findings

Transcription

1 ARTIKELS Advertising and attorneys: some anxiety -reducing empirical findings C Boshoff, Departnlent of Business Econonlics, Vista University, Port Elizabeth The issue of advertising by professional practitioners has been under the spotlight recently. Arguments in favour of advertising by professionals have centered on the public's need for, and right to, information in order to facilitate the selection of professional service providers, and on the consumer benefits of in- creased competition, such as improved service and lower prices. Opponents contend that these salutary effects will not occur. They argue that advertising will lead to diminished professional prestige and higher costs and thus higher fees. In legal circles advertising (and the prohibition thereof) has also come to the fore recently (M C J Bobben "'n Yergelykende studie van die bemarking van regsdienste in verskeie lande" 1988 DR 277). Several factors can be identified to explain this development. Increased competition from non-professionals and the realization that the public is not always aware of the services attorneys offer are only two of them. A great deal of uncertainty exists among attorneys as to whether the status quo should be changed and how the public is likely to react if it is changed. Against this background a research project was conducted to investigate the perceptions of both practising attorneys and members of the public with regard to the central issues in the advertising debate. Methodology The project consisted of two phases. The first involved a mail survey of a random sample of one thousand auorneys practising in the Cape Province. The second was also a mail survey, of a random sample of one thousand members of the public in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. The response rate in the first survey was 35,6% and in the second 24,4%. The questionnaires in both surveys consisted of statements to which respondents could indicate their agreement/disagreement on a five-point scale ranging from "strongly agree" (value 5) to "strongly disagree" (value 1). The questionnaire used in survey 1 (attorneys) contained 72 statements. In survey 2 (the public) only 69 of the statements were responded to, as the remaining three were not applicable to members of the public. The similar nature of the statements allows comparisons- between the two groups. Issues. central to the debate on advertising by attorneys C Boshoff I MComm(UPE) 279

2 ARTICLES ~ were addressed by the questionnaire. The issues The debate on the possible advertising of legal services has centred on a number of important issues. These include 1 the possible implications of advertising for the profession and consumers; 2 practical considerations, such as the information content of advertising, appropriate media, responsibility for placing advertisements; and 3 regulatory aspects. The potential implications of advertising for attorneys and consumers The potential impact and implications of the advertising of professional services mentioned most frequently in the marketing literature, and which are applicable to attorneys, are the following: Advertising by attorneys may create new job opportunities; establish, modify or reinforce the image of a legal firm; correct mistaken beliefs about the perfortnance or ~U~ ~ OREY......;,TMEHT... DR15168 KJYERTISING ~ SCHOOL OF LAW Applications are invited for appointment to this post. The branches of law for which the successful applicant will be responsible will depend partly on his or her qualifications and experience. and partly on the needs of the School and will be subject to negotiation. It Is hoped that suitable applicants would be able to assume duties in the middle of the year. Salary: R R7l 742 Benefits: annual bonus. generous leave. pension. medical aid. Substantial financial assistance towards dependants' university study where applicable. Housing subsidy. car scheme. relocation allowance (if eligible). For a detailed information sheet contact the Personnel Office. P 0 Wits Johannesburg. South Africa. to which applications should be submitted by 20 May reliability of a legal firm; encourage contact with or trial of a previously untried legal service; enhance the reputation of the firm or profession; allow consumers to make optimal attorney selection decisions; ensure increased competition, as prohibition of advertising limits competition to the detriment of the public; decrease prices/fees; enhance the quality of legal services; heighten the public's understanding of situations where legal assistance is required; allow consumers to choose a specialist for a particular legal problem/situation; increase client satisfaction after service delivery; create an awareness of the services offered by attorneys; allow attorneys to specialize; impair the personal nature of the client-attorney relationship; benefit only the incompetent attorney; erode public confidence in the legal profession; not be seen as credible information by consumers; expose attorneys to entrepreneurial risk; lead to less co-operation among attorneys on matters of common interest; lead to a loss of clients if poorly executed; have a harmful influence on the dignity of the profession; create client dissatisfaction due to artificially inflated expectations; degenerate into a circus of misleading and deceptive advertising; be of little value as the information provided will be biased; be of little value as consumers will still rely on reputation and personal information sources; reduce competition as only large firms will be able to afford it; confuse rather than enlighten consumers; result in price collusion among attorneys (if prices/ fees are listed in advertisements) to the detriment of the small practitioner and thus competition; lead to competitive pressures, which may result in dishonest and/or unethical behaviour among attorneys; result in higher fees for the client; and be wasteful and unnecessary. Practical considerations With regard to the information content of advertising Shimp and Dyer! suggest that the possibilities range from general information (name, address, telephone number, business hours) to complete advertising, including area of specialization, qualifications and fee schedules. Smith and Meyer2 in an empirical study, investigated additional aspects, including amount of experience, law school attended, awards received, endorsements from regular clients and past court performance record.

3 ARTIKELS In discussing the appropriateness of various media for advertising by attorneys, Shimp and Dyer (op cit 76) mention newspapers, the Yellow Pages, law journals, radio and television. Hite and Fraser) in a meta-analysis of previous research, suggest con-,somer magazines, direct mail, outdoor boards and /' the telephone, while Smith and Meyer (op cit 289) add brochures in offices to the list. The question as to whom should be responsible for the placing of advertisements offers three possibilities, namely professional associations, individual attorneys (Shimp and Dyer op cit 76), or commercial advertising agencies. Regulatory aspects The regulatory aspects recelvmg attention in the marketing literature concern mainly the degree (if any) of regulation and the possible cost of this. These issues were all included in the questionnaires which served as measuring instruments in the two surveys. Empirical results In this section, the most important findings of the two surveys are presented and then a brief comparison is made. Survey 1: attorneys Results from this study reveal that attorneys are positively inclined towards the advertising of their services and that they would advertise their services if they were given the opportunity to do so. For example 71,1 % of respondents disagree with the statement that existing information sources provide adequate information to guide potential clients' attorney selection; 67,4% of respondents disagree that advertising will be wasteful and unnecessary; 66,6% of respondents disagree that advertising will lead to lower fees; 80,9% of respondents disagree with the statement that no advertising of any nature should be allowed; 69,1 % agree that advertising will inform the public as to which attorneys specialize in certain areas; 69,7% believe advertising will assist clients to make more informed selections of attorneys; 78% of respondents think advertising will increase the public's understanding of situations where legal assistance is required; 83,4% believe that advertising can create an awareness of a legal firm and its services, while 79,2% think it could establish, modify or reinforce its image; 68% of respondents agree with the statement that advertising will increase demand for the services of attorneys; 70,2% of respondents disagree with the opinion that advertising will confuse rather than enlighten the public; 70,8% of respondents disagree with the statement that advertising will benefit only the incompetent attorney; 65,2% of respondents think advertising is not unethical; 84,3% of respondents believe the public needs more information about the services of attorneys and that advertising is an appropriate means of supplying it; 81,7% believe the public has a right to be informed about the services of attorneys and that advertising is an appropriate means of supplying it. Respondents felt that if advertising were to be permitted they should be allowed to include the' following in their advertisements: 1 General information, for example, name, telephone number, address, consulting hours etc (96,9%). 2 Areas of specialization of the firm (87,6%). 3 Qualifications of staff/personnel (73,3%). Furthermore, respondents believe that if advertising is permitted they should be allowed to use law journals (92,7%), the Yellow Pages (86,5%), pamphlets (84,6%) and newspapers (82,3%) in which to advertise their services. A regression analysis revealed that attorneys who feel particularly positive about advertising are those who would make use of advertising if gi veri the opportunity to do so; those who practise in relatively large firms; those who practise in rural areas; and those who are relatively inexperienced. On the other hand, personal and practice-related characteristics such as age, language medium of university attended, position in the firm, type of market served and period of association with present firm, have no significant influence on the attitude of attorneys towards the advertising of their services. When asked whether they would advertise their services if the opportunity presented itself, 60,7% indicated that they would. There was strong support, however, for the idea that the right to advertise should be exercised within the constraints of some sort of guidelines. Survey 2: members of the public The findings of this survey indicate that members of the public perceive the implications of the advertising of legal services by attorneys in a favourable light. For example 71,7% of respondents disagree with the statement that no advertising should be allowed; 85,7% of respondents believe that the advertising of legal services would inform the public as to which attorneys are competent to handle particular problems, that is, are specialists; 82,4% of respondents feel that the information provided by advertising would enable a potential 281

4 ARTICLES client to make a more infonned choice of an attor - ney; 73,8% of respondents disagree with the statement that advertising would hann public confidence in the legal profession; 77,9% of respondents agree with the statement that advertising would increase the public's understanding of situations where legal assistance is required; 90,2% believe that advertising could create an awareness of legal firms and the services they offer, while 79% believed it could establish, modify or reinforce the image of the finn; 75% of respondents feel that advertising could encourage members of the public to use legal services they would not have used if no advertising was pennitted; 78,7% of respondents are of the opinion that word-of-mouth communication among the public concerning attorneys does not reflect the true strengths and weaknesses of all finns in the market; 81,1 % of respondents believe that the public needs more infonnation about the services attorneys A\.IDA\. ~ PIETERSBURG BEESPLASE TE KOOP PLASE TE KOOP IN DIE NOORD TRANSVAAL Drie plase in die gesogte Mara-omgewing. Die eiendomme is ongeveer 381-, 613- en 728 ha groot. Water in die omgewing is geen probleem nie. Wild wat voorkom sluit rooibokke, koedoes en kleinwild in. Pryse vir die eiendom wissel vanaf R tot R WILDSPLASE TE KOOP AI/days: 2000 ha groot met rooibokke en koedoes. Op die eiendom is 'n groot rondawel wat in aparte vyf kleiner eenhede met al die geriewe verdeel is asook 'n ruim lapa. Die eiendom leen hom ideaal daartoe om in 'n wildsplaas omskep te word. prys: R Waterpoort: 1941 ha groot, wildwerend omhein met gemsbokke, koedoes, rooibokke, waterbokke en klein Wild. Op die eiendom is 'n vyf slaapkamer woonhuis met buite geboue. prys: R Verskeidenheid van ander wilds- en beesplase in die Noord-Transvaal is beskikbaar. Kantoorblokke, woonstelblokke, besighede en industriele persele beskikbaar. Vir meer inligting skakel: Roelf (01521) na ure of Danie (01521) na ure offer and that advertising is an appropriate means of supplying it. In addition, 79,1 % believe the public has a right to be infonned about attorneys and their services and that advertising is an appropriate means of doing so. It appears that, if advertising were to be allowed, the following would be regarded as appropriate: Information supplied 1 General infonnation (name, telephone number, etc): 93,3%. 2 Prices for various services: 69,3%. 3 How long established: 72,1 %. 4 Areas of specialization: 92,2%. 5 Qualifications of staff members: 75,4%. Media. 1 Newspapers: 84,4%. 2 Brochures/pamphlets: 71,3%. 3 Law journals: 89,3%. 4 Yellow Pages: 82,8%. Responsibility for placing advertisements Each individual finn: 70,9%. Virtually all respondents (95,7%) indicated that they would make use of the services of an attorney (if required) irrespective of whether he/she advertises. A comparison of results Important issues on which attorneys and the public seem to differ are the following: Advertising will lead to a decrease in legal fees Attorneys: agree 12,9% Public: agree 42,2% If price/fee advertising is permitted, excessive fees cannot be charged Attorneys: agree 42,1 % Public: agree 63,5% Attorneys should be allowed to advertise whatever, wherever, whenever they wish provided the advertisement is true and not misleading or deceptive Attorneys: agree 32,9% Public: agree 70,1 % These results indicate that the two groups differ concerning the Cos!}~plications of advertising and that the public allows the profession more freedom (and less regulation) than attorneys themselves regard as appropriate. Important issues on which there is a high level of agreement are the following: Advertising will be wasteful and unnecessary Attorneys: disagree 67,4% Public: disagree 66% No advertising of any nature should be allowed Attorneys: disagree 80,9% Public: disagree 71,7%

5 ARTIKELS Advertising information will allow public to make more informed selections of attorneys Attorneys: agree 69,7% Public: agree 82,4% Poor advertising could lead to a loss of clients Attorneys: agree 63,2% Public: agree 63,5% Public confidence in the legal profession will be harmed by advertising Attorneys: disagree 63,8% Public: disagree 73,8% Advertising will increase the public's understanding of situations where legal assistance is required Attorneys: agree 78% Public: agree 77,9% If advertising is permitted it will eventually degenerate into a circus of misleading and deceptive advertising Attorneys: disagree 55,1% Public: disagree 62,7% Advertising will confuse rather than enlighten the public Attorneys: disagree 70,2% Public: disagree 70,5% The public will not regard the information provided by advertising as credible Attorneys: disagree 61,2% Public: disagree 62,3% Advertising will harm the dignity of the profession among the public Attorneys: disagree 59% Public: disagree 68,9% Advertising will be expensive and the client will have to pay for it in the end Attorneys: agree 62, I % Public: agree 57% Advertising will benefit only the incompetent attorney Attorneys: disagree 70,8% Public: disagree 70,5% The advertising of legal services is unethical Attorneys: disagree 65,2% Public: disagree 69,3% The public needs more information about the services attorneys offer and advertising is an appropriate means of supplying it Attorneys: agree 84,3% Public: agree 81,1% The public has a right to be informed about the services attorneys offer and advertising is an appropriate means of supplying it Attorneys: agree 81,7% Public: agree 79,1 % Summary The results of the two surveys indicate that both attorneys and the public are positively inclined toward the individual advertising of their services by attorneys, provided it is true and not misleading or deceptive. Of the attorneys surveyed, 60,7% indicated that they would advertise their services if given the opportunity to do so. However, they indicated strong support for the idea that the right to advertise should be exercised within the contraints of some sort of guidelines. Of the members of the public surveyed, 95,7% indicated that they would make use of the service of an attorney (if required) irrespective of whether he/she advertises. The anxiety which seems to grip some attorneys when the topic of advertising is raised appears, therefore, to be largely unfounded. Footnotes I T Shimp and R Dyer "How the legal profession views legal service advertising" 1978 (July) Journal of Marketing R E Smith and T S Meyer "Attorneys' attitudes toward professional advertising" American Marketing Association Conference 1978 Research frontiers in market ing: dialogues and directions R E Hite and C Fraser "Meta-analyses of attitudes toward advertising by professionals" 1988 (July) Journal of Marketing 95. The partners of Shepstone &. Wylie of Durban, have pleasure in announcing that Robert Barber McGowan was admitted as a partner with effect from March :\1101(",,1"1 :-';alal 1:14K:i 283

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