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Alliance Partners
Robert C. Sawhney - SRC Associates Ltd. (Hong Kong)
Tel: (852) 2892 1121
Email: bob@srchk.com
www.srchk.com
Robert C. Sawhney is the founder and Managing Director of SRC Associates Ltd, a pioneering Hong Kong based firm in the areas of marketing and management of professional service firms. The author of numerous articles for a wide variety of publications, he has consulted and provided training for dozens of professional service firms across Asia and Europe. He is also the author of Marketing Professional Services in Asia, published by Lexis Nexis in 2009.
 Having been based in Asia since 1995, he has developed a deep understanding of the Asian business culture, in particular, how marketing must be adapted not only to the specifics of professional service firms and SME's but also within the context of the unique Asian business environment. A firm advocate of marketing's role in firm success, he believes that marketing must be embraced on a firm wide level which abolishes the idea that marketing is about promotion and handled only by marketing people and be accepted by the most senior partners and executives on a truly strategic level
Robert has provided continuing education courses for lawyers and accountants in Hong Kong accredited by both the Hong Kong Law Society and the HK Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has also taught marketing and management subjects at institutions such as HKU SPACE. He has a bachelors degree from Brunel University (London), an MBA from the University of Lincoln, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK).
Book Review
Robert Sawhney sets the scene in chapter one of Marketing Professional Services in Asia by citing that in Hong Kong alone there are over 10,000 professional services businesses employing over 80,000 professionals. The professional services sector, including doctors, lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, business associations and the like, has been singled out by the SAR government as one of the four pillar industries that give Hong Kong a distinct competitive advantage in the region. Legal services providers, comprising lawyers and law firms, both local and foreign, make up almost 10% of the sector. Asia is the fastest developing region in the world and Hong Kong lawyers have been fortunate to leverage off this growth in recent years. In the boom times Hong Kong lawyers could be excused for thinking all they needed to do was hang out a shingle and the world would beat a path to their door. But these myths break down in periods of economic recession when many firms experience decreased work flow, decreased billings and clients insisting that their professional services advisers share their pain by reducing fees. The majority of clients however don't voice their concerns; they quietly find another law firm that better suits their needs and the lawyer is left wondering what went wrong.
Sawhney's book is timely, given the current economic downturn, and effectively challenges many long held beliefs and exposes various myths about the marketing of law firms. Supported by extensive research, the author addresses key strategic marketing issues such as understanding the market and client value; the role of marketing and business development in professional services firms; developing effective business and marketing strategies including segmentation, targeting, differentiation and positioning; and then putting it all into action and making it work. The lessons on offer are relevant to both the professional services practitioner and the professional services marketer. While the book specifically addresses these issues in the Asian business and cultural context it is relevant to firms and organisations in other regions. It is particularly relevant to the senior management and marketing professionals of international firms headquartered in the West with branch offices in Asia, many of whom erroneously believe that what works in their home market will work in Asia. Having been based in Asia since 1995, the author demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the Asian business culture and how it differs from that in the West. The chapter on managing growth and globalisation is particularly relevant here, given the recent moves by international firms to merge with Hong Kong firms. Unlike many books on professional services marketing written by academics and consultants, Sawhney demonstrates a well-developed understanding of the day to day challenges that senior partners and marketing professionals face in law firms. The book is easy to read and avoids the excessive use of marketing jargon. Well-selected illustrative case studies are used throughout. The book is also written to be relevant to both the large professional services firm and the more numerous smaller professional services firms which lack the time, information, money, expertise, skills and human resources of larger firms.
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Ashridge House 
