For many IP experts, the idea that “good work should speak for itself” is not a naive belief. It comes from a professional culture built on precision, substance and responsibility. In intellectual property, credibility is earned through technical depth, legal accuracy, strategic judgement and the ability to handle complexity with care. These qualities still matter deeply. Without them, no communication strategy can create lasting trust.

And yet, in today’s market, good work rarely speaks clearly enough on its own.

This is where the next stage of this column begins. Over the past months, we have looked at why positioning and personal branding matter for IP experts, how expertise can be articulated more clearly, how visibility can be built without becoming self-promotional, and how communication influences authority, trust and business development.

The question now becomes broader.

In a market that is becoming more automated, more pressured and more competitive, communication is no longer only about being visible. It is about helping clients understand whom to trust, what to remember and why a specific expert or firm should matter in a concrete decision.

In that sense, communication becomes part of the trust infrastructure around expertise.

Clients are surrounded by information. They can find explanations, compare firms, read updates, attend webinars and increasingly use AI-supported tools to access first-level answers. At the same time, their decisions are not becoming simpler. They still need to know which risks matter, which opportunities deserve attention, where protection creates business value, and when an IP decision may influence investment, product strategy, market access or competitive advantage.

In such an environment, expertise alone is no longer enough if clients cannot recognise what that expertise helps to make possible.

Many excellent IP experts experience this gap without necessarily naming it as a communication problem. They may be highly respected by colleagues, valued by existing clients and known internally as people who provide reliable judgement. But outside their immediate circle, their value often remains difficult to grasp. Their website profile lists experience, their LinkedIn presence is professional, their credentials are strong, and still the market may not understand clearly enough why they should be involved, in which situation, and for what kind of decision.

This is the hidden limitation of relying on good work alone.

Good work becomes visible mostly after someone has already experienced it. Communication has to do part of the work before that moment. It helps potential clients understand the relevance of an expert before a mandate starts, before a referral is made, before a panel invitation arrives, before a business leader realises that IP should be part of a strategic conversation.

For IP experts, this can feel uncomfortable. It may sound as if communication is asking them to prove themselves publicly, to simplify their work too much, or to compete for attention in a way that feels incompatible with professional seriousness. But the purpose of communication is not to make expertise louder. It is to make the meaning of expertise clearer.

That distinction matters.

A senior IP expert does not create value only by knowing the law, the technology or the procedural options. The value often lies in recognising patterns, anticipating consequences, assessing trade-offs and helping clients understand what a decision may mean beyond the immediate matter. This kind of value is rarely visible through service descriptions alone. “Patent prosecution”, “portfolio management”, “litigation support” or “trademark strategy” may describe areas of work, but they do not automatically show how an expert thinks, what kind of problems they are especially good at solving, or why their judgement should be trusted in a critical moment.

When many firms and experts use similar language, the problem becomes even stronger. Nearly every firm can claim to be experienced, international, strategic, client-focused and commercially minded. These words may be true, but they are often too general to create distinction. Clients do not choose based on abstract qualities alone. They choose when they recognise a connection between their situation and the way an expert frames, interprets and solves a problem.

That is why communication becomes commercially relevant. It does not replace expertise. It creates the conditions under which expertise can be understood.

A useful starting point is to ask a simple but demanding question: what should the right client understand about your value before they speak to you?

The answer is rarely a longer biography or a more complete list of services. It is usually a clearer articulation of the situations in which your expertise matters most.

Are you the expert clients should involve when a technology is moving from research to commercial application? When a brand is entering new markets? When a portfolio has grown historically but no longer supports the business strategy? When management needs to understand whether IP is creating leverage, risk or optionality? When a dispute is not only a legal issue but also a signal to competitors, partners or investors?

These situations make expertise tangible. They help clients see the moment in which your work becomes relevant.

This is also where many IP experts under-communicate their strategic value. They explain what they do, but not what their work enables. They describe the field, but not the decision. They share knowledge, but not always the judgement behind that knowledge. As a result, they may be perceived as competent and credible, but not necessarily as the person who should be called early enough, trusted with broader questions or remembered when a business-critical issue emerges.

The first practical move is therefore not to communicate more. It is to communicate with clearer intent.

Before thinking about channels, posts or formats, IP experts and firms should define the core link between their expertise and the client’s world. What are the recurring situations in which clients need orientation? Which misconceptions create risk? Which decisions are often made too late? Where does technical or legal complexity become a business issue? What kind of judgement do clients repeatedly seek from you, even if they do not describe it in those words?

These questions shift communication from self-description to relevance. They help experts avoid the common mistake of presenting more information when what the audience needs is a clearer frame.

Good communication in complex advisory markets does not flatten expertise. It gives people a way into it. It helps non-experts understand what is at stake without pretending that the matter is simple. It also helps sophisticated clients recognise whether an expert sees the issue in a way that matches their level of complexity.

This is why good work needs a visible structure around it. A strong reputation may carry an expert far within existing networks, but growth often requires more than being known by those who already know the quality of the work. It requires signals that travel beyond direct experience: a clear point of view, a coherent profile, relevant themes, consistent language, thoughtful content, credible examples, and a firm narrative that explains why this expertise matters now.

For individual experts, this can strengthen authority without turning them into marketers. For firms, it can turn scattered communication activities into a more coherent market presence. And for clients, it reduces uncertainty. They do not have to decode a long list of credentials to understand where the value lies.

The market for IP expertise will continue to change. Technology will accelerate parts of the work. Clients will ask sharper questions about value, cost, timing and strategic impact. Competition will not only come from other firms, but also from alternative providers, platforms and internal tools. In this context, the experts who stand out will not necessarily be those who communicate the most. They will be those whose communication helps clients understand why their judgement matters.

Good work remains the foundation. But the market can only choose what it can recognise.

And recognition does not happen by accident. It is shaped through the way experts speak about their role, frame their value, explain complexity and make their thinking visible before the client has already decided whom to trust.

Until then, a question to reflect on:

If a potential client had never worked with you before, would they understand from your communication what kind of decision your expertise helps them make, or would they only see what services you offer?

About the columnist

Giulia Donato
Branding & Communication Advisor | Executive Coach | Lecturer
people & brand strategies
www.donatostrategies.com