Marketing and business development begins with an answer to the
question: Who are you trying to attract as future clients? Your
answer should infuse every choice you make about your marketing
methods and content. Marketing methods include both active and
passive means, using the array of technology options available or
no technology at all, and traditional modes of advertising like on
billboards, the back of a bus, television advertising or print
materials. Once you know where, when and how to connect with your
target market, you can decide what to do to let them know the
solutions you offer, what it is like to work with you and how you
deliver those solutions. Your goal? Remain top of mind, so that
when they need what you have to offer, they will know the way to
get in touch with you.
Here are three examples of different marketing strategies. Which
one is closest to what might work best for you?
Marketing without technology
Alex (real person, name changed) doesn't have a website, Twitter
account or LinkedIn page. She isn't active on social media and
doesn't write blog posts or print articles. She doesn't plan and
deliver programs on her substantive area of law to potential
clients or referral sources. She doesn't send out Christmas cards
or newsletters to her clients. Her clients do not have email access
to her. By all accounts, she isn't doing anything that the experts
in law firm business development and retention say are necessary to
sustain successful revenue generation for today's solo and small
firm lawyers. Yet, she has a steady stream of clients asking for
her representation. What's her secret?
Alex's law practice is focused on criminal law. Her potential
clients and their referral sources are often where she is
demonstrating what she can do for them - in court. In fact, her
clients, potential clients and referral sources do not select their
lawyers from their digital footprint; instead they select them by
evaluating their performance first-hand. The upside is that Alex
has more free time to practice law with a life outside of law. She
also manages the client relationships by phone or in-person only.
If they want to communicate, they must pick up the phone. If it's a
true emergency, they will get an immediate response. If it's
important to them, but not an emergency, they will get a return
call within 24 hours.
Marketing has been explained as communicating to many people
simultaneously in-person or digitally. Alex doesn't intentionally
market her law practice. The upside is that she saves time, money
and possible anxiety associated with that endeavor. She is,
however, delivering content about what she does and how she does it
for clients, by being in court regularly. She has no digital
intermediary between herself and her potential clients and referral
sources. She's always on display when in court and passively
marketing without any buffer. Every day she is in court she
interacts with the people who have the decision-power to build or
stall her practice. For some lawyers, that would be the
downside.
Perhaps an explanation for Alex's success is in this response to
a discussion about websites and getting noticed on JDUnderground,
"I don't think people much care when your source of referrals is
word of mouth. Word of mouth is 10 times better than any other
kind."
Regardless of your practice area, Maggie Watkins, chief
marketing officer of Sedgwick, LLP says, "Nothing replaces a
face-to-face meeting when developing new business. It is a
relationship business after all, and prospects want to know you
understand them and their businesses and that can only be
demonstrated by speaking to them and discussing their issues and
needs. Articles, speeches and social media are all designed to get
that meeting with the prospect, but the selling begins once you are
in front of them and have the conversation."
Content marketing through technology
Not all practices offer the opportunity for passive marketing,
as do some areas of criminal law. In contrast, the market
(potential clients) in family law is composed of different niches
according to family finances. The Legal Services Corporation
reports, "86 percent of the civil legal problems reported by
low-income Americans in the past year received inadequate or no
legal help." This represents a significant business opportunity for
anyone who figures out a solution. Damian Turco, a Massachusetts
divorce lawyer with a personal injury component of his practice
based in Boston, explains: "Prospective clients want to understand
the general extent of their legal rights, considering the facts and
circumstances of their cases. A natural starting point is the
internet. Browsing is anonymous and you can provide them the
answers they so need. While doing so, some prospective clients will
decide they need representation and, because you've already
established yourself as a credible solution, some will call you,
schedule a consultation, and become paying clients."
Create a digital presence that answers the questions that are on
the minds of your prospective clients and the people who are trying
to help them. Then, to further attract the right people further
into your marketing funnel, provide the answers to their questions
about cost. Turco Legal has designed a specific program for them -
Justice for All, - that involves resource-based billing for family
law clients.
Content is king for Turco Legal because it is the right content
at the right time; however, not all digital marketing content meets
this bar. Your digital content may not be as valuable as you think
it is. Jayne Navarre recently wrote about the problem with content
that isn't engaging the right people. She writes, "The "organic"
social media produced by law firms - the stuff that was supposed to
create conversation and conversion - appeared to be mostly seen and
applauded by a handful of their own employees, lawyers and a few
real-life friends and relatives." Create content that will serve as
a bread-crumb trail from your next best client's concerns and
interests to a virtual handshake with you.
Combine low-cost technology with traditional marketing
for a cost-effective combination
Even the best content can get lost among similar content online
or on tangible venues, like billboards, public transportation and
television. You may need to amp up your efforts by focusing on a
narrow niche and repeating your message in different venues at
different times. Enter the Truck Accident Lawyers in Pennsylvania.
Munley Law is a personal injury law practice with niche marketing
aimed at clients who have been injured in truck accidents. This
enables clear, concise messaging online and on television.
Of course, this costs money and time and you may face stiff
competition for tangible space and the right to get noticed by the
right people at the right time. If you are going to use tangible
venues in your marketing efforts. Bernie Munley, Chief Marketing
Officer of personal injury law firm Munley Law in Pennsylvania,
says, "Integrate them with your social media and digital marketing
efforts. Social media allows marketers to build brand awareness,
engage with their audience, and even target potential clients -
typically at a lower cost than traditional media. It would be a
mistake to overlook this opportunity.
Susan Letterman White, JD, MS, is a law practice
advisor with the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance
Program (LOMAP) and an adjunct professor teaching organizational
leadership and leadership ethics at Northeastern University in
Boston. Before joining LOMAP, she led Letterman White Consulting as
its founder and managing partner for 10 years. Before that, she
practiced employment law for more than 20 years and was the
managing partner of a law firm.