The Next Big Thing In Attorney Marketing
My philosophy on attorney marketing is simple. Marketing is communication that educates, informs and develops relationships with clients and potential clients. The person who provides this educational information is perceived as an expert. People gravitate toward this person when they have a problem they feel he can solve.
Technology helps enable attorney marketing. Many attorneys are becoming recognized experts by publishing articles regularly on their websites. The tool that makes this possible is called a blog (short for weblog). A blog is simply a website that can be updated frequently. While less than 20% of the attorney population is blogging, those that do write and post new articles to their website a few times each month are reaping the benefits. Clients love new, fresh, interesting content. This is the fastest way to be perceived as an expert.
To put the power of blogging into perspective, imagine that the editor of a newspaper in your town came to you and offered you the opportunity to write a weekly column. Let’s say he told you that you could write it on any topic you wanted. How would you feel about that? Would that enhance your credibility? Would that be valuable?
Blogging provides you with that kind of platform.
Now let’s imagine that someone came to you and offered you the opportunity to host your own daily TV show. You can talk about anything you want as long as it is under five minutes in length. You can send this show to as many people as you’d like, as often as you’d like and they can view it whenever they feel like it. You can essentially become the Oprah or Larry King of your area of interest.
That platform exists and few attorneys are taking advantage of it.
In case you have not noticed, YouTube videos are the next big thing in marketing and they will be the next big thing in attorney marketing. People love to watch videos and they love to watch them on the Internet.
Here are some interesting facts: In 2009 12.2 billion videos per month were viewed on YouTube. According to Nielsen Media Research, the average American internet user watches 182 on-line videos per month. While there are some “power users” who watch hundreds of videos, over 82% of all Americans watch at least one video per month on-line.
What this should say to you is that it just became easier to develop relationships with your clients. Video is an intimate form of media. We all feel as though we have a personal relationship with people we see in a video. It is a psychological phenomenon. You can speak directly to your audience, in your own words, as often as you’d like.
You may be thinking that you do not have access to production studios and you don’t have time to rehearse and you can’t edit video yourself. Well, fancy production is not what this form of media is all about. It is about direct, authentic communication between you and people who are interested in what you have to say.
This means no makeup. It means no slick production. It means no fancy editing. It is you having a conversation with your audience. You can purchase one of a dozen cameras that come with built-in software and you can get started in minutes.
The next big thing in attorney marketing is here. You can start developing deeper relationships with your clients today.
If you’d like to see how I am taking advantage of this opportunity, watch my daily YouTube show. It is updated each morning at: http://www.LegalMarketingForLawyers.com
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EmailLegal Marketing for Lawyers Daily TV Show
As many of my regular readers know, the demand for information an effective, ethical, legal marketing strategy is significant. A while ago we did some experimentation with legal marketing video tips and we posted them here. Our first foray into this area was with a video on planning a law firm marketing campaign. Next we discussed the difference between sales and marketing for law firms. We also covered the numbers you need to know in law firm marketing.
The reaction from our readers was beyond positive. It was enthusiastic. Lawyers wanted more video on legal marketing.
I am proud to announce that we have answered the call to action. In mid-February 2010 we launched The Legal Marketing for Lawyers Daily video show.
It took us a while to figure out how to do this correctly without taking up the time and expense of a full blown television production. Each day we record a short video on legal marketing. Each of these videos is less than four minutes in length and they feature me speaking directly to you about legal marketing.
Our friends at Justia have been kind enough to provide us with a terrific website where you can see each of the videos from the past week (as well as the achieves of past video shows). The plan is to post one new video each day. So I need you to visit often.
You can find this new video resource at: http://www.LegalMarketingForLawyers.com
I welcome your feedback on this new legal marketing resource. I am enjoying recording the shows (although it is difficult to fit a topic into less than four minutes). We may at some point “take the show on the road” so if you have ideas for a location or for a topic please send them our way.
New Video: Niche Marketing Secrets for Law Firms
Video Notes:
How Niche Marketing Helps Attorneys Thrive in an Economic Downturn
What is a niche market?
A niche market is a focused portion (subset) of a market.
The benefits of niche marketing:
In a difficult economy an attorney with a specific niche will always command more value.
Example:
- Real Estate attorney who specializes in loan modification.
- Affluent investor specialist – Immigration Attorney.
- Bankruptcy attorney who specializes in small businesses.
- Employment attorney who has deep knowledge of restructuring executive compensation packages.
Niche marketing is always a good business strategy but in difficult economic times it is one that can have you flourishing while other attorneys struggle.
Law Firm Marketing Numbers You Need to Know
Law firms of all sizes need to look at three numbers to determine the overall health of the firm’s marketing efforts. Those numbers are:
1). The client lifetime value for each client that works with the firm.
2). The return on investment of the firm’s marketing dollars
3). The average cost of acquisition of a new client.
Here’s how you calculate those numbers:
Client Lifetime Value
Calculate the total amount of dollars you have billed to the client. Add in the referral business this client has brought to your firm over the years.
Divide the total dollar amount by the number of years they have worked with your law firm.
Return on Investment
Take the amount you have made as a result of a particular marketing tactic or campaign and divide it by the amount of money you invested in employing that marketing tactic.
Return on Investment (ROI) is calculated at the tactic/campaign level.
Client Acquisition Cost
Client Acquisition Cost is calculated at the enterprise level. In other words, you should track the overall client acquisition cost for your entire law firm. To calculate the client acquisition cost you take the amount you invest in marketing and divide it by the number of clients.
There is a dirty little secret to successful marketing that many law firms do not understand. That secret is: If you cannot measure it, you shouldn’t do it.
When it comes to marketing, if you cannot measure the results, you should not invest the dollars in the marketing campaign.
Can you measure the number of people who read a Yellow Pages ad?
Can you measure the number of people who see a sign on the side of a bus?
If you can’t measure it, don’t do it!
If you’d like additional details or if you need help with you marketing, please call our office at 888.692.5531
Video: Effective Marketing with a Law Firm Website
Effective Marketing for Lawyers with a Law Firm Website
Your law firm website should help you do 4 things:
1). Increase your visibility in your target market
2). Build credibility with your prospective client base
3). Differentiate your law firm from the competition
4). Generate leads for your law firm
What should you do to make certain that your website has met each of these key objectives?
Visibility
For visibility you should make sure that your site is optimized for the key words that your clients associate with your area of practice specialty. This process is called search engine optimization and you could attempt to do it yourself but it is usually cost effective to have a professional handle this for you.
Credibility
When it comes to credibility you should definitely post all of the biographical information that is currently available on most attorney websites. But in addition to that information you can give your credibility a big boost by adding educational information to your website. Teaching is a terrific way to establish your credentials as an expert. If people view your website as an educational resource they will certainly look to you as a potential solution for their problems.
Differentiation
Differentiation is something that most law firm websites struggle to achieve. They all look alike and they are all boring. If your website doesn’t stand out your law firm has little chance of standing out from the crowd. Find a way to be different.
Lead Generation
Finally we come to lead generation. How will you know who visits your website and how will you follow up with them? You need to offer something – a white paper, audio or video to your clients in return for their email address.
That’s right. You need to get their email address so that you can send them your newsletter and any other educational material you produce in the future.
These are the four key outcomes your law firm website should deliver.
If you’d like additional details or if you need help with you marketing, please call our office at 888.692.5531.
Video: How to Plan a Law Firm Marketing Camaign
Putting together a law firm marketing plan is no easy task.
Planning an effective marketing campaign is essential to the success of a law firm.
There are four essential components to successful marketing campaign. They can be summed up using the acronym: TARP
T = Target
A = Action
R= Response Device
P = Process
T = Target
The target is the audience you are trying to reach with your marketing message. You must clearly define who you want to reach and what problem you can solve for them. A narrow and focused target audience will produce the best results.
A = Action
You must spell out the action you want the audience to take. What should they do next? If they should contact you, how should they contact you? Where can they reach you?
R = Response Device
A response device is the media that you will use to reach your target audience. This can be as simple as a presentation you give at a convention or a billboard on the side of the highway.
The key is to match the response device to the target and the requested action.
P =Process
This is the aspect of the marketing campaign that is often overlooked. You must outline the follow-up process you will take after the prospective client contact you. If you don’t do this, the rest of the steps are useless.
Developing a law firm marketing plan using this formula will help you stay on track. I highly recommend you spend as much time as necessary in the planning stages. There is no substitute for planning before taking action.
If you’d like additional details or if you need help with you marketing, please call our office at 888.692.5531.
Video: The Difference Between Sales and Marketing for Attorneys
Video Notes: The Difference Between Sales and Marketing
Sales is NOT a dirty word!
Although attorneys cannot aggressively solicit new business, they do sell.
Marketing and sales are the two different aspects of business development.
Marketing Drives traffic to your Law Firm while Sales is the process of converting interested prospects into paying clients.
The marketing process should deliver qualified prospective clients to your door. This means that your marketing should attract clients who are ready, willing and able to pay your fees.
Sales is the process of converting prospects into clients.
When someone has a problem or a need they have to find an attorney to solve the problem.
In the case of an attorney, marketing serves to educate the prospective client on the consequences of not solving their problem. Sales helps these prospective clients realize that you are the best choice once they are ready to solve the problem.
For most attorneys, the sales process takes place when the prospective client is sitting across the table from you in the initial consultation. “Selling” involves helping the prospective client see that you are the best choice to solve this problem. You do this by LISTENING to the issues the client raises and helping him feel confident that you can address those issues.
Be sure to watch the video.
If you would like to learn how your firm can leverage the sales and marketing process, please give us a call.
Dave Lorenzo - 888.692.5531
New Feature: Video on RainmakerLawyer.com
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