Legal Law

The most effective ways of marketing for law firms

What are the most effective forms of legal marketing? We are currently at the tipping point of using technology to market law firms. Law firms are just beginning to use blogs and many are beginning to understand how to use websites effectively for marketing. The key indicator is that companies are starting to list the industries they serve on their websites. In other words, instead of building a website on your credentials, they are focusing on your visitors. It is a classic marketing technique to focus on the customers and not on what you sell.

Until recently, law firm websites were all about themselves. Instead, they should focus on what your visitors want to buy. For example, clients do not see themselves as practice group clients. Instead, they see themselves as members of an industry. Therefore, law firms are doing smart marketing by listing the industries they serve.

Can you give an example?

Sure. Take a look at the Torys Law Firm in Toronto. You have video podcasts that just received a marketing initiative of the year award. Another example is Holland & Hart in Denver, which teamed up with Frontier Airlines to produce “Business Class,” a branded inflight entertainment show that spotlights innovative customers.

How much should a law firm spend on marketing?

The general rule of thumb is to spend 2% of gross revenue, not counting marketing staff salaries, on marketing and business development. Most businesses underspend and how much you pay a vendor depends on the size of the city, the size of the business. Obviously bigger means more expensive. Small business marketers in small towns average $50,000 per year. Salespeople in NYC at mega law firms make $500,000. But I wouldn’t like the pressure.

Do lawyers know their costs per lead, per case retained, and per case settled?

No, most lawyers aren’t that sophisticated yet. But now I advise you to track ROI, which will allow you to measure cost per lead.

When it comes to cost per case, cost of sales is something that law firms don’t know about; keep in mind that they are only now entering sales. For example. I worked with Chuhak and Tecson, a law firm in Chicago, and they spent $24,000 to train 20 partners and in nine months generated $1 million in new revenue, an ROI of 4,000%. And that is typical. Another example: I trained a trial attorney in Chicago whose income was $200,000 and in one year she multiplied it, single-handedly, to $2.5 million. Frankly, that’s amazing.

Is television advertising a thing of the past?

Most law firms never advertise on TV. But small firm attorneys who have a volume practice, such as immigration and personal injury, need a lot of clients to make money, so they still use TV and radio to attract clients.

What about blogs? How does that fit?

Essentially, a blog is a kind of website whose content is all text. The author will post a new item and the newest item will be placed on top while the oldest ones will be scrolled to the bottom. A Blog is a fantastic marketing vehicle because it establishes the author as an expert, an authority. Smart lawyers will choose a specific and limited topic to focus on for their blogs.

I will give you an example. Dennis Crouch, an attorney at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff in Chicago, has a blog called Patently-o, and the site gets 50,000 visitors a week. He told me that his blog has attracted Fortune 500 companies and, more importantly, referrals from lawyers he has never known. He writes about patents that were granted and has now become the national expert. And he’s only been in practice four years!

No need for the yellow pages anymore – I tell my clients to cancel their ads and start a blog instead.

How did your business grow?

My consulting practice began in the year 2000 and has multiplied. I now have an office in Illinois and Arizona, an associate, a researcher, and six websites. In my practice I have advised more than 60 law firms on business development and how to use technology for marketing. The largest firm I advised was Baker & McKenzie; there were 3,000 attorneys at the firm at the time and they added another 400. The smallest firm was a husband and wife team in Peoria, Illinois.

How do people find you?

People find me through Google. My website is number one for “law firm marketing” and number one on Yahoo! When I get a call, and there are many every week, I ask how they find me and every caller usually says, ‘I looked you up on the internet.’

I concentrate my own marketing on the Web. I operate www.lawmarketing.com, which is the LawMarketing Portal and receives 100,000 visitors per month. I also operate the LawMarketing Store at www.lawmarketing.biz/store. I also manage the LawMarketing Listserv and, to top it off, I manage the Online Business Professional Development Institute. The Legal Marketing Portal is an online magazine; LawMarketing Store offers books, CDs and research on marketing; the consulting site sells services, the Institute sells education, and the Listserv sells community.

When a lawyer calls, what is the usual request?

  1. “Help, we need to do some marketing, all of our rainmakers are 70 years old!”
  2. “We just lost our number one customer. We have to replace him, now!”
  3. “None of our young partners has ever opened a file.”

For all of the above, they need training in business development. One method is to hold a one-day training retreat. I will visit the company and present on sales and business development for a full day, anywhere in the US (and I have done tech marketing for almost every major Canadian company).

Second, I meet with the attorneys one on one and develop a personal business development plan.

Third, I will write the company’s marketing strategy. The problem with many lawyers is that they want tactics, something to be done today, and they don’t expect a strategic plan.

Between assignments I present two webinars per month, via http://www.pbdi.org. You just sign up online and it shows up on the web and over the phone.

Look at your crystal ball: where is the law of marketing going?

I see that it becomes sales. Marketing will raise your profile in the market and make you known, but it is sales that generate new business. In the law, you don’t say “sales,” you say “business development.” That involves choosing a target, developing a pack of wolves to pursue it, and a long-term plan for acquiring the target. You can see how premeditated this is.

Most legal practices are made up of clients who sought to them outside. The lawyers did not choose the clients, so many lawyers hate what they are doing. The new trend is to pick up your customers and go after them.

Another trend is remote legal practice. Most legal practice involves transactions, and that involves documents. A lawyer can be anywhere to write the document and the client can get the document on the web; you don’t need to be in any specific place. That’s how I work.

Have laptop, will travel.

Exactly. All you need is the Internet and a telephone connection.

What about burnout? How can you get lawyers excited about marketing?

The key element of my approach is: I ask them what like to do in your practice. Then I ask what kind of people like to work with. Next I will ask them what activities are fun for them, like sailing or playing golf. Then we’re going to mix business development with what the lawyer does for fun. Ultimately, we are dedicated to finding people the attorney can help.

This is how lawyers should market: find someone you like, someone you can help in their particular field, and go out and have fun with them. What’s not to like?

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