Legal Marketing | Attorney Marketing | Marketing For Lawyers

Law firm marketing must clearly differentiate you and your law firm from everyone else who does what you do. Most lawyers are concerned with what everyone else is doing. Most lawyers are scared to do something out of the ordinary. This hurts their ability to attract new business to their law firm.

What a lawyer says that something is "Not normally done that way".

I respond with: "What does the word normal mean to you?"

To me it means "Just like everybody else". If you give people no clear criteria to choose from when they make a decision on how to select a lawyer, they will use the only available criteria: Price.

Normal also means average. If you want to be average, ignore this advice.

If you want to be above average, you must differentiate yourself and your law firm.

How to create a difference in the mind of your clients

This starts with a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). A USP is a phrase that summarizes exactly what makes you different from everyone else who does what you do. A great example of a USP:

Dominoes Pizza: Hot Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less or it is free.

Notice how the Dominoes Pizza USP does not mention anything about good tasting pizza. It has no mention of some secret recipe that makes it better. The only thing Dominoes mentions is that the Pizza will be there in 30 minutes or it will be free. This basically throws down a challenge to the customer. It says: "If you want fast pizza call us. We own the fast pizza business."

Another great example:

Federal Express: Call us when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.
The key element in this USP is certainty. If you want to be sure, you call FedEx. It doesn't say anything about price. It speaks to the value.

You must figure out how to differentiate your law firm from everyone else who does what you do.

Once you do that, your value becomes clear to your ideal client.

There is one big lie that a handful of people perpetuate about law firm marketing. This is the mentality that if you are a good lawyer law firm marketing is not necessary. I hear this all the time. People say: "Just be a good lawyer and word will get out." That is simply not true. There are thousands of good lawyers in the United States today who are broke.

Whether you like it or not, the law is a business. If you do not have a marketing effort your business will fail. That is a fact. It is certain.

The law is also a profession. This means you cannot market your business in the same way other businesses market. You have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the profession while you aggressively look to grow you business.

Law firm marketing is about developing and deepening relationships. If you view marketing in that light, you will never go afoul of any attorney marketing rules. Simply use good commonsense and good business sense and develop relationships through marketing.

There are two important elements in relationship development (law firm marketing). The first is trust. You need to establish an environment of trust with your prospective clients and with people who may refer business to you. Without trust there is no law firm.

The second element is respect. If your clients do not respect you, they will not hire you. If your referral sources do not respect you they will not send business your way.
These two elements are essential to your success. You cannot have your face on the side of a bus and be respected. You will look like a clown. You cannot go on television and make a fool of yourself and be taken seriously.

When these two elements are missing everyone has issues with law firm marketing. But this doesn't mean that law firm marketing as a whole is bad or wrong.

Keep this in mind the next time you hear someone say, "Just be a good lawyer and the clients will come." This is a big lie. They will not unless you develop a relationship with them.

Brochures are bad for law firm marketing for three specific reasons:

1). Most often brochures are about you and your law firm. They are not about the client and his needs. Any time you talk about yourself or your firm with a client, you lose. The client's issue is always the most important thing on the clients mind. Every piece of your law firm marketing should be focused on the client's needs.

2). Brochures do not sell. A brochure looks good but like a dim model on the runway, it is all looks and no substance. Your law firm marketing material must work hard for you. If it doesn't it is worthless. Before you convince the client you are the right attorney for them you must first convince them they need to solve their problem. This means you need to create urgency. Usually, a brochure has no urgency associated with it. It is simply a good looking piece of four color paper folded over.

3). A brochure doesn't educate your clients or prospective clients. If you want your law firm marketing to be successful it must educate the client on the issues they are currently facing. It must also help the client understand the value of solving this problem and the value of solving it now.

So what law firm marketing tool should you use in place of the evil brochure? This video will help give you some perspective.

You should replace your standard brochure with a guide that will help the prospective client hire the right lawyer. This guide is a great way to introduce your law firm and your services in a nonthreatening way.

Your guide should educate and inform and it should be a reference document as opposed to being a promotional document. Attracting clients means helping them understand the need for your services and convincing them that the timing is right for them to take action. A guide to hiring a lawyer in your area of expertise goes a long way toward educating the client on these facts.

Law firm marketing is educational, creates urgency and is set in the world of the client. A brochure is the exact opposite of these things. This is why a brochure has no place in law firm marketing.

Why do people choose you over every other attorney? Your legal marketing should help you develop a powerfully effective personal brand. It should differentiate you from the competition. This video explains.

You want to be the "name brand" lawyer and your legal marketing should help make that happen for you. Focus your legal marketing and use it to enhance your image and your personal brand.

Getting involved in a local group or civic organization is a great way to improve your local community while you grow your law firm. Legal marketing and civic organization leadership go hand in hand. This video explains.

Here is why assuming a leadership position is important:

Improves Credibility

People want to be lead. Your role in your community organization will help you achieve an elevated status in the mind of the people within the group. These people could very well be clients of yours someday.

Improves Visibility

If you want people to get to know who you are and what you do, accepting a leadership post in a community organization is a terrific way to gain that visibility. As a leader you will often be required to speak in front of groups, to write articles and to host meetings. All of these things enhance your visibility.

It Differentiates You

Many people do not get involved in the local community. Your involvement will separate you from everyone else who does what you do. Leadership further differentiates you. It helps set you apart. It shows stability and confidence.

If you have a desire to leverage your involvement in a community organization for legal marketing, you need to become a leader in that group. Business tends to flow to the leaders of organizations.

Lawyers who command high fees are never perceived as lawyers. You read that correctly. Their clients view them as Trusted Advisors. Being a Trusted Advisor means that a client never makes a move without consulting you. Those consultations have value. People pay for things that have value. How do you get to that point? Legal marketing helps you get there. Specifically a part of your legal marketing plan called POSITIONING. What is positioning? This video scratches the surface.

Everything you do that a client or a prospective client will see has an impact on your positioning. Positioning is the place you hold in the mind of your client. It is how your client perceives you.

Attorneys with good positioning command higher fees. They have their pick of the prospective clients who come calling. They work the amount of hours they feel like working.

What position do you hold in the mind of your ideal client? How can your legal marketing plan help you improve that position?

Clients may write their checks to law firms but they hire lawyers. What they see when the meet you is your personal brand. In legal marketing your personal brand is your character. You can improve your standing in the eyes of your client if you admit when you are wrong. This is a hidden secret of legal marketing.

I know this is not something you include in your legal marketing plan. This is not something that you advertise. This is not something you are going to talk about at cocktail parties. But IT IS something your clients will talk about. It does speak volumes about your character. It definitely helps define who you are in the eyes of your client.

When you look in the mirror you need to like what you see. When you clients look at you, they see what you show them. If you show them you are mature enough to admit when you are wrong, they will be more willing to invest in a continuing relationship with you.

Remember, the client always gets the final vote and he votes with his wallet.