Years ago, legal marketers only had to concern themselves
with communicating the firm message to as many qualified prospects as they
could, as many times as they could.
My, how times have changed.
Today, simply reaching prospects is no longer enough. Law
firms now need to interact with them. By interaction, we mean any activity that
begins to establish a relationship between the firm and the potential new
client, thereby reducing the individual’s perceived risk. There are any of a
number of ways in which to promote such interaction, among them:
- Personal Networking
- Posting on Social Media Sites
- Participating in Online Groups
- Offering Free White Papers
- Webinars
- Offering E-Newsletter Subscriptions
- Requesting Survey Input
- Offering Survey Results
- Seminars
Each of these activities has inherent advantages and
drawbacks depending on the type of practice area and the unique situation of
the firm itself. For example, personal networking is probably the most
effective, but requires a great deal of time and limits the number of prospects
one can reach. Similarly, a
seminar provides a terrific means for conveying expertise and gaining the trust
of potential clients, but usually costs considerably more than its webinar
counterpart. In implementing the latter, most of the logistical issues of time,
place and location are moot. Yet webinars lack the opportunity for face-to-face
interaction that a seminar provides.
Determining which method or methods for promoting
interactivity is best for a firm is not difficult. Much more challenging is making the actual commitment
towards some type of such initiative – particularly when each carries with it
inherent costs of time and/or dollars. Nevertheless, today, where we live in
such a cynical age, it is important that legal marketers do all they can to
minimize that perceived risk and thereby lower the hurdles of turning prospect
into a real, live, paying clients.
