In our over 20 years of marketing law firms, one of the most
often expressed concerns by managing partners is a fear that they are leaving
money on the table. By this, they
are usually referring to the fact that clients are associating the firm and/or
individual attorneys with specific areas of focus, rather than as a resource
for resolving any of a number of legal matters. This is typically seen in the client who contracts with a
law practice for one legal matter and then walks down the street to contract
with another regarding a different legal concern.
Part of this may stem from compensation arrangements that do
not reward internal cross-promotion and part may simply be a function of
internal politics and territoriality.
So how does the growth-inclined law practice avoid the
dreaded “’shoulda’s’ ‘woulda’s’ and coulda’s?’”
The answer lies first in creating a culture in which the
firm moves from a practice area orientation to a problem-solving one. Such an
orientation often requires re-educating personnel that the firm’s major focus
really is on just helping people. Administrative and human resource matters
should be approached with that mindset and compensation should, in large part,
be based on each attorney’s capacity to do just that. That means rewarding
individuals not just for the work they bring in or the work that they do, but
also for the work, internal or external, that they can bring to another member
of the firm’s staff. Further, in some cases, an interdisciplinary team approach
to client problem-solving should be considered. And processes should be put
into place that allow firm attorneys to regularly be made aware of the legal
matters in which their brethren are involved.
Second, law firms must do a better job of educating both
prospects and clients as to the full range of their legal services. This means
developing the kinds of materials – both online and off, which easily convey
the many ways in which the firm can be of service. Specific areas of the firm’s
legal expertise that are buried deep inside a firm brochure or web site do
little in communicating how the firm can help an individual or business in more
ways than they might have otherwise thought. Instead, law practices –
particularly those with disparate areas of focus, should consider development
of collateral materials that highlight its portfolio of services upfront. Ditto
for the firm web site. Often, it
is not enough for such content to be place under some “Practice Area” button.
That’s because the individual looking for assistance on a family law matter may
never even bother to see whether the firm can also help him on his pending
bankruptcy. Ditto for the corporation seeking help with transactional matters,
but not knowing (or bothering finding out) that the firm can also handle
matters of litigation as well.
One way in which we have seen law firms address such issues
is through the development and dissemination of e-newsletters. Here, what
matters most is not the actual content (though it should still be well thought-out
and well-written), but rather the subject line on the address and the title of
the main article. Recipients may never actually even read the content, but even
in rejecting it, will nonetheless still be exposed to other services the firm
provides. The goal here is not to drum up business immediately (though its been
known to happen), but to plant the seeds among the firm’s database for that day
when the need for a particular service does arise.
Finally, in an age where everyone is (or should be)
self-publishing, it is easy to communicate the individual skill sets of
specific attorneys. What is mandated however, is ensuring that the ways in
which such messages are disseminated, show a consistent regard for the firm at
large. This means incorporating the firm’s logo, tag line, contact information
(and possibly even practice areas) into individual online communications. Ultimately, it is the sum of all
communications that serves as the face (and even the essence) of the
organization.
This is the first in a
5-part series on the concerns most often expressed by managing partners and
legal marketers.
