To Market Consistently or to Do So in Bursts: Assessing Your Practice Area’s Purchasing Mindset

There’s a reason why disparate practice groups require different marketing approaches and it has a great deal to do with the context in which each operates. By this, I mean that the very nature by which potential clients go about deciding with whom they wish to contract for a particular kind of legal service has, or at least should have, a big influence on the types of marketing vehicles that are best to be employed. Not only that, but the practice area to be promoted may also determine when marketing activity is to be scheduled and for how long.

Allow me to explain.

Consider two examples. In the first, an estate planning or wealth management firm decides it wishes to engage in a multi-faceted marketing effort designed to generate new clients relatively quickly. Even casting aside the requisite web site and related activities for a moment, there is a wide range of marketing options available to this firm. It can invite target prospects to a seminar, offer white papers on its web site or run short bursts of advertising to suggest prospects contact the firm regarding a service the firm touts as being essential. Its message is relatively simple: “In order to create or maintain wealth, you need to do a number of things. We will advise you on what to do.”

Now consider a personal injury practice that wishes to also generate new business quickly. Here, the options to promote over the short term are much more limited. This is because no one needs (let alone thinks about) a PI attorney until that moment when one has been injured due to the fault of another. There is very little, if any advanced planning involved in the decisionmaking process. Who to hire only becomes a critical question at that moment. That is why PI firms and attorneys must implement ongoing marketing efforts so that the client is aware of them when that moment arises. And it could be at any time. Their message is basically, “We’re here when and if you need us.”

In many ways it is akin to how one goes about looking for a physician. I know before my first child was born, my wife did a lot of homework as to which pediatrician best suited us. The same can be true for an internist, an OB-GYN or a dentist. Yet, one typically doesn’t question which urologist, heart specialist or orthopedic surgeon to visit until one has a need to visit one.

This is one, albeit critical reason why marketing personal injury services usually requires greater financial outlays than a similarly sized estate planning practice. The same holds true, though perhaps to a lesser extent for criminal law. Unless you are planning to commit a crime and to being caught, you probably have not given much thought to who your defense attorney will be. Conversely, as with estate planning, a tax attorney may be able to “push” inquiries from potential clients. A family law practice? I would suggest it lies somewhere in between. Individuals considering a divorce may do considerable research into their options – but it is difficult for family lawyers to target those “considering” divorce.

Where your particular practice area falls on this spectrum of being able to promote for the short vs. the long term impacts not just the financial resources you will need, but may also determine when you implement your marketing initiatives. Going back to that tax attorney for example, the time between the end of January and April 15th usually makes sense. Family lawyers may wish to consider the period right after the holiday season. For that poor PI or criminal law firm however, there may be no especially good time to pursue such cases.

By the way, the same holds true for business-to-business practices. There are certain legal services that a business knows that it will need (e.g., transaction matters), while there are others that may make sense only at a particular moment in time (e.g., bankruptcy).

The point is, that when determining the marketing vehicles to use, how much and when to use them, as well as the kinds of costs that may be involved to effectively implement a program, it is important to have a good understanding as to the inherent nature of the client’s decisionmaking process.

So,... How Did You Do? 10 Questions to Ask about Your 2014 Business Development Efforts

In a few weeks, you will all be besieged by scores of emails, promotions, and invitations, etc. asking you to begin the new year “right” by purchasing whatever product or service is certain to make 2015 the “big” one in terms of revenue, new client generation, and cost efficiency.

But before you begin the 2015 planning process, this may also be a good time to take a step back and assess 2014, because all products and services aside, this is the best way to ensure that successful initiatives are duplicated or enhanced, and that any mistakes made are avoided.

So, that in mind, I offer you the 10 questions every managing partner/legal marketing professional should ask as 2014 winds to a close:
 

1. How successful was 2014 in terms of new client generation?   Were increases in firm revenue a result of ongoing or repeat client business or the result of the firm’s business development initiatives?
2. Where did new business come from?  Was new revenue concentrated amongst a relatively small group of clients or scattered across a wider range of new clients?
3. Which marketing activities were most effective in generating new business?  This is a trick question, because not all marketing tools can be easily measured and most new business comes through exposure to a number of different types of business development efforts.  That being said, either quantitatively or qualitatively, is there a sense as to what worked this year and what did not?
4. Which practice areas benefitted the most from business development initiatives?  Very important.  Different practice groups have different marketing needs. Did the firm ”do right” by each group in terms of implementing the most effective marketing strategies?
5. Were human resources employed in the most profitable manner possible?  Let’s face it.  Not everyone is good at everything. Some individuals are natural salespeople while others are more comfortable sticking strictly to “lawyering.”  And even among those who are particularly good at generating new business, different people have different skills.  Some write brilliant articles.  Others are terrific presenters. And still others are just gifted when it comes to making small talk at a social or business function. Did the firm take all of this into account in implementing its 2014 plans? 
6. How efficient was the business development function?  It’s great to have generated new revenue, but far less so, if the expense involved outweighed that revenue. Aside from obvious out-of-pocket costs, how did internal processes affect the business development function? Were marketing committee meetings productive? Did outside vendors get clear direction from the firm and did the various projects flow through the firm smoothly and swiftly?
7. How was the firm perceived?  Did the firm get adequate feedback from current clients, new clients and prospective clients as to the perceived quality of a) the firm’s work product, b) the firm’s image and c) the firm’s sales “pitch.” 
8.  How successful were firm competitors in 2014?  Did competitors make inroads into the firm’s business?  Steal any clients? Did any new competitors emerge? If so, what are their strengths and weaknesses?
9.  What relevant issues, trends, news events were “hot” subjects during the past year?  Did the firm leverage its expertise in certain areas of the law? Did it keep an eye on happenings in the world, the community, the legal industry and its target industries?
10.  How did the results of 2014 compare to what had been anticipated and planned for one year ago?  How good was the firm at forecasting its future and spotting opportunities and potential trouble spots?  What might the firm have done differently to better anticipate and meet its practice-building needs?

So, there you go.  Ten questions to ask yourself before the curtain drops on 2014.

But think, once you’ve answered them, you’ll truly be ready for the next big assignment – developing your attack plan for generating more business in 2015.

If you would like to discuss strategies for marketing your practice in 2015, contact us at (856) 810-0400.

What Goes into a Law Firm Marketing Plan?

We are often asked by clients and prospects to develop a legal marketing plan on their behalf. This is always an intriguing proposition because what some view as perhaps a two-page outline of the promotional activities to be pursued, a true marketing plan offers something far greater. Such plans provide a more detailed picture of where the firm stands, its goals, and how it plans to achieve them.

A full-fledged marketing document should address the following areas:

Background 

• Firm History 
• The Services it Provides 
• The Geography it Serves 
• The Types of Clients it Serves
• Businesses vs. General Public vs. Government Entities
• Age, Income and Gender Demographics
• Psychographic Profiles
• Attorney Billing Rates 
• Firm Reputation
• Firm Strengths
• Firm Weaknesses
• Results of Marketing efforts to Date 

Industry Overview

• General Trends
• Seasonality
• Client Development Cycle (from awareness through initial consult and retainment)
• Attorney Billing Rates
• Competitive Framework 
• Competitor Descriptions (e.g., size, number of attorneys, strengths, weaknesses, etc.)
• Competitor Reputations and Positionings
• Analysis of Competitive Communications (e.g., ads, web site, brochures, etc.) 

Objectives & Strategies

• Vision/Mission Statement
• Long-Term Goals & Rationale (e.g., increase revenue to $XXX to support partner payouts of $XXX)
• Long-Term Strategies (e.g., generate greater awareness of the firm among a particular business or consumer segment)
• Short-Term Goals (e.g., Obtain $XXX in revenue in the upcoming fiscal year)
• Short-Term Strategies (e.g., Implement social media campaign, broaden geographical target, add new practice area, etc. 

2013 Strategic Plan

• Improvements to Firm Services
• Billing Rates
• Promotional Program
• Objectives
• Budget & Rationale
• Target Market
• Target Audience(s)
• Marketing Mix/Budget Allocation 
• Activity A (e.g., development of new web site)
• Activity B (e.g., PR campaign) 
• Activity C (e.g., social media effort)
• Creative Development 
• Positioning of the Firm 
• Benefits the firm provides (particularly vs. competitors) 
• Substantiation for Benefits
• Communications Hurdles 

Opportunities & Red Flags

• Indicators of Success (i.e., milestone to be achieved/interim metrics)
• Plan Assumptions 
• Firm Strengths as Related to the Marketing Plan
• Firm Weaknesses and Red Flags as Related to the Marketing Plan (i.e., firm may or may not be able to effectively implement activity A for such and such a reason)

Implementation

• Plan Flowchart & Timetable 

While a full-fledged marketing document such as this may not be realistic or feasible to implement on an annual basis, we have seen it be an extremely worthwhile exercise for law firms undergoing a transition, requiring a new direction or seeking to tap into new growth areas.