The reason public relations is so much more effective than advertising is because of the credibility factor. What is said in an ad, which you pay for, is controlled by you, whereas what is said about you (hopefully in a favorable light) in the media by an independent third party is free advertising for you and your firm. And, since you want good press, make friends with reporters
Follow this link:
Respond to Reporters Immediately, If Not Sooner
If you still don’t like the idea of offering clients alternative fees or value pricing options, then how about just letting the client decide how much they want to pay for legal services? WHAT!!!, you say.
The rest is here:
Still Not Offering Clients Alternative Fees? Beware!
There is a very interesting article by Anthony Green in Law Practice Today which talks about Web 2.0, Web 1.0 and social media in general. Not being one completing sold on all the hype surrounding social media, I agree with several points Green raises about the need to get back to basics. He (and I) recognize the role social media can and is playing.
Read the original here:
Has Social Media Gotten Lawyers Out of Focus?
In my almost twenty-five years as a legal marketer, the biggest drawback to success in developing business has been the failure by lawyers to follow through on the strategies they develop. I’ve seen lawyers make stellar efforts in planning effective goals and objectives, only then to fail for the lack of implementation. That’s where a coach comes in
Read the original here:
Thinking of Hiring a Coach? Make Sure You’re Ready
Marketing professionals have for years gotten a pretty good laugh over the too often used pictures lawyers have on their web sites (and brochures). That is, courthouses, gavels, scales of justice, law books, etc . Can’t remember if I’ve mentioned before how boring and predictable these images are
Read the original here:
Are Your Web Site Images Effective?
Now there is a “rocket science” tip for ya. Is there any lawyer who doesn’t understand that ticking off a client undermines their marketing efforts? Heck, not only will a client with a grievance not give you any more business (or referrals), but they are more than certain to tell up to 10 people what a bad lawyer and human being you are
See more here:
Avoiding Grievances is Also Good Marketing
This week will conclude my encore postings of my Top Ten Marketing Tips from 2005 (due to my office and family moving back to my beloved North Carolina) with marketing tips No.
See the article here:
Top 10 Marketing Tips: No. 9 – Networking With Super-Connectors
Due to my office and family moving back to my beloved North Carolina, my posts over the next couple of weeks will feature five of my Top Ten Marketing Tips , especially for those who may not have been reading this blog back in 2005: May 2, 2005 Top 10 Marketing Tips: No.
Continued here:
Top 10 Marketing Tips: No. 1 – Visit Your Client
A panel of in-house counsel at a recent meeting of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association discussed the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How’s of hiring outside counsel. Their discussion was summarized by Janet Ellen Raasch in an article that appears on JDSupra . What struck me was how we have heard it all before
More here:
What Do General Counsel Want?
While one recent survey says that “reducing spending (with outside law firms) is a top priority for corporate legal departments”, another says that regional firms may be in position to gain more work over BigLaw. Both surveys were reported by Law360 , the newswire for business lawyers.
Continue reading here:
Survey: More Business Likely For Regional Firms
One of my absolute favorite movies of all time is Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman and George Kennedy. A favorite line from that classic was spoken by the captain of the prison camp (played by Strother Martin) after Newman’s (Luke’s) umpteenth failed attempt at escape and subsequent punishment
See original here:
Do You Fail To Communicate Well?
During Jackson Lewis ’ annual corporate counsel conference, as reported in The National Law Journal and on Law.com’s Small Firm Business , alternative fees are “putting down deep roots.” This got my attention, because although there has been much written about the subject including on this blog, it hasn’t seemed that alternative fees were catching on all that quickly. Percentages of law firm fees, other than the billable hour, have ranged from as low as 2% to as much as 20% over the next ten years
Read this article:
More On The Reality of Alternative Fees
Earlier this year there was an article by Jessica Sharp published in The Legal Intelligencer , and republished this week on Law.com’s Small Firm Business . Since the “10 Tips for Lower-Cost Law Firm Marketing” don’t get old with age, their worth mentioning.
Read the original here:
10 Cheap But Effective Marketing Tips For Today’s Realities
Sometimes when I am having “post block,” I turn to a friendly source of knowledge. In this case, as in the past, I looked at 365 Marketing Meditations: Daily Lessons for Marketing and Communications Professionals by my friend Larry Smith and Richard Levick of Levick Strategic Communications
View post:
Read What Your Clients Read
Today a ran across one of the shortest posts I’ve seen by a blogger of some stature, and the post said soooooo much in so little space. The gist of it is one word “Thanks” in cursive. A mere 34 words rounded out the post
See the rest here:
Say "Thanks" To Everyone Who Helps Your Business
You might ask how I could make such a statement when most dogs, including my Chocolate Lab Sugar, spend most of their day sleeping. Normal people wouldn’t think that you could learn a lot about developing business from spending 90% of your time viewing the inside of your eye lids. But, ALAS, Joey Asher does just that in his insightful article that appears in yesterday’s Small Firm Business newsletter
See the original post:
You Can Learn A Lot About Marketing From Your Dog
What kinds of things make clients mad. Here are just a few: Not returning phone calls, Not treating them with respect, Failure to admit a screw up (or worse blaming it on them), Missing deadlines, Not keeping them informed (i.e., treating them like mushrooms), and Not understanding their business. I agree with Trey Ryder , that clients would be more understanding, if you inform them as to how their matter will be handled
See the original post here:
Clients Can Be A Forgiving Lot – If You Ask
Lawyers with a real niche practice are pretty much aware that it is easier to have clients, prospects and referrals understand what they do. Generalists have a harder time standing out from the crowd, when it comes to being recognized as different from every other lawyer in their area.
View original post here:
Narrow Your Practice Niche To Broader Your Reach
The outsourcing industry received its biggest bonanza yet with the US healthcare bill being passed by the House of Representatives. The Opportunity that it throws up for outsourcers is huge and far bigger than the Y2K, which included only changing code, said experts. When the bill becomes law, it will bring around 32 million more Americans under insurance cover, pushing healthcare providers and insurance firms to become more efficient and opening up demand for less-expensive services, better technology and business intelligence
Go here to see the original:
Opportunity comes knocking on outsourcing firms’ doors
I met a lawyer a few years ago, who sat on a bar grievance committee in New York. She told me that 80% of the complaints against lawyers involved inattention to the client’s matter and failure to communicate with the client. From a marketing standpoint, I have preached for years that phone calls should be returned the same day, preferably within four hours.
Read the original:
Explain To Clients What Your Communication Policy Is