In the classic ’80s comedy ” Brewster’s Millions, ” Richard Pryor plays a minor league baseball player who has to spend $ 30 million in 30 days to inherit $ 300 million from his great-uncle. Unsurprisingly, he goes on a spree (for example, he buys a rare stamp and uses it to send a letter) in an effort to deplete his budget.
You can buy attention.
Times are good for many law firms. Revenues and profits have increased. There is scope to spend on marketing. While most companies don’t invest heavily, when coffers are full, it is tempting to invest in large-scale, attention-grabbing marketing campaigns. For example, you can get noticed by spending $ 50,000 on a national ad campaign. And if you do it frequently and consistently, it will work, if what you want is broad brand recognition (branding). While it is almost impossible to measure the real ROI of this type of marketing, it fills us with pride, it makes us feel good to have the firm’s logo on print publications.
Not being able to measure ROI means that if you put up a billboard at the airport, for example, you cannot know for sure how many people have seen the ad, how many people have decided to contact your firm because of it, that is, you cannot calculate the cost / benefit ratio that has arisen from such investment.
But what happens when times get tougher? Unfortunately, instead of doing something different, many firms again make one-time investments (a single full-page ad in the local business newspaper) to mimic their larger competitors. But this does not result in the kind of sustained business success they seek as legal entrepreneurs.
But you can’t buy trust.
Yes, paying you can attract attention. But no matter how much you spend, you cannot buy trust . And trust is the most valuable and necessary quality to sell professional services.
Effective marketing, one that attracts both attention and trust, must be built on a foundation of strategy. Developing an effective strategy requires an investment, but not simply writing a check. It involves listening, understanding, being empathetic, and putting in the work necessary to really know who your audience is and what they care about. Only then can you implement marketing tactics that will lead people to notice what you have to say and then open the door to the proposals you make. Establishing a solid foundation for effective legal marketing and business development is hard work. It requires a change of mind. It involves thinking unconventionally.
These maxims are not for everyone
What follows are not tactics. Rather, these are 10 maxims that will help frame decisions and, yes, make the necessary investments to make an impact on legal marketing in 2020. These are principles. And they are not for everyone. Undoubtedly, many attorneys and law firms will continue to do things the way they have always been done: set a budget, a one-off campaign, and check the box for tasks done.
1. Customers don’t care about you.
Of course not, they care about themselves. So why is so much of your marketing focused on facts, figures, and characteristics of your business? Stop looking at the usefulness of what you do and understand that customers, like all consumers, act based on how they feel. The story you tell, not the services you provide or the accolades you’ve earned, is what creates emotional resonance and builds trust.
2. Clients don’t buy legal services, they buy results.
But not the results you think. Sure, the plaintiff-client wants to win the lawsuit. But this person filed the lawsuit because they felt ignored, disrespected, and cheated in some way. He wants redemption. These feelings keep you awake at night. What you are really buying is compensation. Are you focused solely on demand? Do you spend more time in correspondence with the opposing attorney and the judge’s clerk than with your client? Or are you giving him what he’s really looking for: comfort, security and confidence that he has entrusted his peace of mind to someone who deeply understands what matters to him? Don’t mix your own ambitions with your client’s desired outcome.
3. The status quo is your greatest competition.
Most individuals and businesses seeking legal services are already clients of other attorneys and law firms. Your job, therefore, is not to offer a marginally better option. Despite what is taught in economics class, consumers are not rational actors. They do not weigh the options equally and always make the best decision. They are trapped by inertia. They see the change as risky, despite the availability of a better alternative. They are in debt to the status quo.
4. You have to give them a reason to change.
Because consumers feel trapped by inertia, you must formulate and articulate a significantly superior offer from the desk if you want to free prospects from the status quo. You have to come up with a compelling story that demonstrates the value of the change. This will attract attention and attracting someone’s attention will give you a chance to earn their trust. Consistently build trust by making and keeping promises and the change you seek will happen.
5. Forget about mass markets – focus on one person at a time.
Most of marketing is focused on reaching mass markets. Why not reach out to as many as you can? Because if you try, you won’t get to anyone. The message will be diluted and therefore ignored. Mass marketing is vague and is based on the assumption that a large number of potential customers will be interested in what you have to say. Instead, focus on reaching a minimum viable market . Before shooting 50 new customers, target five. Mark yourself a small group of people. Give them excellent service: Delight them. Then they will tell a friend that their attorney is wonderful. Your recommendations to other people around you will be much more valuable than any message you can convey to mass markets.
6. Tactics are not strategies, they serve strategy.
One of the most common questions I get at this time of year, as law firms plan for the next, is, “What do you see other firms making it work?” The root of this question is: What tactics are generating buzz? And business? In my experience, the only tactic that works is to avoid the tactics altogether until the strategy and story are set. The website, email marketing, social media, Personal branding for lawyer, print ads, podcasts, videos… the list goes on and on. Those are just the means of distribution. They are just channels. Forget about tactics, at least for now. Create a great story that you can tell to a different audience. Then, and only then, do you use tactics to spread your message.
7. Thought leadership is generous (that’s why it works).
Thought leadership marketing involves freely sharing informative, educational, and inspirational content in the ideas marketplace. Yes, give away your knowledge, although not in a complete and technical way, but in an informative way so that they generate the need to hire you, seeing the value of what you know and can contribute. We live in the era of content marketing.
8. For great success, start by thinking small.
Having a specific focus is important for many reasons. The main one is establishing yourself as an opinion leader. It is almost impossible to be a thought leader and not have a niche. To have ideas and ideas that break up and change the conversation, you need to focus the conversation on one topic. You need to commit. You cannot be the first reference in mortgage, divorce, inheritance, civil, bankruptcy, administrative, consumers, expropriations … no matter how much you carry all the issues, you can only be seen as a leader in one field.
You should aim for the depth, not the breadth. An unexpected, counterintuitive (and wonderful) thing happens when you engage and shut down all distractions, side projects – you are presented with more opportunities when you do less but you do it better than anyone else. Do you want high-paying, sophisticated clients with interesting projects? These types of customers are looking for a result, not a bargain, and they are willing to pay for the best alternative out there.
A lawyer who bets on several topics will surely not reach the opinion leader status required to be on the front page. The same goes for speaking and writing opportunities, and opportunities to build relationships with new clients. Less gives more.
9. First impressions matter more than you think.
Think about the last time you interviewed a candidate or spoke to a salesperson about a project. If you are like most people, you made a quick judgment (positive or negative) in the first few minutes of meeting the person. The rest of the conversation was just polite talk. Your potential customers do this too. However, the problem that attorneys and law firms face is that it is almost impossible to know the point of first impression for most prospects. In some cases, it is a conversation over coffee. Other times, it is an opinion shared by someone who has had previous dealings with your firm. In this days,
Audit and improve your first impression points. Make each potential touchpoint as meaningful, welcoming, and relevant as possible. First impressions are very important. The challenge you face is that many customers are forming an opinion about you without you knowing it.
10. Your best prospects are the ones you already serve.
It is exciting to develop new sales from new customers. But trying to get new customers is the wrong area to focus your marketing resources. According to many studies, acquiring a new one is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than maintaining an existing one. A study published in the US by the agency Bain & Co. suggests that increasing customer retention rates by 5% could increase profits by 25-95%. Don’t chase someone else at the party, dance with the one who brought you to the dance.
Conclusions:
If you got this far, you may be thinking: You’re not supposed to do anything, at least not yet. First, you need to think.
Ask yourself:
- Who am I trying to serve?
- What does it matter to them? How do they see the world?
- What do I have to offer that is new and different?
- What little steps can I take to get the attention of a chosen small group of people?
- With that attention, how will I build trust?
- How can I serve my audience?
- How can I build the capacity (time, discipline, stamina) to show up and be generous, over and over again?
- How can I keep my marketing promise by delivering even more than expected?
