Legal Marketing Blog

It’s 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, and Tom Peters of In Search of Excellence fame undoubtedly would like to know if you called a client today. Peters has an excellent 1 minute 7 second audio clip I ran across today. You should listen to it as well.

He admonishes us to never get out of touch with customers (clients), which is easy to do. He warns about losing touch:

“Must not happen. Stop. Now. Call a customer - out of the blue. Ask: how can I help? How are we doing? Have we delivered on every promise... listen, listen, listen. Take notes, meticulously... Follow up on at least one little thing, fast, instantly...”

He concludes by saying that we all have customers (clients), so his admonition "applies to 100% of us.”

So, I’m about to make my call. How about you?

Doesn’t every lawyer do that? Well maybe not so much. Sometimes professionals are too busy talking about the solution to a problem they assume the client has, when in fact the client may not even recognize they have a problem. In other words, you can’t solve a problem that the client doesn’t know exists.

So the key, according to marketing guru Seth Godin, is that you must sell the problem before you sell the solution. He’s talking about the fear and benefit thing. First, you need to uncover the problem or concern (i.e., need), before you “jump into (the) features and benefits” (i.e., solution) you are selling. Additionally, Seth points out an “interesting paradox” in all this. That is, a client may not even admit to a problem, unless they see a hint of a solution. In other words, you have to sell the problem AND show them a way out of it before they'll retain you.

The important thing is to ask the client/prospective client the right questions to uncover whether or not they have a need for the services you provide, and recognize their situation and the light at the end of the tunnel. Otherwise, you could have best legal solution the world has ever seen, but the client still won’t buy it.

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.

One way to do that is to quickly respond to requests for comment. (Of course, not commenting on any client matters without prior approval). You could become a general source for legal related stories and someone a reporter can rely on when they on a tight deadline. With that thought in mind, I love today’s tidbit from 365 Marketing Meditations: Daily Lessons for Marketing & Communications Professionals by Larry Smith and Richard Levick of Levick Strategic Communications:

“Two journalists getting married were in such a hurry to meet deadlines that all they had time for was ‘I…’ Remember that when a reporter calls you for comment.”

Their advice is not just for PR professionals. Any lawyer can apply their meditations to their own experiences, and in this situation especially. If you want to become recognized as an expert, and get “free” media coverage, remember to return a journalist's call ASAHP (as soon as humanly possible). Read that as immediately, even if only to tell them you’ll have to research the issue and get back to them. Always ask when their deadline is. They will come to rely on you, and that is a good thing.

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. A pretty far fetched (or ludicrous) idea, right?

Not so fast. CMS Cameron McKenna, a UK firm with more than 1000-lawyers, is offering that as an option to “3500 existing and prospective clients” as part of its alternative fee program, according to an article on The Lawyer by Gavriel Hollander. They are also offering an oil company fees based on the price of oil, and another a “no questions asked” fixed fee for a “one-stop deal.”

To be eligible clients must agree to the majority of work being managed by an associate, and agree “to give Camerons more than a third of all legal work.”

Thanks to Gerry Riskin for the heads up on this and weighing in with some very wise advice: 

“... Those other law firms who ignore Alternative Fees and Value Pricing because ‘they just won't ever take hold’ are in grave danger of playing catch up or even missing the boat altogether. You don't need your own pricing team today but what you do need is a team within the partnership to start exploring how your firm will enter this game and when (not if).”

I couldn't agree more, Gerry.

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. The question is have we lost focus on the main point surrounding personal services marketing? As Green points out “In all likelihood, the big decision makers still prefer face-to-face communication…” and although social media and the virtual world is playing an “increasingly important (role)… keep in mind that most business in the professional services world is still done face-to-face.”

He sums up his article by pointing out the need for lawyers to spend less time in front of their computer screens and more face time with clients and prospects (and referral sources I might add). As he puts it: “The end goal of your marketing efforts should be to foster face-to-face conversations.”

In my mind that is Business Development 101. Green shares a quote from Jonathan Baskin, the columnist for Advertising Age, who said “we’ve allowed this (social media) nonsense to get out of hand.” So, let’s not lose focus on what it is that really develops business most effectively.

Do you feel uncomfortable networking? Maybe better questions include: Do you enjoy helping friends and acquaintances? Are you a good listener? Do you like to party?? Then, you may be better at networking than you think. So, maybe it is the word “networking” that is the culprit. Think of it as enjoying yourself at events.

Of course, you need to be a good listener and ask questions to learn as much as you can about a person you meet, so you can determine if you can help them and whether they may be a good candidate for your network.

As I’ve mentioned before, you already know everything about yourself, so don’t waste time with that when it would be better spent learning about the other person. Remember the one who talks the most during an encounter is the one who thinks the meeting was the most successful. Make that the person who might be a good additional to your network.

Stephen Seckler, formerly a recruiter who now coaches lawyers, has some basic tips on networking in an article on JDSupra.com that I ran across on LinkedIn. Maybe these tips can help you:
Ask people about their personal (and professional) interests for ideas on how you may be able to help them;

• Then help people in some way to reach their goals, e.g., if someone your interested in is raising money for charity, pitch in;
• Do some research prior to an event on people you know will be there;
• Offer to introduce people to others in your network who they might be interested in;
• ALWAYS follow up after meeting someone at an event (handwritten note, email, invite to lunch, send information of interest, etc., etc.) that is a candidate for your network.

Pretty basic, but may just make you more comfortable with networking.

Most law firms would say, if asked, that they provide excellent client service, or at least very good service. Unfortunately, this self-assessment is not based on fact in most cases. As my friend Stacy West Clark reports, when clients were asked how their law firms were doing "most gave their firms a ‘C’ grade."

Her article "10 Ways To Improve Law Firm Client Service" that appeared in The Legal Intelligencer and on Law.com's Small Firm Business, is a very good read for two reasons. First, she identifies five factors that I would totally agree make for outstanding service, to wit:

“incredible responsiveness; accessibility; excellent communication in the manner the client has pre-selected; a thorough understanding of the clients' world, goals and business; and the personalization of the service (which she refers to as ‘value added services’).”

Secondly, having identified what comprises truly excellent service, she goes on to identify how a firm can assess what its grade should be and how to improve it. (Here are my favorites from her 10 ways):

• Ask your clients before as to their service preferences, and after a matter as to how your services could be improved (critically important in my mind);
• Ask everyone (from the mailroom to corner office) how the firm could take its services up a notch;
• Experience your firm as a client would (from the appearance of your reception area, conference rooms to how the phone is answered and clients are treated (even using a "secret shopper" approach to test responsiveness);
• hire great people and praise them in public, both attorneys and staff, for their attention to clients (I love Stacy's story about the online shoe company, Zappos,  that gives $1000 to applicants if they turn down a job with the company because they cannot abide by “the company's expectations and service creed” – pretty unbelievable); and
• Create a culture and environment of client service using something like the Ritz Carlton WOW stories method, and look for other stories outside the legal industry to use in teaching lawyers and staff more about client service.

As I said, I commend Stacy's article to your reading, if you want to pick up ideas on improving your firm’s client service.

Getting favorable press is a very effective way in raising any lawyer’s profile.  And that is good for developing business. Among my top ten marketing tips, I’ve put “Take a Reporter to Lunch” as No.8.

This tip came to mind when I saw tomorrow’s meditation in 365 Marketing Meditations: Daily Lessons for Marketing & Communications Professionals by my friend Larry Smith and Richard Levick.

“Meet reporters and journalists personally. It’s easier to get good press from people who know you.”

That kinda says it all.

Opportunities for legal work for small and mid-sized firms from corporate counsel still exist in this economy, in fact, maybe more so due to the higher costs/fees associated with BigLaw firms.

The 20th Annual Survey of General Counsel, published in the August 2010 issue of Inside Counsel magazine continues to point out what in-house counsel like and don’t like about their outside law firms.

What they don’t like:

• Failure to understand their business (only 41% “say law firms understand their business”);
• Not “actively seek(ing) ways to reduce costs,” according to 65% of survey respondents; and
• Fifty-one percent “don’t think law firms recognize their budget constraints."

What they would like to see:

• Firms seeking creative solutions – 82%;
• Industry-related experience (86% want this); and
• Responsiveness – 99.5% (that's pretty clear!).

What surprised me, quite frankly, was that the survey tells us that 68.5% “are happy with their law firm relationships.” While many law firms would be tickled pink with that figure, remember it is telling us that more than 31% of in-house counsel are not happy with their outside law firm relationships.

Therein lies the business development opportunities for other firms, especially if they take corporate counsels’ likes and dislikes to heart.

It certainly is no secret that the buyers of legal services are closely scrutinizing the costs associated with outside law firms, especially during this economic downturn. There are two things that some firms recognize in that climate: first, there is a need to re-think their approach to developing business; and secondly, now is not the time to hunker down by reducing business development activities.

An article by Sharon Caffrey and Rhonda Ulrich of Duane Morris has some very savvy tips on how to recession-proof your business development plan  (that actually are applicable in any economy). All firms should take their advice to heart:

1. Network effectively by helping others. It is so true that networking is not about "self-promotion." Rather, as the article points out, it's about "investing in people now" in order to reap benefits later. Accordingly, help other people expand their network and reach their goals;
2. Focus your niche more narrowly. Now is not the time to take anything that walks in the door, or is thrown over the transom. The more focused you are, the more focused and effective your business development efforts will be;
3. Implement your action plan. Lawyers are often more effective in planning marketing strategies, then they are in executing them. Even when you are busy, you need to keep in mind the need to feed the pipeline. It is necessary to execute your plan, and you might consider using a coach to help;
4. Seek client feedback. As the authors point out, don't assume clients are happy. Remember, client satisfaction "is a vital component of maintaining your business." The most effective way to get feedback is to put a "client interview program" in place; and
5. Become more of a trusted advisor. The best client relationships are ones where the lawyer is more than a technical legal provider. Effective rainmakers invest in their client's well-being, and are often personal and business advisors. This is done through visits off the clock to learn more about their business, and helping clients in ways beyond purely legal advice.

This article is well worth your time.