With 2008 less than 30 days away, it isn’t too early (in fact, it’s later than you think) to focus on your law practice, and the business development strategies you want to bring into play in the coming year. Questions to ask yourself: Am I in the right practice area for me? Am I in… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Marketing Plans
Subscribe to Marketing Plans RSS FeedWhat To Do On Your Summer “Vacation”
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsThe summer is that time of year when most folks, even clients, take some time away from the grind. So, it’s not a bad time to plan some marketing efforts to undertake, either now or when everyone gets back into the swing of things after Labor Day. Allison Shields over at Legal Ease has a few… Continue Reading
Big Firms to Go the Way of the Mastodon?
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsWhat the heck is a Mastodon, you ask? I didn’t have a clue myself until I looked it up. It’s an extinct mammal related to the elephant family. The point relating to legal marketing? Simple. Small firms and solos have hope of seriously competing with larger law firms thanks to the Internet. That is the message conveyed by… Continue Reading
More on the Branding “Word”
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsAs a follow up to my last post about “branding,” I wanted to mention a conversation that Valeria Maltoni at Conversation Agent had with Gerry Lantz, a very successful marketing, advertising and communications executive (and now consultant). In this conversation about branding, Lantz tells a couple of stories about how two expensive branding campaigns failed. One… Continue Reading
Ask Your Clients for One Word
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsIf your clients were to describe you (your brand) in one word, what would it be? Well, ask them. That is what John Jantsch recommends in his current e-newsletter (free subscription available here). And he suggests a simple question: “What’s the ONE word you would use that best describes what we do well?” Could the word be:… Continue Reading
Growth for Growth’s Sake – Bad Strategy
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsIn response to my question as to what its legal marketing strategy was, the managing partner of a 400-lawyer firm said “to grow to 1500 lawyers in five years.” He explained that he wanted to expand to both coasts, the Midwest, as well as internationally. Conceding that this may be an interesting goal, it wasn’t particularly… Continue Reading
Don’t Put Too Big an Egg in Your Client Basket!!
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsBy that I mean, don’t have one or even two clients account for too high a percentage of your or your firm’s revenues. It could potentially set you up for disaster. A sound law firm marketing principle involves broadening and deepening your client base in order to minimize the potential of one or two clients bringing the… Continue Reading
Narrow Your Niche for More Effective Marketing
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsThe more you distinguish yourself or your firm from others, the more effective your law firm marketing efforts will become. Too many firms still sell themselves as generalists, especially smaller firms, or at least capable of handling a wide range of legal matters. Unfortunately, that only continues the problem potential clients have in differentiating one… Continue Reading
Form Industry-based Practice Groups
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsAs the New Year approaches, it’s time to give some more thought to the legal marketing benefits of practice groups. But, I am not talking about forming groups based on areas of law that we learned in law school. Rather, your practice groups should be client-focused; i.e., structured in terms of the needs of specific… Continue Reading
Marketing Succession Planning is Vital Too
Posted in Marketing PlansWith the baby boomers coming of (retirement) age, law firms need to seriously start planning for the future. Not only in terms of firm management, but legal marketing as well. Even though lawyer marketing has been openly discussed and actually implemented in some firms for more than twenty years, business development is still primarily accomplished… Continue Reading
Don’t Be Afraid To Try Some Simple Planning Steps
Posted in Marketing PlansLet’s face it, many law firms don’t conduct any formal legal marketing planning ever. And the reasons that a lot of firms don’t is because they don’t know how to begin, what they should do, who should be involved, and what they hope to achieve in the process. Some firms that do plan, approach it… Continue Reading
Lawyers Need To Be Their Own CMO
Posted in Marketing PlansAs a former law firm chief marketing officer, I was reading with only general interest an article by Richard Gary that appeared in LawFirmInc.com suggesting 10 questions that law firm CMOs should be prepared to answer. Gary is a former managing partner of an AmLaw 100 law firm. It got me thinking. Since many law… Continue Reading
Client Intake Forms – Part II
Posted in Marketing PlansAs I have mentioned before, it is smart legal marketing to utilize a client intake form so you will know who refers work, as well as determine where and how your client matters come to your law firm. By periodically reviewing these forms, you will get a better picture as to where your strengths are, and… Continue Reading
Existing Clients Are Best Source of New Business
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsFrom my own experience over two decades, clients are the best source of new work for law firms. Second best are referral sources. Okay, you’ve heard me toot that horn a few times I know (here, here, and here), but it’s true, really. Now, according to a post by Jim Hassert, research backs that up…. Continue Reading
University Launches Legal Marketing Course
Posted in Marketing PlansThe University of Miami’s Office of Professional Advancement within the Division of Continuing and International Education has officially launched the "Marketing Program for Lawyers: Developing and Maintaining Client Relationships." In the interest of full disclosure, yours truly will be the lead instructor for the program, and I am very proud that the University has asked… Continue Reading
Planning Will Take Your Marketing To the Next Level
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsJohn Jantsch gets another mention this week due to his comment in his interview with Business Week Online where he talks about about marketing being a system rather than an event. I’ve mentioned John’s marketing system and shared some of its high points in an earlier post. In his interview he states that taking marketing “to… Continue Reading
Do You Hold Your Lawyers Accountable For Marketing?
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsMaking lawyers accountable for legal marketing is more important in small law firms than in larger ones for the simple reason that productivity (whether it be legal services or lawyer marketing) cannot be spread over as large a base. Thus, it is much more critical that every lawyer in a small firm contribute to the… Continue Reading
Strategic Planning: An Easier Way
Posted in Marketing PlansWhen I first talk with law firms, I often hear that the firm has a strategic marketing plan, it just isn’t written down. Rather it’s in the head of the managing partner, or president, or chairman, or whomever. In my humble opinion there really isn’t a meaningful plan, if the partners….and associates and, yes, even… Continue Reading
Plan Your Marketing First, Then Implement
Posted in Marketing PlansIt seems simple enough, but lawyers who do not understand legal marketing want the quick fix. At times it appears that it is just one more thing on their “to do” list they want to get checked off. Failure lurks in that approach. Case in point: I received an inquiry as to my services, but… Continue Reading
Plan One Marketing Tactic At A Time And Do it Well
Posted in Marketing Plans, Marketing TipsStop chasing the latest legal marketing idea, until you have planned one or two solid strategies and done them well. I have seen firms over the years jump from one thing to the next without ever succeeding at any one of them. I was reminded of this after seeing a recent post by John Jantsch… Continue Reading
For Effective Legal Marketing – Focus, Focus, Focus
Posted in Marketing PlansHaving preached this message to some extent in my last post, it may be helpful for small firms to remember that concentrating on what is/are the best practice area(s) for your law firm requires effort and focus. I ran across a very interesting piece by a Ph.D. psychologist in this month’s issue of Law Practice… Continue Reading
Get Ready for January
Posted in Marketing PlansWith year end pressures and the traditional holidays approaching, it is easy for clients, as well as law firms and other businesses, to put off any new initiatives until next year. I heard somewhere that lawyers are hired more in January and February than any other month of the year. Having no clue as to… Continue Reading
Are You Chasing Your Dream Yet?
Posted in Marketing PlansAs I have mentioned before, many lawyers do not like the work they do nor the clients they do it for. I know, some will now be convinced that I have beaten this horse to death (here, here, and here). But stay with me a minute. What I haven’t addressed is the how or what… Continue Reading
Marketing Training Survey
Posted in Marketing PlansMy friend Larry Bodine reported on a survey of law firms relating to the attitude for and actual marketing training of associates that he and Michael Cummings conducted. Although firms say that it is increasingly important that associates development legal marketing skills, 57% of survey respondents do not provide such training. It was only a… Continue Reading