Practice Management

Websites.  Blogs.  Social Media.  Variations of these.  Multiple of these.

We all spend some time primping, speculating, and publishing our media so as to get the best results.  That is good.  But, just because you have the slickest site in the world ultimately means nothing.  I have known attorneys who spend a lot of money on marketing and those who spend next to nothing.  I know people like me that like to doodle with their own site designs, and I have more than enough sites that are simply amateurish and elementary.  Where I want to be personally satisfied with my sites and how each looks or operates, I have found that looks have very little to do in reality to the success of your media.

Really, content the key.  Again, I am not necessarily talking about the amount of the content.  And, I am not necessarily talking about the quality of the content.  I am talking about reasonable content, which directly and specifically speaks to those things your potential clients want to know.  Not, for example, knowledge that the person looking at your site whats a divorce, but what information is missing that would overcome the persons fears in retaining an attorney, and would encourage them to hire you?  What satisfaction are these potential clients not getting in the way of content from other sites?

As the New Year approaches, and you are sitting down to think about your media and how to attract clients, you need to move on to the core questions:

1.  What do clients want to know?

2.  What information is useful enough for them to spend their time on what you are providing to them?

3.  How has your legal market changed recently, and how can you best adjust what you provide to reflect this change.

In the last couple of weeks I have communicated with a couple of attorneys, for examples, whose experiences find interest.  Both spend virtually (pun intended) nothing on marketing, except for their websites and blogs.  Both have low overhead, high margin Third Wave practices.  Both succeed despite not having the best Google rankings, and succeed where their competition does not, because they provide information that is vitally important for their potential clients to feel comfortable in contacting them.

Too many websites and blogs and social media sites simple take a business card approach to information.  Sure, money is spent to make minimal information look the most appealing, but how does that generate into client contact and retention?  I get so tired of getting on a lawyer's site just to see their name, address, phone number, a resume of some kind, and laundry list of what they might be able to do, and sometimes directions to their offices.  Maybe, just maybe, a little about about their practice area will be present, but certainly not enough for a potential client to make an informed decision to call the attorney.

What this has created is a situation where consumers of legal services search many sites to collect the information they need.  When they are finished they typically reward the site that provided them the basic information needed.

So, what information is that? 

The first lawyer I communicated with published his range of fees and a good bit about what he did.  Sure potential clients can search a lot of sites, and certainly some lawyers might be cheaper.  But, the potential client needs to get use to the costs, that nobody else was providing freely and openly.

The second lawyer was a consumer bankruptcy attorney.  He published his fees as well, but he provided a series of examples of the types of debts people have, and how they are affected by the filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  People know they are in financial straights, but they are looking for solutions.  They can learn from other sites all about the bankruptcy options.  However, they really want some general information of how the process is actually applied and the good that it might or might not do them in at least trying to pursue the option.

How do you know what to add to your site that would make such a difference?

Ask!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is easy for all of us to sit around and make assumptions.  Staff.  Colleagues.  Family.  Friends.  But, the truth of the matter is that we do not really know what a potential client might be looking to find out at these early stages of inquiry.  Your associates might have their certainty, but they do not have the the knowledge of what is important to those that might retain you.  The answer lies in speaking with clients casually and constantly to figure it out.  Not one client.  Many.  And, in doing so, it is important to constantly change and update your sites to effectively test the information.

The point, I think, is that lawyers too often think of themselves first, or what their colleagues might think, or how they be might be received, or intentionally keep information from potential clients hoping for to spark a call.  Sites becomes self-centered and lawyer-centric.  Do not let that happen.  You have got to find out what people are actually looking at or looking for in trying to determine how you might help them in making a decision to call.

Content is king, and client content should reign supreme.