Practice Management

Marketing includes advertising and all other forms of marketing, such a referral base marketing, but lawyers have a bad habit of doing too little marketing and doing it in a way that is often lame.  My advice, having done most all of it, is simply to develop a competent plan that avoids tricks and fanfare and which avoids diminishing markets such as yellow pages.

The main point is that marketing needs to be sustainable.  And, regardless if you are talking about advertising or other marketing means, or regardless of the size of your market or referral sources or size of your geographic area, your efforts need to be frequent and your efforts need to be at saturation levels.

First, in the too little department, what most lawyers do is take out an ad or run a few spots here and there, or decide to go to an occasional bar meeting or trade group meeting, as if this will make a big difference.  Advertising in fits and starts does not work well.  Second, inconsistent marketing is too time consuming and also does not work well.

If you want to advertise on TV, for example, you have decided the TV station that will represent the market you want to reach.  Do not let the TV station sell you a package of a few spots here and there.  You need to be in the same place every day of the week and you have to have enough spots to saturate your market.  You are better off to reduce your spots to one station than to buy too little on a number of stations.  If you cannot afford to saturate an entire TV station schedule, then do not do so.  If all you can afford only day parts in the morning, then be there every day an at levels that will reach your desired audience multiple times.

Referral marketing operates in much the same way.  If you decide that your desired audience is within a particular trade group, then you need to be at all of the trade group meetings, meeting and greeting those that you need.  You need to be following up consistently with phone calls, letters, emails, and faxes.

Second, in the too lame department, if you have a plan and you have faith that plan will eventually produce results, then you will not be distracted for doing crazy things that just waist your time and/or money.

I have seen it all.  Attorneys that spend time putting up handwritten cards on bulletin boards at grocery stores, gyms, car washes, gas stations bathrooms.  Attorneys that call emergency centers when there is inclement whether to announce, along with the schools and the like, that their offices will be closed.  One law office, I posted not too long ago, hung outside of his office in a panda suit on to attract attention.

Keep it simple, do not convey stupid things like your office being closed, but what it is you are trying to sell.  Then make sure you are following up.  Given the frequency and saturation, your message will eventually break through the clutter and your efforts will prevail.