Category: Legal Marketing

Influencing the Client Experience – Takeaways from LMA Capital's Half Day Program Part 1

The LMA Capital group brought together a record number of legal marketers in the D.C. area on Wednesday, October 29th to discuss how best to positively influence the client experience and foster lasting relationships between their firms and clients. Tara Weintritt, partner at Wicker Park Group, kicked off the program by setting the scene for attendees. In the past, law firms focused on touting their experience and success in handling particular matters. However, Tara elaborated that smart, capable, intelligent lawyers are baseline characteristics. Clients want to know how you can help them and what it’s like to work with you. After speaking with over 1,500 in-house counsel, the folks at Wicker Park Group have been able to identify seven major areas of concern that are consistently at the forefront of these decision-makers’ minds: adding value, credit, succession planning, billing and budgets, communication, managing expectations, and responsiveness. Tara provided direct quotes from actual client interviews as an introduction to attendees, but six thought leaders in the legal marketing industry gave in-depth (but brief!) TED-style talks to really drill down to the heart of why these are concerns for clients, and what can be done to address these concerns.

Adding Value –  Creating a Culture of Strategic Business Intelligence

Gina Lynch, of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, kicked off the first TED talk. Clients want to know how you can add value to the relationship that does not show up on the billing report. This is where competitive intelligence teams are valuable in influencing the client experience. Firms must go above and beyond the requisite skills required for establishing the business relationship, which are thorough writing and analysis skills. The firm counterpart must demonstrate that he or she can understand the complex research.  CI teams must fully understand the work the client does. Ms. Lynch elaborated, “they need to be able to talk like your client, act like your client”. It not enough to present a report to the client. They want to know how this is relevant to them, what their competitors are doing and what their long-term strategy might be. Ms. Lynch also advocates for the CI team to be outside of the marketing department so it can be involved in all aspects of the firm’s relationship with the client: intake/pitch, research, knowledge management and retention. This circles back to the notion that it’s critical to understand the work the client does. Finally, the relationship should be client-focused! This is a no-brainer as members of the team should be living in the client’s world so it can play offense when a problem comes up. If a CI team is strategically informed, it can spot opportunities for growth (or damage control) when a new situation arises.

Credit and Succession Planning – Creating Strong Client and Industry Teams for the Long Term

Ms. Weintritt, at the start, elaborated that a major concern clients have is not being involved in or more aware of transitions within the firm. Tara Derby, of Reed Smith LLP, in the next TED talk, discussed how to mitigate this concern, and ultimately develop a long-term, successful relationship with the client by creating strong client teams. A successful client team will be focused on leadership, collaboration, a proactive and intuitive approach, and strategic client engagement. There are two things that need to be accomplished in order to build a strong client team: 1) the right client relationship leader must be selected, and 2) he or she needs to work hand in hand with the key account manager, or client relationship driver. This leader needs to be organized, efficient, client-facing and engaging. It’s important that the correct leader and team be in place or else service provided to the client will be only mediocre. Teams are only effective when there is a high level of collaboration across the firm, but people that are part of the team need to make a positive impact on the client. Strong client teams are proactive, not reactive, and to do so requires the team to know the client’s needs, culture, and ultimately how they think. Clients will feel understood and listened too because the relationship is 100% centered around their needs.

Billing and Budgets – Doing Your Homework: Strengthening and Growing Client Relationships Through Better Scoping, Budgeting and Risk Assessment

Since the major shift if the legal industry a few years ago, clients have been more cost conscious. As Melissa Prince, of Ballard Spahr, elaborated in her TED talk, the quality of the work matters less than the value the work provides the client. In terms of cost-effectiveness, clients want transparency in the budgeting process and improved budget forecasting, more than the lowest cost. In terms of scoping, it’s important to develop the client relationship to understand the client’s goals and business objects. This means speaking to the client about their needs before the scoping process. The key thing is to put everything in writing: matter phases, tasks, expected deliverables, proposed timelines and deadlines, responsible time keepers, etc. It’s also key to identify assumptions, that is, to identify what is and what is not going to be included in the matter. In terms of budgeting, use historic financial data to identify ways to improve efficiency. The budget should also be documented in writing as specifically as possible. It should include metrics such as hours work, type of work, who will be completing the task, identifies different hourly rates, and outlines low and high estimates, as well as start and end dates. To preserve a positive client relationship, any overages that arise should be communicated as early as possible. Properly managing their expectations for the scope and budget of the representation will help improve the firm’s efficiency, but also deepen their relationship with the client.

Stay tuned for part 2 of LMA Capital’s Half Day Program.

Article By Nicole Cudiamat Minnis
The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC

Influencing the Client Experience – Takeaways from LMA Capital’s Half Day Program Part 1

The LMA Capital group brought together a record number of legal marketers in the D.C. area on Wednesday, October 29th to discuss how best to positively influence the client experience and foster lasting relationships between their firms and clients. Tara Weintritt, partner at Wicker Park Group, kicked off the program by setting the scene for attendees. In the past, law firms focused on touting their experience and success in handling particular matters. However, Tara elaborated that smart, capable, intelligent lawyers are baseline characteristics. Clients want to know how you can help them and what it’s like to work with you. After speaking with over 1,500 in-house counsel, the folks at Wicker Park Group have been able to identify seven major areas of concern that are consistently at the forefront of these decision-makers’ minds: adding value, credit, succession planning, billing and budgets, communication, managing expectations, and responsiveness. Tara provided direct quotes from actual client interviews as an introduction to attendees, but six thought leaders in the legal marketing industry gave in-depth (but brief!) TED-style talks to really drill down to the heart of why these are concerns for clients, and what can be done to address these concerns.

Adding Value –  Creating a Culture of Strategic Business Intelligence

Gina Lynch, of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, kicked off the first TED talk. Clients want to know how you can add value to the relationship that does not show up on the billing report. This is where competitive intelligence teams are valuable in influencing the client experience. Firms must go above and beyond the requisite skills required for establishing the business relationship, which are thorough writing and analysis skills. The firm counterpart must demonstrate that he or she can understand the complex research.  CI teams must fully understand the work the client does. Ms. Lynch elaborated, “they need to be able to talk like your client, act like your client”. It not enough to present a report to the client. They want to know how this is relevant to them, what their competitors are doing and what their long-term strategy might be. Ms. Lynch also advocates for the CI team to be outside of the marketing department so it can be involved in all aspects of the firm’s relationship with the client: intake/pitch, research, knowledge management and retention. This circles back to the notion that it’s critical to understand the work the client does. Finally, the relationship should be client-focused! This is a no-brainer as members of the team should be living in the client’s world so it can play offense when a problem comes up. If a CI team is strategically informed, it can spot opportunities for growth (or damage control) when a new situation arises.

Credit and Succession Planning – Creating Strong Client and Industry Teams for the Long Term

Ms. Weintritt, at the start, elaborated that a major concern clients have is not being involved in or more aware of transitions within the firm. Tara Derby, of Reed Smith LLP, in the next TED talk, discussed how to mitigate this concern, and ultimately develop a long-term, successful relationship with the client by creating strong client teams. A successful client team will be focused on leadership, collaboration, a proactive and intuitive approach, and strategic client engagement. There are two things that need to be accomplished in order to build a strong client team: 1) the right client relationship leader must be selected, and 2) he or she needs to work hand in hand with the key account manager, or client relationship driver. This leader needs to be organized, efficient, client-facing and engaging. It’s important that the correct leader and team be in place or else service provided to the client will be only mediocre. Teams are only effective when there is a high level of collaboration across the firm, but people that are part of the team need to make a positive impact on the client. Strong client teams are proactive, not reactive, and to do so requires the team to know the client’s needs, culture, and ultimately how they think. Clients will feel understood and listened too because the relationship is 100% centered around their needs.

Billing and Budgets – Doing Your Homework: Strengthening and Growing Client Relationships Through Better Scoping, Budgeting and Risk Assessment

Since the major shift if the legal industry a few years ago, clients have been more cost conscious. As Melissa Prince, of Ballard Spahr, elaborated in her TED talk, the quality of the work matters less than the value the work provides the client. In terms of cost-effectiveness, clients want transparency in the budgeting process and improved budget forecasting, more than the lowest cost. In terms of scoping, it’s important to develop the client relationship to understand the client’s goals and business objects. This means speaking to the client about their needs before the scoping process. The key thing is to put everything in writing: matter phases, tasks, expected deliverables, proposed timelines and deadlines, responsible time keepers, etc. It’s also key to identify assumptions, that is, to identify what is and what is not going to be included in the matter. In terms of budgeting, use historic financial data to identify ways to improve efficiency. The budget should also be documented in writing as specifically as possible. It should include metrics such as hours work, type of work, who will be completing the task, identifies different hourly rates, and outlines low and high estimates, as well as start and end dates. To preserve a positive client relationship, any overages that arise should be communicated as early as possible. Properly managing their expectations for the scope and budget of the representation will help improve the firm’s efficiency, but also deepen their relationship with the client.

Stay tuned for part 2 of LMA Capital’s Half Day Program.

Article By Nicole Cudiamat Minnis
The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC

Branding Challenges: Law Firm vs. Individual Attorneys

As a legal marketer, the challenge of marketing your law firm versus individual attorneys is an ongoing struggle. We have all been in a meeting with a firm’s “rainmaker” who wants to place an ad or produce a handout that doesn’t look like the other materials the firm has produced. Instead, he wants his piece to be different and to “stand out” from the law firm’s brand.

As a marketer, this goes against all we know about brand consistency, including the use of a firm’s logo, fonts, colors and the overall messaging of the law firm.

Which Brand Comes First?

The issues related to law firm brands versus attorney brands parallel the age-old question: “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” After all, a law firm cannot exist without attorneys. The fact is, most firms started out with one or two attorneys who had a growing reputation that the firm was built on. As more attorneys were added, the reputation of those attorneys enabled it to continue to grow. However, without a solid brand for the firm, relying on the reputations of the firm’s founders can damage an individual attorney’s ability to attract larger clients with needs that span practice areas.

The reality is that both the firm and its attorneys need to have a symbiotic relationship that balances the individual attorney’s brand and the overall firm brand. Both the marketing professional and the attorney need to relax their egos some and come to an agreeable understanding. Some issues can be averted with pre-planning and tweaking of the firm’s brand guidelines and marketing materials to allow for more flexibility while still maintaining a degree of consistency.

Balancing Brands

Competition is fierce in today’s legal market, so it’s important to have a strong firmwide brand that represents the sum of all the law firm’s parts, including its reputation in the marketplace, its core competencies, its key differentiators, and the experience of its attorneys and the support staff that keep all the wheels in motion. But what room is left to insert visual elements that represent the brand of an individual attorney?

Some brand guidelines are overly rigid, making it impossible to balance the firm’s brand with an attorney’s brand. If this is your case, consider taking a new look at how you can adjust these guidelines to allow for some additional flexibility.

Tweaking Your Guidelines

A firm’s identity is conveyed through its branding elements, such as:

  • The firm logo

  • Brand color

  • Type font

The use of these items is a must to convey the relationship between the attorney and the firm. They create a very strong brand consistency and should be used as much as possible to create an immediate recognition of your firm and brand message. But there can and should be flexibility in their use that includes relocating the standard placement of the logo or use of a secondary color.

More flexibility can also be given to components like photo imagery and other graphic elements These will allow for more personalization of the piece while maintaining consistency across the core brand elements.

Finally, another way to add flexibility to your branding is to create a standard footer on all ads or printed materials that allow for greater personalization across the rest of the collateral.

Adding Flexibility to Your Website

The law firm’s website is an integral marketing and branding tool. It also should be flexible enough to allow attorneys and practice areas to promote themselves in a way that makes sense for their particular markets.

Can attorneys post a blog, upload video content or add photos that will market themselves or their practice areas without interfering with the law firm brand’s use across the site? If not, this is something that needs to be addressed the next time you go through a website revision.

Using Social Media for Your Personal Brand

If you’re looking to promote your personal brand, look no further than social media. Social media is the perfect brand builder for individual attorneys. Lawyers can share blog posts and post other relevant information pertinent to their practice areas.

Not all social channels may fit your personal brand, so enlist your firm’s marketing personnel to help you define what channels are the best fit for you. Remember to maintain consistency across all networks by using the same profile picture. In addition, some social channels work best if you post once or twice a week, while others may require more regular attention. And remember to know your firm’s guidelines as well as your respective state bar association’s rules on social media use. Some actions can be construed as “advertising” and thus are subject to association guidelines.

Law is a professional service. That means that a large part of the decision-making process that determines whether a client hires you or someone else is how much they connect with you as an individual. The way you shape this identity is by honing your personal brand. So attorneys and law firms need to take their brands seriously and figure out how to strike a balance between the firm’s image and that of its individual attorneys.

Article By Alan E. Singles of Jaffe

© Copyright 2008-2015, Jaffe Associates

Join LMA New England for their annual conference – November 12-13 in Boston

Please join the LMA New England Chapter next week at their 2015 Regional Conference, taking place on November 12 -13 at the Hyatt Regency in Boston. This year’s theme is “What’s Your WOW Factor?” Join attendees as they learn about the best tools and approaches to stand out among the competition, succeed at winning new business and become industry trendsetters. Don’t miss out on the chapter’s most important and popular event, one that saw record attendance last year!

lma new england lmane Boston regional conference

When – November 12-13

Where – Hyatt Regency Boston

Register today!

Join LMA New England for their annual conference – November 12-13 in Boston

Please join us for the 2015 Regional Conference, taking place on November 12 -13 at the Hyatt Regency in Boston. This year’s theme is “What’s Your WOW Factor?” Join attendees as they learn about the best tools and approaches to stand out among the competition, succeed at winning new business and become industry trendsetters. Don’t miss out on the chapter’s most important and popular event, one that saw record attendance last year!

lma new england lmane Boston regional conference

When – November 12-13

Where – Hyatt Regency Boston

Register today!

Join LMA New England for their annual conference – November 12-13 in Boston

Please join us for the 2015 Regional Conference, taking place on November 12 -13 at the Hyatt Regency in Boston. This year’s theme is “What’s Your WOW Factor?” Join attendees as they learn about the best tools and approaches to stand out among the competition, succeed at winning new business and become industry trendsetters. Don’t miss out on the chapter’s most important and popular event, one that saw record attendance last year!

lma new england lmane Boston regional conference

When – November 12-13

Where – Hyatt Regency Boston

Register today!

Deciding what Platform to Use for Your Law Firm Website

I often have clients ask me how frequently they should refresh or update their websites. That is a tricky question. When it comes to content, a website should be updated on an on-going basis – every week is good, and every day is not too much. Frequent content additions will increase the likelihood that your site is viewed often, as search engines catalog content using the keywords users are likely to query and return results based on a combination of the most recently posted content, the closest match to the query and the most highly viewed pages that contain the appropriate keywords. That means the more optimized (good use of keywords) content you post, the more views the content is likely to get.

When it comes to design, a website will begin to look dated in two to three years and should be revisited and updated. This is the perfect time to review the site’s navigation and make sure it has remained user-friendly and consistent with current trends in website design. As with most things in business, having an initial strategy when building a website will reduce the need for changes and make the changes easier to implement when it does come time to refresh the site.

So, what does good initial strategy entail when beginning a website build?

The Importance of CMS Selection

First and foremost, you must think about the foundation the site is built upon. Nearly every website built now has a Content Management System (CMS). A CMS allows for ease in operating the website without a need for knowledge of coding. For instance, adding and deleting content can be easily managed on the back-end of the site with the use of built-in templates. There is no reason for a law firm not to use a CMS. The only questions to consider are which category and type of system to choose. This is the big overall strategy decision, and it will impact the ease of use and updates for the life of the site.

There are two categories of CMSs: Proprietary and Open Source. They provide similar functionality, but they operate very differently. A Proprietary CMS is built and owned by an independent company, and that company “leases” the right for a firm to use the technology. Proprietary was the most used form of legal website CMSs for many years.

Open Source CMSs are built and maintained by programmers throughout the world and are open for anyone to use at no cost. Programmers continually update and add to the code making improvements, which they openly share. This is a newer platform for the legal industry.

Deciding Between Open Source or Proprietary

Proprietary CMSs generally come with a hosting and maintenance plan, providing a sense of security to smaller firms without the in-house resources to update and maintain the site. Though this can ease the burden of website management for the firm, it also requires a monthly or annual fee to keep the site up and running. In addition, as most licensors will not allow access to their code, a site refresh will entail additional fees whenever upgrades are needed.

With the use Open Source CMSs, programmers are continually enhancing the code and the updated functionality is freely shared. Any firm can add the enhanced functionality to their site free of charge. That said the firm must have the in-house capability to do so or contract with an outside vendor to complete the project. If a firm does use an outside vendor to assist, it’s a one-time project fee as opposed to a long-term commitment.

The Move Toward Open Source

For the past several years, law firms have steadily trended toward the use of Open Source platforms and ownership of their websites. Long gone are the days of two or three legal power vendors owning the mass market share of law firm websites by using a formulaic, proprietary build approach and charging for site content and technology updates on an hourly or monthly basis.

Not if, but when you do plan for a refresh or new site build, you can reduce costs and enhance site longevity by using an Open Source platform. There are three main options, WordPress, Drupal and Joomla. There have been many comparisons of these Open Source Code options, and I share the main value/asset for each below.

WordPress: This system works best for small- to medium-sized firm websites. (Most Popular)

Drupal: The most powerful Open Source CMS, it allows for efficient upgrades. (Most Advanced)

Joomla: The better platform for e-commerce, it requires some level of technical coding. (The Compromise between WordPress and Drupal)

There is considerable information on the Internet regarding each of the listed Open Source systems. Identifying which CMS to use, whether proprietary or open source, is key to ensuring a smooth and effective website strategy for years to come.

Article By Sue Remley of Jaffe

© Copyright 2008-2015, Jaffe Associates

On Sale Today – .law Domain Names

Today, all law firms will be able to apply for .law names. This top-level domain name is intended to create an online space in which only regulated, licensed legal practitioners can be found.

In order to purchase your .law domain name, there are specific steps involved, as well as some key dates of which to be aware. Here is a quick guide to help you move forward with purchasing your .law domain.

What domain names should you buy?

  1. Purchase the .law version of your domain name.

  1. Purchase keyword specific URLs that are important to your branding efforts, such as employmentlawyer.law, employment.law, advertisinglaw.law, etc. Note that there could be bidding for some of the more popular domains.

When and where can I register the domain?

Oct. 12 – 18, 2015:

  1. Qualified lawyers can apply for domain names. Domain names will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

  2. There will be a one-time Early Access Program (EAP) fee as well as an annual registration fee.

  3. Pricing will decrease each day for the first seven days of General Availability – check with an authorized registrar for purchasing details.

October 19 – Future:

  • Qualified lawyers can still purchase domain names on a first-come, first-served basis, minus the EAP fee.

What is the eligibility process?

  1. Decide which of your firm’s lawyers will be designated a “qualified lawyer” for purposes of purchasing .law domain names – such as your managing partner or marketing partner.

  1. Gather the following information for your qualified lawyer:

  1. Attorney’s name (as it appears on his/her bar registration)

  2. State/jurisdiction(s) where attorney is licensed to practice

  3. Year of registration: Year(s) admitted to practice

  4. Bar registration number(s)

  5. Bar association state and country

How long does it take?

The verification process should take 48 hours, after which time the domain names you applied for will be registered to you.

Article By Amy L. Knapp & Aileen M. Hinsch of Knapp Marketing

Copyright 2015 Knapp Marketing

Legal Marketing Stats Lawyers Need to Know

Using market trends to inform your law firm marketing efforts is a must for solos and small firms that have limited budgets and resources to market their firms.

Google recently aggregated research from FindLaw and its own inhouse data to provide a look at the legal market trends that should shape your legal marketing initiatives:

74% of prospects beginning a search online end up contacting the office via phone. (FindLaw U.S. Consumer Legal Needs Survey 2014)

87% of people who contact an attorney go on to hire an attorney and 72% of them only contact one attorney. (FindLaw U.S. Consumer Legal Needs Survey 2014)

96% of people seeking legal advice use a search engine. (Google Consumer Survey, Nov 2013)

38% of people use the Internet to find an attorney. (FindLaw U.S. Consumer Legal Needs Survey 2014)

62% of legal searches are non-branded (i.e., generic: “Phoenix divorce attorney,” etc.). (FindLaw U.S. Consumer Legal Needs Survey 2014)

74% of consumers visit a law firm’s website to take action. (Google Legal Services Study Sept 2013)

25% of people researching legal topics visit YouTube during the process. (YouTube Internal Data 2012)

85% use online maps to find legal service locations. (Google Legal Services Study Sept 2013)

69% use both a smartphone and a PC for research. (Google Legal Services Study Sept 2013)

31% of all law firm related website traffic comes through mobile search (FindLaw Aggregated Hosted Site Data 2014)

71% of people looking for lawyer think it is important to have a local attorney. (FindLaw U.S. Consumer Legal Needs Survey 2014)

So what do you need to do to convert leads based on these facts? Here are a few action steps:

Provide multiple contact options — phone, email, online chat, etc.

Provide a mobile-friendly version of your website.

Have an intake system that allows consumers to reach your firm on the first call and intake specialists trained to convert consumers into clients.

Concentrate on local SEO to ensure your website shows up well in local search.

Article By Stephen Fairley of The Rainmaker Institute

© The Rainmaker Institute, All Rights Reserved

8 Proven Ways to Boost Engagement for Your Facebook Posts

If you’re using Facebook to “sell” your law firm, you are probably disappointed in your results.  You see, Facebook is about engagement and anything that smacks of a hard-sell is usually tuned out.

You will get much better results if you simply surrender to what Facebook can deliver, which is an opportunity to meet new prospects and to share your knowledge that may someday lead to new business.

A lot of new business connections occur on Facebook based on people you used to know –old high school or college friends that you connect with there and then educate them naturally on what you do now.  In that sense, approaching Facebook as a referral source cultivation opportunity could be a mindset that will pay you big dividends in the future.

That said, there are certain things you can do that research shows leads to more engagement with your Facebook posts.

According to Shareaholic research, social media now drives more traffic (31.2%) to the websites of people and organizations that post on social media sites than any other channel, including search. Facebook dwarfs all other social networks for driving that traffic, accounting for 25% of all website traffic coming from social media!

BuzzSumo recently analyzed 500 million Facebook posts to discover what types of posts create the most engagement. Use this data to plot your posting strategy and you will likely see an uptick in the number of likes, comments and shares your posts get on Facebook:

  1. Schedule evening posts. Posts published between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET get 88% more interactions than the average Facebook post.

  2. Use images. Image posts get 179% more interactions than the average Facebook post.

  3. Pose a question. Posts ending with a question get 162% more interactions than the average post.

  4. Use video. Videos are the most shared post type on Facebook, averaging 89.5 shares per video.

  5. Post on Sundays. Posts published on a Sunday get 52.9% more interactions than the average post.

  6. Keep posts brief. Posts with 150-200 characters performed the best, averaging 238.75 shares.

  7. Post directly to Facebook. Posting with a third party tool results in 89.5% less engagement than posting directly to Facebook.

  8. Link to longer content. Posts that link to long form content (2,000+ words) receive 40% more interactions than linking to shorter content.

Just like any social media network, the lion’s share of the attention goes to those who interact frequently – and genuinely – with followers and fans. Knowing how valuable and limited your time may be for social media marketing, you need to make efficient use of it to get the maximum benefit.  These tips can help you do just that.

Article By Stephen Fairley of The Rainmaker Institute

© The Rainmaker Institute, All Rights Reserved