Marketing Tips, Techniques and Technology: The Keys to Satisfied Clients. by Dave Bilinsky and Elizabeth Cordeau 1

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1 Practice Resources Marketing Tips, Techniques and Technology: by Dave Bilinsky and Elizabeth Cordeau 1 How does marketing good and bad affect the public s perception of lawyers? Research shows that effective marketing strategies and tools improve public confidence in lawyers and what they do. The challenge is to determine what marketing strategies and tools are appropriate for each lawyer, practice and law firm. From communications materials and advertising to using technology proactively to reach out to clients and prospects, lawyers need to spend their marketing time and money wisely. Plan first: the key to marketing success I can t go back to where I used to be / A whole new world, With new horizons to pursue I ll chase them anywhere, there s time to spare Let me share this whole new world with you Words and music by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle An old joke runs that when you are busy fighting off the alligators, it is hard to remember that your original objective was to drain the swamp. It is a hard irony recalling that you wanted to take time for marketing when all your time is going just to cover the bills. For many lawyers, their marketing activity may be synonymous with the annual redesign of the Yellow Pages ad. In the last 20 years, we have witnessed a law firm marketing revolution. This is due in part to increased marketplace competition both from inside and outside the profession, as well as the evolution of the more informed, and in some cases more empowered, client. In response, lawyers are attempting to attract and keep new clients by increasing efforts at identifying the marketing activities that work best for them. 1 David Bilinsky is Practice Management Advisor for the Law Society; Elizabeth Cordeau is a former Public Affairs Manager for the Society. Ms. Cordeau is currently president and principal of Lexcore Communications Inc., a Calgary-based management consulting firm to law firms and legal associations throughout North America (contact by telephone, or ecordeau@lexcore.ca by ) The Law Society of British Columbia 1 April, 2002

2 What is marketing? Peter F. Drucker, in The Practice of Management, says that marketing is so basic, it cannot be considered a separate function of the business it is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is, from the customer s point of view. Given that definition, what is marketing for law firms really? Generally speaking, it consists of product (the viability and quality of the legal services provided), promotion (how you tell people about the services you offer), price (how much it costs to buy your services) and place (where and who the buyers are). There is, for example, a vast difference between marketing a $35 do-it-yourself will (available on the web or at the local bookstore) and marketing estate planning services that may result in a will. The $35 will is based on high volume, no input from a lawyer and instant delivery of a largely generic product. It is assumed that virtually no lawyer could make a living by doing $35 wills. Estate planning, on the other hand, results from a detailed interview with a lawyer and leads to the preparation of a customized will with trust clauses (or other documents), reviewed by the lawyer with the client in attendance. The products are necessarily different, the promotion should be different, the price is vastly different and the buyers of these services are different. Making time for marketing Why would you want to take the time and the money (and it does cost money) to increase your marketing efforts? There are many stated reasons: To gain control you can practise the law you want to practise and thereby get rid of the dog files (that is, unless your objective is to go after the dog files: see: where an American lawyer is specifically marketing his practice to give advice on dog bite law); To gain independence to meet your professional and financial objectives; Enhance your reputation or develop a profile so you can go after the files that you want; Improve skills or learn new ones and thereby move your practice into new areas; Contribute to the continued growth of the firm or a practice group. In many respects, marketing evolves from viewing your practice through your client s eyes and making a commitment to constant quality improvement, client satisfaction and personal excellence. Thinking marketing It is very true that today s law firms have some form of marketing program in place, but most of the programs form the tip of the marketing iceberg. Indeed, research shows that law firms operate 2002 The Law Society of British Columbia 2 April, 2002

3 in reverse mode by spending most of their time on the promotional aspects of marketing, such as advertising and print communications, to the detriment of other elements of the marketing mix. Traditionally, firms operate in one of three marketing phases. The first phase usually consists of Yellow Pages ads, community support and the usual assortment of banquets and brochures. The second phase includes all activities in the first phase, along with a combination of reactive and proactive activities, such as responding to requests for proposals and other selling opportunities, buying directory listings, doing some basic marketing training and target client research, engaging in various public speaking activities and, more recently, building the ultimate website. What is traditionally the third phase should actually be the first phase for lawyers. It is based on a complete service delivery model, which includes evaluating the legal services marketplace, tracking trends and new developments in the law, identifying and confirming customer needs and expectations and then delivering those legal services at the right price to clients who can and will buy them. In other words, it consists not only of selling what a law firm has, but knowing that what a law firm has can actually sell. As mentioned earlier, this third phase is strategically the most effective and usually the most ignored. But because it addresses the whole of a law firm s practice, it is the most critical phase in ensuring a law firm s marketing success. How to plan for marketing So how does a law firm achieve the appropriate marketing balance? Planning is key. Because each firm, lawyer and practice is unique, a one-size-fits-all or one-dimensional approach to marketing may be expedient, but proves costly and counter-productive in the long run. There are different aspects of marketing planning, but the most important one is the actual planning itself. Start with your own vision for your practice and your firm. To begin, consider not only where you are now but where you would like to be in one, five even 10 years. You will need a business plan as well to outline the resources that you will need and how to mobilize those resources. Last, your marketing plan will combine your strategic goals with your resources to produce a tangible road map to take you to your future. This strategic planning of who you are and where you would like to be lies at the core of your marketing. Your marketing activities will be the implementation of your vision and your strategic goals. In other words, you don t market simply to bring business to you you market to bring to you the type of business, the type of client and the lifestyle that you desire. When you are preparing your strategic goals, business plan and personal marketing plan, a good place to start is by asking yourself the following questions: What does my practice consist of? Is it the kind of work I want and that I m good at? What do I have to offer? Who are my clients? Is my practice mix profitable, marginal or becoming obsolete? What other work would I rather be doing? What are the emerging areas of law that I can focus on in the short, medium and long term? Are they profitable practice areas? 2002 The Law Society of British Columbia 3 April, 2002

4 If I want to develop a new practice area or grow my practice, how capable am I of doing the work if I get it? Who are my competitors? How committed am I and how much time do I have for marketing? What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, both to my current practice and the one I want to develop? How am I communicating with my clients, both when I am working on their files and when I m developing new business? What is my client service philosophy? What are the firm s client service standards? What do my clients think of my work? My service delivery? How does that compare to other legal service providers? How do my billing rates or final bills affect my clients perception of the value that I bring? What are the resources in both hard costs and time available to me for marketing purposes? If I am practising in partnership, how do my goals fit in with those of the rest of the firm? Although they take some time to answer, these questions form the foundation on which a marketing plan can be built, for they identify and answer the business fundamentals of a lawyer s practice. It is not easy to do and it requires time beyond getting the work done well. However, lawyers who examine the business aspects of their practice are then poised to make marketing decisions that are uniquely tailored to their clients needs, and their own needs. The Marketing Planning Process: Aim Before You Fire Making it work takes a little longer Making it work takes a little time Making it work takes a little longer Making it work takes a little time Words and Music by Doug Bennett, recorded by Doug and The Slugs The firm has been asked to buy an ad in the local Chamber business directory. The Yellow Pages ad needs to be revised. You ve been asked to respond to an RFP. You re speaking at an industry seminar. And, yes, the firm is building a website The Law Society of British Columbia 4 April, 2002

5 While all these activities are marketing-based, chances are they are being done on a one-off basis. This reactive approach to marketing fire, ready, perhaps not aim should be cause for concern. How do you know that Yellow Pages ad is paying for itself or even necessary? Is the RFP for work that will produce the return that you desire? Do you really want to speak in front of an audience that may contain your competitors or attract clients in areas of practice you may not desire? Is your website only going to be an electronic version of your firm brochure? The fact is, a lot of law firm marketing is done in reactive mode. And if the above scenario sounds at all familiar, you and your firm may be guilty of the number one sin of marketing: having no real plan for your marketing activities. The key to successful law firm marketing is planning. Whether it is a one-page outline of action items or a 20-page planning document for each practice group, every law firm should have a marketing plan. This plan should be developed from answers to a number of strategic questions outlined above. While these questions take some time to answer, they will prove to be an invaluable resource as you develop your marketing plan. Elements of a marketing plan Once you have conducted an assessment of your practice and have identified your strengths and weaknesses, your target group of clients, the threats and opportunities that you foresee and how you will measure your success from a profitability viewpoint, the next step is to take that knowledge and use it to develop a marketing plan. Each plan will be tailored to the practice, market and resources in which a firm operates, but they generally consist of the following elements: Goals Each firm should have some overriding reasons for marketing recognizing that the only two groups whose strategic goal is to make money is the Canadian Mint and counterfeiters. All of the rest of us have to deliver a service or a product. Making money is the result of implementing a successful business strategy and, although relevant, is not a goal in and of itself. (Collins and Porras, in their classic text Built to Last, examine what it takes to build landmark companies that stand the test of time. They state: Profitability is a necessary condition for existence and a means to more important ends, but it is not the end in itself for many of the visionary companies. Profit is like oxygen, food or water and blood for the body; they are not the point of life, but without them, there is no life. ) Ask yourself: Are you pursuing the right goals? Are you seeking to provide distinctive services that meet client needs and bring satisfaction financial and otherwise to the members of the firm? Does your firm need to reposition itself in the marketplace? Does it currently lack visibility, or are there any particular practice areas for which the firm wants to be known? Does the firm wish to develop new areas of practice, or is there a need to improve existing client relationships and create better marketing support materials? For example, your firm may want to 2002 The Law Society of British Columbia 5 April, 2002

6 increase its visibility in the business community or develop a reputation for doing good estate litigation work. These goals will drive the rest of your marketing plan. Action/Implementation items For each goal, actions need to be identified. Take the example of a firm wanting to increase its estate planning and litigation work. Action items could include: public relations, organizational involvement, speaking engagements, articles, seminars and client mailings. For each item, specific steps would be identified such as: what is being done (status updates), who is responsible to complete the action, what is the timetable for completion. Depending on the size of the firm, action items may range from local and simple to broad and complex in scope. Resources and budget Whether your implementation plan is simple or complex, it will take time, energy and money to accomplish. As a result, it is important to assign tasks and take on new projects with resources and a budget in mind. Say, for example, you want to centralize the firm s disparate mailing lists and turn them into one organized marketing database. What kind of software will be purchased? How are you going to compile all the disjointed bits of contact information housed in various Word documents, Palm Pilots and other programs? Who is going to input the data and check for correctness? As many marketing projects are similarly labour-intensive, it will be important to decide who does the work and how much it will cost to do it right. Timeline Each marketing plan should emphasize the timeframe within which any action should be completed and, if the action is significant, it should include milestones for checking on its status. For example, if the firm plans to develop a website, it is imperative that the timeline for its development include milestones such as storyboarding, design, testing, client beta testing and going live. Tactical issues What is in the marketing arsenal? There are many types of tactics available to firms but they will only be implemented successfully if they meet the needs and resources of the firm and its client base. For example, one law firm might need to advertise in the Yellow Pages while another firm might be more successful by networking with account managers within the local banking community. The tactics you choose depend highly on your practice, your strategic goals, your resources and your willingness for others to take a hands-on approach. Tactical approaches can include: 2002 The Law Society of British Columbia 6 April, 2002

7 Research, surveys, other client feedback programs The best source for new work and a great way to assess whether or not a firm is providing good service is by asking clients how the firm is doing. Formats can include formal or informal interviews, questionnaires, new client relationship interviews and post-file performance evaluations. Relationship-building and managing expectations Perhaps your clients would benefit from in-house training on new updates in the law. Or you can build a relationship with a client by visiting his or her new warehouse. Or one of your clients has expressed cost containment concerns and wants to be kept up to date on your fees on a monthly basis. Lawyers can build tremendous relationships with clients by listening and learning about their clients and understanding more about their existing and future needs. Client entertainment: yes, it still exists From fundraisers and golf to tickets to the rodeo, clients and prospects can be wined and dined. But some clients aren t allowed to take gifts, others may be cocktail partied-out and still others may not be comfortable with the whole aspect of entertainment after all, this is the lean and mean 2000s. The key to successful client entertainment is making it fun, productive and meaningful for both the firm and the clients or prospects. Having a strategy is also important for example, many companies like IBM and Xerox are sending their senior executives on a weeklong course on marketing on the golf course. Marketing communications materials These materials are a necessary evil in law firm marketing, and after partnership points allocations, their development can be one of the most argued-over issues within a law firm. Marketing communications materials include general firm information, practice group descriptions, lawyer biographies, detailed transaction lists and matters litigated, client lists (with permission), newsletters, practice updates, letterhead, request for proposal templates, clientfriendly retainer letters, customer service standards and specific information kits (like a wills kit or a guide to the litigation process). Successful marketing communications materials are welldesigned, in plain language and answer the questions: Why should I buy from you? and Why should I care? Advertising and directories Do you need to buy ads and spend significant dollars on Martindale-Hubbell or Lexpert? Maybe, maybe not. Before you buy advertising and directory listings, ask yourself who your audience is and why you need to be in a certain publication. Then get yourself a good designer tombstone ads are passé. And although branding is a big issue for many firms these days (positioning a firm by using tag lines and doing things like taking out one-page ads in major dailies), remember 2002 The Law Society of British Columbia 7 April, 2002

8 that branding is about the total experience a law firm provides to its clients from the point of initial contact to final bill payment. A tagline promise may not deliver or, worse yet, be perceived as being transparent or a facade, so proceed with caution. The web Is your website an on-line brochure or do you have a website that projects a powerful client comes first overall message? For example, client-only web areas, where clients can see all the documents sent and received on their file, are becoming more prevalent. Further, many of the firms developing client extranets are not big firms, but they are distinctive. The internet is all about information and access aim to build a site that meet the needs of your clients. If you are not sure what they need from your site, ask them. Lawyer skills training Sad but true, not all lawyers are natural marketers. Some may be great at working a room, others are better writers than speakers. Many marketing plans include committing resources and time to teach lawyers good marketing skills, from effective communications to presentation skills. Media and publicity Proper use of the media is an excellent way for lawyers to build profiles in their areas of practice. Journalists often seek knowledgeable lawyers to interpret a new piece of legislation or to comment on a specific justice-related issue. As a result, lawyers with savvy media skills can gain good name recognition in their communities. All high-profile lawyers should obtain media training and all law firms need to know what is and isn t newsworthy. Press releases ought to be written by a communications expert. Referral marketing Many firms get work from other lawyers, other business colleagues or professionals within a specific industry. Lawyers should market both to and with their referral sources and form alliances along specific industries or client types. For example, if you do personal injury work, you may want to develop a referral network of doctors, rehabilitation consultants, psychologists or occupational therapists. Sponsorships Firms are often asked to sponsor sports teams, athletic events and community and cultural initiatives. Sometimes the number of requests can be overwhelming. Before agreeing to a sponsorship, ask yourself if the opportunity is meaningful to one or more partners (i.e., they are personally involved) or to current or prospective clients. Will it generate goodwill? Would it reflect badly on the firm not to be a sponsor? Will attendees at these events be the type of clients you are seeking to attract? Sponsorships can be expensive and their benefits intangible but 2002 The Law Society of British Columbia 8 April, 2002

9 they can assist greatly in increasing firm visibility and demonstrating the firm s philanthropic spirit. Writing, publishing, seminars These are great ways to establish credibility in a practice area. As the law is about knowledge and using that knowledge on behalf of others clients and prospects will make some assessment of lawyers based on demonstrated expertise as writers or speakers. A few rules of thumb: choose your markets carefully, target your publications, craft your articles with care, and ensure that your presentation skills are first-rate and directed at the right audiences. The importance of marketing Whatever form your firm s marketing plan ultimately takes, real success will not be achieved unless and until all lawyers are prepared to commit the time to making it work. A balanced approach is required: lawyers must be given the leeway to engage in non-billable activities without guilt in recognition that short-term investments lead to long-term gains. Marketing is part of the practice of law and it should accordingly be given proper understanding, respect, resources and time. For further advice, comments or questions, daveb@lsbc.org The Law Society of British Columbia 9 April, 2002