Matt Geller’s “3 Things”
When I first sit down with any attorney I make sure to communicate my “3 things” up front:
1st - you are a small business owner
While every lawyer out there went to law school to study law, unfortunately they do not teach about anything business related in the slightest. Every lawyer I have encountered has agreed almost unequivocally that they know very little about business. For many this sobering fact becomes apparent very quickly upon entering the real world.
You can be the best lawyer in the world, however if you lack the skills to run a business and properly market yourself you will not succeed. On the contrary you can be a mediocre lawyer and make far more money than the most skilled lawyer because you perhaps understand some key elements to running a business.
2nd - you are a salesperson
As a small business owner you must be focused on closing the clients that walk through your door. Do you know your close rate? Do you know how to close? Have you made this a priority?
It’s like the old saying goes, 'I can lead a horse to water but I can't make him drink'. Point being is that I can lead the legal consumer to your door step, however from here it is up to you to make sure they drink.
3rd - you are a lawyer
Finally! Now you get to be a lawyer.
A few other questions:
“How much money do you want to make this year?”
“How else are you getting business through the door besides referrals and word of mouth?”
“What keeps you up at night as a small business owner?”
Do you know what a website truly is?
A website very simply is a “conversion platform”. What does this mean? A website exists to convert prospects in to clients. When a potential client lands on your website, they make their decision within seconds if they are going to pick up the phone and call your firm. If your website is not engaging with the right content that speaks to them, they will undoubtedly hit the back button and go to the next website they’ve found. The legal consumer needs to know within seconds that they have come to the right place to help with their legal needs. A conversion platform (website) must be engaging and speak to the legal consumer right away.
Before any consumer clicks or even sees your website, the first ingredient is making sure they can find you.
“Presence and Visibility”
“All websites are not created equal”- Abraham Lincoln
Ok so maybe President Lincoln didn’t say that, however the quote still remains true. You can have the prettiest, sexiest and most colorful website out there; however if no one can see it or get to it, what’s the point? This goes hand in hand with my bill board analogy. If you buy the most incredible bill board ever created in the history of all bill boards and its sitting in the middle of a cornfield, again whats the point?
Having the proper presence and visibility online is key…otherwise you’re just sitting in a corn field.
Why Reviews are Important
You likely utilize Amazon Prime like most all human beings do in present day. Do you ever read reviews? Your answer I’m going to bet is a hard “yes”. Well, that makes you normal, as this is what the vast majority of the gen pop does across the world. Most all consumers read reviews whether they are shopping for underwear, shopping for a doctor, or you guessed it…shopping for a lawyer.
A review from a stranger is just as powerful as a word of mouth referral. This is a 3rd party, non-biased source giving their honest feedback on the item or service. In the modern day of the wild wild web it is absolutely imperative to begin acquiring reviews and incorporating this into your daily business practice.
What’s your brand? Part 1
Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.” And that someplace else may prove to be a big waste of time, energy, and money. Nothing could be truer when it comes to brand building. An HBR article eloquently addressed this matter:
“Brands still matter immensely. The role of a brand is—and never was—just about solving an information problem. It’s about providing meaning and satisfying emotional needs. These fundamental human needs have not changed. To the contrary as consumers experience information overload, there might be a tendency to gravitate toward what’s known and comforting. Sure, disruptive digital services explode and take over the world in an instant, but to go from being a popular service like Pinterest and Whatsapp to a brand that commands a proper price premium is still a long road. As information is more and more available and the importance of brands increases, the ability to tell a meaningful story through actions and products, not words, is the only way to win.”
Skilsted, Jens Martin & Hansen, Bech Hansen. “Brands Aren’t Dead, But Traditional Branding Tools Are Dying.” HBR
The ability to tell a “meaningful story” starts with a sound strategy. One that has taken the time to identify the right target audience and understand their needs, wants, and dreams. It’s only by taking the requisite time upfront, prior to launching potentially meaningless tactics, that you will be able to tell a brand story that is meaningful, relevant, and leverageable in the marketplace.
What’s your brand? Part 2 (What Is Your Brand’s Story?)
Hemingway was challenged to write a novel in six words, and he wrote, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Simple, yet packed full of emotion. And as we know, emotion engages people and allows them to become participants in the narrative. It’s this connection that is important when it comes to building brands.
“When brands develop a core story, they create and display authentic meaning and purpose that others can believe, participate with, and share.” Communicating rational components of your brand is not enough, it’s the story that engages our right brain, triggering our imagination. And, the best stories capture authentic human experiences. More than ever, people want to buy a brand that represents their values, or that embodies their aspirations. And the best way to show people what you believe in and what you’re aiming for is to tell stories.
Stories are also an integral part of being persuasive. “Stories trump data when it comes to persuasion because stories are easier to understand and relate to. Ultimately a brand’s story is not just something businesses should refer to every time they launch a marketing campaign or issue a press release. It should be the foundation on which a future growth strategy is built.”
Ford’s Asia-Pacific VP of communications Mark Truby, says a brand’s story can change consumer perceptions, especially if you want people to repeat the narrative on your behalf. “A good story makes you feel something and is universal. People want to buy a car from a company they relate to and they understand,” he says. “They want to grasp your values and your commitment to excellence; be inspired and intrigued. Storytelling is the most powerful way to convey these ideas.”
So, what is your brand’s story?
Sources:
Pamela B. Rutledge Ph.D., M.B.A.
The Psychological Power of Storytelling
Lisa Lacy: 5 Reasons A Brand Story Is Your Most Valuable Marketing Tool
Mission Statement
A good mission statement can surprise, inspire, and transform your business. They provide a clearly stated purpose of your business and the goals you have for succeeding. The best mission statements go hand-in-hand with corporate philosophy and culture and help guide a company from the present into the future. In sum, a mission statement defines your cause – something you want to accomplish.
There are 3 key components your mission statement should answer:
1) What does your company do?
2) How does your company do it?
3) Why does your company do it?
Some examples:
•Make-A-Wish: “The mission of Make-A-Wish International is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.”
•Southwest Airlines: “Dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit.”
•Uber: "We ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion.”
•Life is Good: “To spread the power of optimism.”
•Sweet green: “To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food.”
•Patagonia: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”
•American Express: “We work hard every day to make American Express the world's most respected service brand.”
•Warby Parker: “To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses.”
•Honest Tea: “To create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages.”
•IKEA: “To create a better everyday life for the many people.”
•Nordstrom: “To give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.”
•Cradles to Crayons: “Provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play.”
Do you know your mission statement?
“A.C.T.”
The end goal of any advertising or marketing simply leads to how to engage with the consumer and ultimately convert new business. This is where “A.C.T” comes in to play:
Awareness. Connect. Transactions.
Brands are not just running a traditional ad; they are connecting with consumers’ notion of engagement. It’s having a story that’s engaging and ultimately drives sales. But how?
By using advertising in the big game to build Awareness, with a message
combined with digital/social tactics that Connect with the target audience and an
ultimate pull through at retail to drive Transactions, a.k.a. sales. A construct called ACT.
Can legal directories actually bring in quality clients?
I would say yes they do; however, not all directories are created equal so you must be strategic where you invest any marketing spend. Just like SEO (search engine optimization) remains a game of ‘cat and mouse’, the same philosophy holds true for legal directories. However, after looking at the data and trends over the past decade or so, one directory that has remained consistent appears to be FindLaw: https://www.findlaw.com/
There are many reasons for this (largely due to Thomson Reuters relationship with Google), but this particular directory simply gets the most traffic and volume far and above the others. You will also see FindLaw.com consistently on the 1st page of Google for pretty much any and every search when looking for a lawyer. Go ahead, run one now in Google and see where you find www.findlaw.com organically. Have a look at a recent data sheet that came out. If I am wanting to test the waters with strategic placements in legal directories, my money is on FindLaw for the best ROI. Have a look at some data points recently released in regards to FindLaw:
Are you a ‘Super Lawyer’?
When landing on law firms websites you often see all the wonderful and lovely badges on the homepage showing off how great of an attorney she or he is. While that’s all well and good, more than half of these ‘awards’ are all smoke and mirrors and anyone can obtain. One accolade we are extremely fond of is the Super Lawyers selection that can be earned every year in the state of Texas. The top 5 percent of attorneys in Texas who are 40 years or older or have been in practice 10 years or more are eligible to participate. What separates this accolade from all the rest is that Super Lawyers is not a pay-to-play process and in fact is 100 percent free. This process is heavily peer nominated and there is an actual Super Lawyers committee within Thomson Reuters that has a patented process in which they declare who will get this prestigious award yearly. If you have been on LinkedIn (or various other social channels) anytime within the last month you will likely see lawyers promoting the fact they have been given the Super Lawyers award for 2021. This is an excellent way to build an attorney’s individual brand and promote the firm as well. Do you think you can be a Super Lawyer?
Have a look below for details on Super Lawyers and contact us directly if we can help you get involved:
https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process_detail.html
Does social media matter?
The answer is unequivocally, YES! If the goal is to implement a truly holistic approach with a digital strategy, social media is a crucial component and one that cannot be missed. More people are on social media today than every before and the average human being spends a stupid amount of time on them. Whether it be LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram etc. - people all over the world are constantly on them. Being that we do exclusively small legal marketing, we are big advocates of Facebook as it pertains to the legal consumer. However, don’t over look the power of Instagram and/or YouTube. Have a look below to see the importance of marketing socially:
“Content is King”
Since the origin of SEO the phrase “Content is King” has been passed around more than a doobie in Willie Nelson’s trailer. While the phrase stills holds true, there is much more to gaining authority on the web than simply writing content. Google does want you to contribute to the Google society without a doubt, however, re-purposing and shaking current content up can be just as powerful. Have a look below on some further ideas in regards to your current content: