Internet Marketing For A Firm Of Lawyers - How An Attorney Can Get More Clients Through Internet Marketing
When the crusaders road in the early centuries after Christ, there was only one treasure that they sought, it was the cup from the Last Supper. In a law firm, there is also only one true treasure that you seek. A continual flow of new clients it that treasure. By using law firm internet marketing - the Holy Grail can be yours.
There is a myth among many law firms that referrals are all that are needed to build the business.
The lie is repeated in many ways. Typically the story follows this line:
In addition, some firms have the idea of, “We have never done it that way before.” In the last 25 years, my satisfied customers have made referrals and I have spent nothing on advertising.
Everyone agrees that referrals are a good source for new clients, but they should not be the only advertising that you do. Certainly, referrals should not be an excuse to exclude other strategies for growing a practice.
Referrals really are not free. They take work. Referrals do not just happen, you have to earn them. If this is your only way of gaining new clients, you can soon spend more time and money nurturing your referral network than in practicing law. There will be times a satisfied client makes a good referral. There will also be times a client is glad the issue that brought you to his office is over and he will never think of you again.
There are also times that attorney friends will make referrals from cases coming his way. Just remember that he, like almost anyone else would, will choose those best cases for his own practice. Even your former clients do not know about all the areas where you specialize or the areas where your practice wants to grow.
Referrals will always be made through people with whom you have taken the time to build a relationship. You must nourish that relationship with the very costly element, your time. Building that relationship may actually cost much more than an internet advertising campaign.
By depending only on referrals, your do not target your best clients. Face it; the people you represent are not attorneys. Without a thorough knowledge of law, they do not know about all your specialties. In addition, your other attorney friends, may only have a general idea of your fields, so they also cannot as effectively target the correct clients for you. In addition, if they are in a closely related law field, they are already taking the best clients for their own firm.
In comparison to the number of new clients other advertising can bring into your office, referrals produce a very low volume of clients. This number can be greatly multiplied by an effective marketing campaign.
Today in almost every field, the most effective marketing campaigns are run on the internet. Think of the last presidential election. Mr. Obama was successful in the campaign largely because of the internet marketing that was done. Your firm can also benefit from a network marketing campaign.
Referrals cannot be the only place your firm looks for new clients. If internet marketing of your firm is not acceptable to you, then you need to find another effective source or finding new clients. Marketing will still cost money or time. However, the fee that you pay a marketer will have a high rate of return. It will most assuredly be higher than your referral network.
Effective marketing requires knowing what is working. Ask the clients what brought them to your practice and spend your marketing dollars or time in those areas.
Published by: Earlene Silversmith on August 28th, 2009 | Filed under Legal
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