Category: Marketing

Marketing is taking advantage of an opportunity, even if it is E.coli

The Wall Street Journal, in September 27th edition, Marketplace, healines: "How a Tiny Law Firm Made Hay Out of Tainted Spinach."

Marler Clark, a law firm in the State of Washington, filed its first bad spinach lawsuit before all the ballyhoo started. Now, they represent 76 clients injured by the E. coli outbreak. Only 6 lawyers, the firm’s reputation for handling food-borne illnesses is quite extensive. That’s specialization! And that’s marketing expertise!  Using the Internet, with many web sites and blogs, plus traditional marketing (such as the license plate on a car), the firm has spread awareness of its expertise.

A masterful job, Mr. Marler.


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Estate planning is a growth practice area!

Ms. Cookie Lewis of askinfomania.com reports on a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive®.

They report, among other things, that: “Two out of three U.S. adults today have used a lawyer at least once in their lives, about the same percent as in 2000 (65% in 2006 vs. 68% in 2000)… (T)he single biggest reason lawyers are hired today is to handle estate planning.  Forty-six percent of those U.S. adults who have hired a lawyer say that is what drove them there, a similar percent as in 2000 (51%).”  

This is a statistic that, frankly, surprises me, given the big push to eliminate estate taxes altogether … and the fact that 2010 is a year when there will be no estate tax.


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NY advertising prohibition rules causing quite a stir

Larry Bodine discusses a recent case  where a lawyer’s faxes were held to violate NY’s advertising prohibitions.  NY is considering even more stringent rules than currently exist.

However, reading between the lines, I suspect it is no so much NY rules about advertising that were violated, but rather the federal act against unsolicited faxes … and the fact that this same attorney was found guilty in 2004 of virtually the same offense by the same judge.

I don’t know about you, but I would think this defendant should know better … or should not complain if he seeks to be the guinea pig … Of course, I didn’t read that he is appealing the decision. So, perhaps he believes that any notoriety is good notoriety … and his being sued gets him far more press than he could on his own … and he will benefit from that.  Not exactly the way I would encourage my clients to market!


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Be unique and sell

There’s an adage that goes something like "He who quotes the first number in a negotiation loses."

The same is true for legal fees … when you quote an hourly fee, there will always be someone who is cheaper. 

I just glanced through a book, Blue Ocean Strategies … A key piece of advice is not to think out of the box, or even break the box, but rather never put yourself in the box.

Eliminate your competition entirely. Be different. Offer something that your competitors don’t or can’t. Create something new that your clients need or want.  Think about what this might be in your own practice. If you can’t think of what makes you unique, you’ve lost, you’re really nothing more than a commodity to your clients and you may "soon" be out of business.

 


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It’s tough to market something you don’t like

Larry Bodine’s entry today talks about one of the most important factors facing American business today … and particularly American law firms seeking to grow.

"Not only are lawyers typically reluctant to market their practices, now we learn that many associates aren’t even interested in becoming a partner or staying in the profession.  It’s impossible to market a service that you don’t want to perform."

See the full entry for statistics.


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