Grow My Law Firm

10 ways to use QR Codes in your marketing

2D codes, or QR Codes, as they are becoming more commonly known, are two dimensional barcodes that are easily generated through a variety of web services and can be scanned with a barcode reader on a smartphone to take the user to a web page. 2D is the general category, but there are many kinds. Among them are Microsoft Tag, Datamatrix, EZ Code, QR Code, and others. Calling them all QR Codes is like calling a bandage a Band-Aid or a tissue a Kleenex.

Most people have probably seen them, but many still don't know what they are. Marketers are finding ever-greater ways to incorporate them into marketing by making it easier for a user to reach a particular page online. Let's face it, it's easier to scan a code than type a URL, so let's review some of the practical applications for QR Codes.

1. Add one to your business card. Think about how many cards are handed out at events and tradeshows for example. If yours contains a QR Code, later on, when the user scans it, you might have an advantage over the rest of the business card stack when the contact lands at your LinkedIn profile, and sees your photo and complete skill set.
2. On printed product literature. Think about the added convenience when you make it easy for a potential customer get more information and/or place an order.
3. Make it worthwhile. Entice the user to scan the code for a special message, information, video, or giveaway.
4. Within webinars or presentations. Use them for a little something extra that isn't accessible to non-atendees.
5. On t-shirts. My first experience with QR codes was a couple years ago at PodCamp Western MA. The code on the t-shirt given to all attendees lead us to a webpage where people uploaded all their media following the event, including videos, photos, and blog posts.
6. In ads. This is a great, easy way to get prospects to a particular web page from within a print ad. I've seen them on billboards too, but I wouldn't encourage you to do something that entices drivers to take their attention off their primary responsibility.
7. In a retail store. How great would it be to be able to go to an instant coupon while you're in a store? That's so much easier than clipping coupons and remembering to bring them with you.
8. For events. A QR Code can send potential attendees right to the EventBrite sign up page or a place where they can get more information.
9. For reservations. A hot, new application at 2011 SXSW makes it possible to users to scan a QR code to save their place on a restaurant waiting list.
10. For instructions. Think about how much greener it would be for people to read, for example, instructions for something they purchased by simply scanning a QR code on the product packaging rather than having to print and insert instructions within the packaging.

One very important factor however; if you plan to use a QR Code in your marketing, make sure that the landing page is optimized for mobile use. Little will frustrate your users more than a busy page with lots of unnessary images.

- Christine Pilch

Turbo Tax nails their position and branding

We're right smack in the middle of Turbo Tax's season, and boy, do they ever understand their own branding. They have positioned their product as the premiere do-it-yourself tax software and created various versions to accommodate personal needs. What really impressed me lately though is the tagline that they've been using in their advertising:

Choose easy.

I am not sure if that tagline is new or if I've just noticed it, but those two words do exactly what a tagline should do, nail down the customer benefit. Here, Turbo Tax captures the essence of one of their primary customer benefits, making it easier to do your taxes. You know what you get, your taxes done as easy as possible. What a relief! That is a powerful motivator to buy their product.

TurboTax has a very small window to make their money, and they have pulled out all the stops to make the most of their season. I haven't seen a mis-step yet. Whoever is guiding their brand strategy is right on the money.


by: Christine Pilch
Christine@GrowMyCo.com
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Why throw money out the window with bad ads?

I recently saw an ad in a business publication introducing new attorneys who had joined a law firm. I read like this...

Good for them.
Good for us.
Good for you.

We're proud to announce our continued growth with the following additions to our Firm.
(Let's not even bother griping about the misuse of capitalization of "Firm.")

Attorney #1's name
formerly of (competitive firm)

Attorney #2's name
formerly of (competitive firm)

Attorney #3's name
formerly of (competitive firm)

Attorney #4's name
formerly of (competitive firm)

Attorney #5's name
formerly of (competitive firm)

Name of firm
URL

Cities

That's it. That's the whole ad. There are many problems with this ad.

First off, how can I tell if I could use the services of one of these attorneys when I don't even know what kind of law they practice? Why would I hire one of these lawyers? What do I get? Why them? Good for me? How? Why?

This ad shows no distinction between this firm and all the rest. There is no incentive for me to do business with them. And even if I did want to hire them, there is no contact information, so I would have to go search for it.

This ad seems to be entirely about gratifying egos... egos of the lawyers who get to see their names in print and egos of those in charge at the firm who hired them. Unfortunately, who cares?

What a wasted opportunity and a waste of money. An good introductory ad shows the benefit clients get from hiring someone. Productive ads turn things around from boasting about you, to demonstrating what your clients get, because that's all they care about. They don't pay attention to anything that doesn't benefit them.

And finally, why on earth would a law firm advertise their competitors by listing them in advertising, thereby giving them credibility? This firm may as well have taken out an ad thanking those firms for doing such a wonderful job of training these lawyers.

I'm sure that the point of listing the names is to let clients and prospects know where these lawyers can now be found, but client relationships are typically built with an individual lawyer, not a firm. Clients know who their lawyer is, so what is the point of listing the competitive firms that these lawyers came from?

Unfortunately, I see an awful lot of advertising like this, designed by people who don't understand positioning and the psychology of marketing. The good news though, is that such advertising makes it a lot easier for me to do my job and help my clients market against such companies.

by: Christine Pilch
Christine@GrowMyCo.com
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Are you flushing money down the drain?

It never ceases to amaze me how much money is wasted on ill-advised business decisions. As an professional, are you not amazed at the vast number of people who make important decisions without the advice and counsel of a knowledgeable practitioner?

Imagine all the wasted money...

As much as I have an aversion to being the bearer of bad news, wasting money is exactly what many service professionals do every time they approve of any advertising or promotional printing without first asking the right questions. Yes, as conservative as you may be, you too could be guilty of flushing money down the tube.

To put an end to this money dump you can begin by asking one simple question, “Why?”

Why am I spending this money - what is it going to do for me - and how do I know that?  Could I spend the same money somewhere else and get better results? Why do I really need a thousand, twenty-nine-cent pens with my name on them? Why am I spending hundreds of dollars placing an ad in the local paper? Why would anyone read it, immediately pick up the phone and call me?

But wait! There are even better questions to ask.

Since there are only 3 ways to grow a business,

1. Get more clients
   
   
2. Charge more per client
   
   
3. Get more repeat business

The real question should be, “Which one of these areas does any of my expenditures address?”

Always remember, if you increase any one of these areas you can grow your business fractionally. And if you increase all three areas you will increase your business exponentially!

Ads can work to get more clients, up-sell current ones or bring them back more often, but they have to be well-planned and have a specific purpose. They also have to attract the right audience with the right message and be in the right place at the right time.

Effective ads have to be credible and portray your firm with a well-thought-out, intentional image. Your prospects have to unconsciously understand the answers to three questions before they continue to have any interest in your advertisement. Does the person writing and designing your ads know this?

The viewer of the medium in which you spent your hard-earned money, determines in milliseconds whether to notice your ad, begin reading it, evaluate whether it is of any value to them and decide what, if any, action to take. Do you have the advice and counsel of a knowledgeable marketing practitioner who knows this?

To add confusion to an already complicated attraction process, some ads simply attract your attention but are of no intrinsic value. They may be interesting or entertaining on some level but don’t make people interested in purchasing what they are pitching. Your brain quickly determines:

• Who is the ad speaking to? - Is this ad of any interest to me?
  
  
• Quick, what do I get? - If I don’t immediately understand how I will benefit, I’m out of here - you lost me.
  
  
• Why should I buy it from you? - Is there some compelling reason that you are the best resource for this product or service?

Do you try to save a few bucks by creating your own marketing plans and advertising materials? Do you look for someone that will do it for the least amount of money? Do you get it for free from the publication?

If you’re still imagining all the money that is wasted on ill-advised business decisions by the vast number of people who make important decisions without the advice and counsel of a knowledgeable practitioner – think about the multiplying effects of any money spent when working with a talented and knowledgeable marketing advisor.

Drop us a line, we happen to personally know of two extremely talented marketing advisors that come “two-for-the-price-of-one.” And we can promise you this - we would never allow you to flush money down the drain again.

by: Dennis Kunkler
Dennis@GrowMyCo.com

When your ad agency doesn't understand branding

"Branding," is a popular buzzword that is often misused by people who don't understand what it actually is. It's not surprising that many business owners don't quite understand what their brand is, but it's a sad day indeed when an advertising agency doesn't get it. Unfortunately, that happens pretty often.

I recently saw this ad for an advertising agency's "branding service," and I just shook my head. This agency wants your business, and they may have a talented graphic designer who can make your materials look attractive, but this ad isn't actually about branding, so if they don't get it, how can they help you?

Your brand is the sum total of your clients' and prospects' experiences with your service. It's what they feel when they hear your name or see your logo. The physical aspects named in the ad are elements of your brand, but they are not the brand itself.

This blog is full of posts about what a waste of money it is to change your phyical look and expect that your brand will change. By themselves, a new logo, stationery package, and all the rest of the items listed in the ad to the left will rebrand your business about as successfully as changing the carpeting and window dressings in your office would.

The only way a company can rebrand is to change its clients' experience. You must change the way your clients feel they are treated in every interaction with your company. You must establish a different or higher expectation and uphold it in all client touchpoints.

Once you have made your core rebranding commitment, repositioned your company, created a position and value statement, and all stakeholders are onboard and trained, only then can you successfully change the graphics that represent your company to appeal to the target clients identified in your positioning.

If you change your logo and other associated graphic materials before repositioning your company, who will those graphics appeal to? Only the egos of your company's partners and administration.

Please don't be fooled into thinking that a new graphic look will change your brand. If someone tells you differently, you might want to go shopping for a new marketing/advertising company.


by: Christine Pilch
Christine@GrowMyCo.com
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Back to basics - how to maximize ad dollars in a tough economy

I am hearing many tales of woe from businesses lately. There is a prevalent sense of fear and doom that is causing even the most successful companies to tighten their belts and brace themselves for worsening market conditions. 

When someone comes to me and asks what they should be doing to bring in more business, I suggest that their first action should be a review of their current marketing and how successful it is right now, not how it performed in the past. If current marketing activities aren't paying off, it's time to stop the bleeding and reassess.

• Who are your optimal, target clients?

• What do they get from your service?

• Why should they retain your company instead of another?

The answers to these questions lend insight into your market position. They help you to determine how you are uniquely qualified to fulfill a particular client need and create your distinction in a crowded marketplace. This will also help you find ways to add value to your service that will further separate you from the pack of competitors.

After this positioning work is done, you can create fresh marketing messages that will attract the attention of the right targeted audience because they will address something that those people value. You will be able to rise above all the clutter and all the noise because, just as we are all very adept at filtering out what doesn't interest us, we are also acutely attuned to messages about things that do interest us. When you offer a solution to a problem, relief of some pain point or gratify some need, people will listen.

If you're frustrated by the return on your advertising investments lately, maybe it's time to reevaluate your target prospects to determine how you can uniquely fulfill their needs. This can give you the tools you need to create marketing messages that work and maximize your precious advetising dollars right now.

by: Christine Pilch
Christine@GrowMyCo.com
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Newspaper circulation decline forces advertisers to look elsewhere for return on investment

There was an interesting article in the New York Times on Monday, Oct 27 called, “Newspaper Circulation Continues to Decline Rapidly.” The article cites a 5% drop in readership in the spring and summer of 2008 from the same time period in 2007. It also states that most alarming is a sharp drop in Sunday sales, which is the day newspapers traditionally make the most money through sales of circular insertions and increased display advertising.

All of this is hardly a surprise to savvy media buyers who have been steering their clients away from this dying medium over the past several years. Despite the dismal numbers, newspapers continue to increase advertising costs at a rate of about 3% per year. The product is suffering from reduced writing and editorial staff, and readership is shrinking, yet daily newspapers continue to raise rates. So you, the client, get less and less, and pay more and more. This vicious circle seems futile, doesn’t it? If you continue to spin your wheels, paying for unproductive newspaper advertising, maybe it’s time to stop the bleeding and work on other, more effective tactics that have a significantly greater potential payoff.

• Spruce up your website if the content is dated
• Start blogging
• Join LinkedIn.com and develop a rich profile and network of connections
• Dabble in Twitter.com
• Participate in community & charitable activities
• Write an article
• Volunteer
• Join a professional networking group
• Send out prospecting letters; then follow up
• Become active in your local Chamber of Commerce
• Write a press release about something relevant to your business
• Speak at a function or group meeting
• Take a client to lunch, drinks, dinner, or sporting event
• Teach a class at your local college

Many of the above marketing tactics cost no more than your commitment and time, and most of them, if done well, will be much more effective that your tired, old newspaper ad that appears in front of the same dwindling audience week after week.


by: Christine Pilch
Christine@GrowMyCo.com
On LinkedIn

A depressed economy is the perfect time to make a deal

Many businesses are watching profits dwindle while expenses continue to grow. There is, however, a bright spot on the horizon for those who make a commitment to continuing to spend money on advertising. There are incredible deals to be had if you're not afraid to bargain.

Keep in mind that the economy is an equal opportunity oppressor, so your local media are likely as strapped and scared as you are about the future. I am hearing from my media contacts that T&E budgets have dried up, and there is lots of space that can be had on the cheap.

It's time to sit down across the table from your media reps one by one and negotiate. They have excess time and space, so you can make an offer to fill that at a discounted rate. If you have a current buy in place, and they won't budge on the rate, it is a reasonable alternative to request upgrades. Ask if your morning news spot can run in evening news. Request that an evening news spot run in prime. Ask for upgraded placement of print ads too. How about spot color for the black and white price? Remember that you're now the loyal client who hasn't deserted them when times were tough. This is relationship-building time.

I had lunch with the General Sales Manager of a local TV affiliate last week. I didn't have any new business to spin her way, and I didn't want her to use any of her dwindling T&E budget, so we agreed to split the check as friends. We enjoyed each other's company, caught up, and strengthened our relationship. It was an investment in the future.

There are fantastic advertising deals available now if you're willing to continue to invest in your marketing. Remember however, that a me-me-me message without any client benefit and value-added will simply waste your money. Go back to your positioning and invest wisely.


by: Christine Pilch
Christine@GrowMyCo.com

How marketing is a lot like fishing

August is a great time to get away for awhile and go down to the “‘ole fishin’ hole.” And as we all know, fishermen can certainly come home with some very interesting stories.

Have you heard the one about the motorist who, traveling within a group of fast moving traffic on the highway, was pulled over by a police officer? When notified that he was speeding, he asked the officer, why he was singled out of at least a dozen other vehicles all traveling at the same speed. The officer asked, “Ever go fishing?” The motorist responded “Yes”. The officer then asked, “Ever catch them all?” - Doh!

That’s an eye-opening lesson for all of us who are sometimes lulled into thinking there is safety in numbers. That officer could spend his entire day using that technique and rack up quite a few in his net because he knows exactly how to catch what he’s looking for.

Recently, while relaxing on my boat I was watching bass fishermen participating in a fishing tournament. These guys are real pros. They are armed to the teeth with the latest and greatest tools of their trade – hi-tech boats, rods & reels, lures, bait, fish-finder scanners, anti-glare sunglasses, GPS maps and location markers.

While watching them and appreciating the things they were doing, it became very clear to me that these guys can teach us a lot about marketing. After all, like any marketer, before they can catch any fish - they have to first attract them.

Fishermen (and fisherwomen) realize their job is to know their customers’ every want and desire so they can offer it right back to them. With fish as their customers, they have to understand where to find them and what they like to eat. They must know where they like to hang out at different times of the day – under fallen trees in the shade, in the shallows under the lily-pads or deep, next to a steep drop off. And, they have to know their food preferences - what they like, when they like it and how they prefer to be served.

Lastly, to win, these tournament fishermen have to develop their individual techniques to a degree where they know not only where to find the fish and what attracts them, but how to catch and reel them in and how to land them in the boat better than all of their competitors that day.

Marketing is exactly that. You’ve got to understand the kind of client you want to attract and do your research to understand who they are and what they want - where they hang out - what publications or media they frequent - what you’re going to offer that will attract them, and what is the best way to reel them in while building their confidence so that they like and trust you.

Therefore, the next time you’re thinking about going fishin’ for more clients, remember this, you can’t just stick any ‘ole ad in the newspaper and expect to pull in a whopper. Otherwise, all your stories will be about the big ones that got away.

By: Dennis Kunkler

Persistence pays in legal marketing – staying the course

An advertising man named Thomas Smith wrote the following in 1885:

The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.
The second time, he does not notice it.
The third time, he is conscious of its existence.
The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.
The fifth time, he reads it.
The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.
The seventh time, he reads it through and says, 'Oh brother!'
The eighth time, he says, here's that confounded thing again!
The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.
The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.
The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.
The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.
The thirteenth time, he thinks it might be worth something.
The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.
The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.
The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it someday.
The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.
The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.
The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.
The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offered.

This begs the question, do you stick with your marketing campaign long enough for it to work, or do you abandon it if you don’t see quick results? Now I’m not talking about the most common approach; “Goodness, revenue is down, so we’ve got to run an ad. Let’s call (insert media here) and come up with something quick.” This knee-jerk reaction to a problem long in the making rarely enjoys much success.

I’m talking about a marketing plan that targets the right clients with the right message at the right time. I’m talking about a plan that grew out of solid positioning.

If you’ve done your positioning, you already know who you should be talking to, what they get from your legal services and why your firm is uniquely qualified to provide it. You know your distinction and you know the niche that you fit into in your market. You know what your desired clients need from a lawyer and what pain you can soothe. You know that people will be blind to advertising messages that talk about you, your legal service, your years in practice, your new offices and the quality of your quality work.

So if your marketing is directed at specifically targeted clients about something that they want or need, or a problem that they need resolved, does it make sense to abandon it prematurely? Is it may be more likely that they haven’t heard or read your message the 20 times that Thomas Smith said people need to take action?

We wrote a book that explains how you can position your law firm called, “The Definitive Insider’s Guide to Growing Your Practice Through Innovative Brand Strategies.” If you would like to receive a complimentary copy, please drop us an email.

by: Chrstine Pilch

Stop wasting your precious advertising dollars by not understanding the purpose of an ad or brochure

Most law firms that create or direct the creation of their ads oftentimes miss the mark. And, I’d probably miss the mark too if I believed practicing law was easy enough to represent myself in court. I’ve seen “Law & Order” on TV, and it doesn’t look difficult.

There’s more to creating an ad than trying to be clever or artsy. Your first question should be, “Why?” Why are you creating this ad? What’s its purpose? Although the answer may seem obvious, let’s look at the three main reasons for an ad.

In order to “grow” your business, you must understand what makes a business grow. Sounds simple enough, right? Just bring in more customers. Well, maybe…

Some lawyers may immediately think they need to get more customers. They need an ad, or they want to mail out a brochure, or whatever.

With that kind of Ready, Fire, Aim kind of thinking, they might possibly bring some clients in, but are they the right ones? Are they your best possible clients? Or, are they the least profitable ones? You know, the ones that are hard to please, waste a lot of your time and are slow to pay.

Business growth is all about attracting the right buyer and satisfying their expectations and/or providing even better value.

Your firm’s growth will come from either adding new clients, getting clients to come back more often, or by getting clients to increase the amount they spend on each matter.

It boils down to this; there are only 3 ways to grow a business.

1. By adding new customers
2. Increasing the frequency of purchases
3. Increasing the amount spent each purchase

When you increase any one of these areas, you will increase your business fractionally. But, if you were to add 33% new customers, that doesn’t necessarily mean a 33% growth.

However, if you were to increase each area by one-third, your firm will more than double its billings. That’s not a fractional increase, that’s exponential!

Go ahead, insert some of your own figures to this equation and add even modest increased percentages and see what this would do for your firm’s bottom line.

Remember, each line is a multiplier. 33% more customers, times 33% more purchases, times 33% more spent each time equals more than 200% growth.

When Madison Avenue copywriters put an ad together they usually are given at least one of these three objectives to meet. Otherwise, what’s the point of the ad? Why would they spend millions of dollars without a specific reason for the ad?

Unfortunately, some do just that. We’ve all seen the entertaining ads on TV and 10 seconds later we cannot identify the product or the company.

Your ads purpose should be to either get new prospects to call, get clients to come back more frequently, or to get them to spend more the next time you provide them services.

Make sure your ads, mailers or web site have a definite purpose. Pick one of the 3 ways to grow, and tie your ad around achieving at least one of those three objectives.

Otherwise, why bother spending your money?

Love them or hate them, McDonalds does a great job at this with their targeted ads, menu offerings and slogans.

Add new customers:
$1.00 menu for Seniors
Happy Meals for Kids
SuperSize for Teens
Salads for Weight Conscious Women

Increasing the frequency of purchases:
“You Deserve a Break Today”
“Expanded Breakfast Menu”
“Late-Night Hours”

Increasing the amount spent each purchase:
“Do You Want Fries With That?”
“Do You Want to SuperSize That?”

by: Dennis Kunkler

Beware accepting advertising on your website or blog

Many people are getting more and more strapped for cash lately, and I’ve been noticing one revenue-building tactic that I consider dangerous. Some legal blogs and websites are starting to accept Google ads as part of their design. This may bring in a little money, but at what cost to the public’s perception of your level of professionalism?

You work hard to get people to your website or blog in the first place, and they come for one reason – legal information. When did it become okay for a lawyer to promote unrelated products and services that simply distract your visitors? Why would you give anybody a reason to leave your site for another?

Perhaps more alarming is one particular estate planning site I recently happened upon that had several Google links to other estate planning sites. Again, why would you send away potential business for a fee from Google? That seems rather penny wise and pound foolish to me.

I caution you to think very carefully about the potential impact on your reputation and the potential loss of business to a competitor when you include Google ads on your site or blog.

by: Christine Pilch

Stop wasting your precious advertising dollars by constantly re-inventing the wheel

Due diligence in marketing includes, at the very least, creating a position statement before attempting any marketing activity. Why a position statement? Attempting anything without one provides results equivalent to “Ready, Fire, Aim.”

Using target shooting as an analogy, positioning is equivalent to Ready and Aim in the shot sequence. It’s all the preparation and information needed before executing the shot, or writing, designing and preparing the ad before buying and placing it with the media.

It’s all about knowing what you’re shooting at that counts.

A target provides a specific spot to aim at along with parameters to calculate results – a bulls-eye.

Alternately, let’s say you go to the range with no targets. (Placing an ad and speaking to no one) What’s the point of shooting if you have nothing to aim at? Unless you improvise a target, you won’t have any point of reference. Unfortunately, this is how a lot of small business owners approach their advertising – with no clearly defined target. They “wing it” and make it up as they go.

Too often, I see small law firm advertising consisting of a list of practice areas, names of partners, a logo and an expectation that this will cause the phone to ring.

Your position statement has to be created before any marketing communication can begin because it is your “rule book” for all subsequent efforts. Once created, it becomes a summary of all of the answers to all of the key questions and background information any marketing professional would need prior to creating any communication materials. It defines your target audience, what they get and describes your differentiation. It not only provides you with a target to aim at, it’s your virtual bulls-eye for all your future marketing and advertising efforts.

Positioning, whether done formally or informally, is ultimately the single-most important key to any company’s long-term success. Without a position statement, every time any marketing or advertising materials are attempted, your firm will be re-inventing the wheel and wasting precious advertising dollars.

by: Dennis Kunkler

Stop wasting your precious advertising dollars by communicating the wrong message

How can you possibly communicate the wrong message? Easy, by not clearly understanding who you’re communicating with, what they get from the transaction and why they would contract you over any of your competitors.

If your advertising is merely stating what you do – such as a list of practice areas along with your firm’s name, you might as well save your money and walk the streets wearing a sandwich board. WHY would anyone choose to hire you as a result of a lame listing or a stupid sign? Do you make your important choices that way? Your prospect wants to know, why you?

Let me take you through an abbreviated positioning process. To begin, we need to focus our attention. The very first step is to consider WHO you want to talk to. You want to be talking to some-one, not every-one. When you talk to everyone – you talk to no-one. Visualize your messages as if you are communicating to a specific individual.

Choose ONE key practice area that you want to focus on. If there are other practice areas that you do not want to exclude, repeat this exercise for each area and create separate messages and advertising for each area of practice.

Once you choose a specific area – let’s pick Family Law for illustration purposes - you can now imagine the specific person or couple that you’re speaking to. If your experience is in Family Law, you already know exactly what’s important to them and what they want and need. You know how to talk to them about the things that are important to them. That is exactly the same tone and rapport your advertising will take.

Next, understand exactly what they GET from you. They don’t get documents or “x” number of hours of your time – they get “piece-of-mind” in knowing their affairs are in order in case something happens to them. They gain the “security” of knowing their assets are protected. They “feel relieved” of no longer being at financial risk. Understand the emotional experience.

Finally, you need to define what makes you and your firm different and the advantage you offer over your competitors. You have to be able to concisely answer, “WHY YOU?” in ways that are important to them.

There you have it - a basic position statement. As long as your advertising speaks to the right people about the things that are important to them, and is clear about what they get and why they should hire only you, you will never communicate the wrong message again.

by: Dennis Kunkler

Stop wasting your precious advertising dollars by talking to the wrong audience

This happens more often than you realize. How many times have you read, listened to or saw an ad that initially looked interesting, and then shortly after you realized the product or service was not even remotely of any interest you?

For some reason the ad attracted YOU, but you were not the intended audience. What a waste of your time and their money. For some reason, they were able to attract you and draw you in – even for a short while – only to lose your attention. I wonder if they even attracted the right audience.

A worst scenario would be if it was your ad and no one paid any attention to it. Does your ad just blend into the din of advertising noise that we’ve all learned to tune out? I’m not talking about you recognizing your own ad in the clutter, anyone can do that. I mean, does your ad attract your intended prospect with something that is of interest to them and engage them to find out more information or remember you or your firm for a specific reason that is meaningful to them?

If not, I’ll wager to say you’re not talking to the right audience. And, perhaps even more accurately, your ad may have no audience at all. You may be just talking to yourself.

If that happens, you need positioning. It doesn’t sound like a sexy advertising term, but it’s the only one you need to understand before communicating anything about your firm. When you do your positioning homework – and it’s not that difficult an assignment – you will never talk to the wrong audience again - ever.

Seriously, once you do your positioning homework, you will know exactly who you are talking to. You will have defined exactly what they get from retaining you. And, you will have clearly stated why your firm is the only firm that delivers what you do in the way you do it.

In real estate they say, “location, location, location!” is the key to an excellent purchase. At Grow My Law Firm, we emphatically say, “position, position, position!”

by: Dennis Kunkler

Stop wasting your precious advertising dollars by running ineffective, irrelevant, “nobody cares” ads

Many business owners, lawyers included, enjoy dabbling in the “Advertising Business.”
Hey, it’s fun. How cool is it to have the funds to purchase ads and get a chance to be the art director? When it comes time to run an ad, some aficionados become closet David Ogilvy’s and relish taking a shot at creating their very own ads. After all, how hard can it be? We see ads everywhere around us every day. Anyone can do it, right?

Well, my answer is a resounding YES! Absolutely! Anyone can do it… and I know what I’m talking about - I’ve been doing it for over thirty years.

Several years ago, my sister-in-law got a new job at our local, daily newspaper selling advertising. Prior to that, she held various retail sales jobs. About a week after she started, I saw her at a family get-together and she exclaimed, “I’m doing the same thing you do.”

I asked, “What do you mean?” She said she was designing ads for her customers. She elaborated how they would cut and paste ads together from pieces and parts of other ads. This was faster than sending anything to the art department, which took too much time to complete. Her customers were very happy to see proofs of their ads within days – if not hours - of their agreements to advertise.

These were the ads “the newspaper” was creating for its customers. My sister-in-law, with absolutely no prior experience, was designing ads for customers paying to advertise. But then, there were no promises on results either.

In general, local television stations are not much different. Remember, media’s mission is to sell advertising and fill space. To the untrained eye it all looks fine.

Leave the advertising to the experts. A marketing firm or ad agency, like a law firm, earns its reputation by creating effective results. Yes, anyone can create an ad. Unfortunately, most people, including some of the so-called ‘professionals’ out there, don’t know how to create effective ads.

There’s a big difference between ads vs. effective ads. One costs money. One makes money. One boosts the ego of its creator and costs money and the other builds on a promise, creates a reputation, attracts interest and creates income.

A good ad is not only able to attract the attention of its intended prospect, but is also able to answer two other important questions very quickly and succinctly.

1. What do they get?
2. Why should they buy it from this advertiser?

A great ad is able to do all three things plus be memorable, while instilling trust and value, and evoking interest. An extraordinary ad does all that and makes you want to purchase – right now.

Hey, anyone can defend himself in court too. Its fun! We’ve seen it on TV many times. How hard can it be?

by: Dennis Kunkler

Martindale listing – the key to a law firm’s Google success?

I had an interesting and insightful meeting with a territory manager from Martindale Hubbell yesterday. A client of mine was considering dropping their Martindale listing and saving the $10,000+ they spend annually. But the Martindale guy said something that made me stop dead in my tracks.

He claims that Martindale provides the information that many sites use to display their legal search results. These sites include Google, Superpages, Citisearch, CNN.com legal, Wall Street Journal, Business.com, Switchboard.com, among others.

I am working to independently validate this claim, but if it’s true, it would certainly be irresponsible of me to encourage my clients to drop their Martindale listings. If potential clients can’t find my clients' law firms online, that could be extremely damaging.

by: Christine Pilch

Online legal directories – how to evaluate their value when you get an email solicitation

Once or twice a week I receive one of those bothersome email solicitations from yet another entrepreneur who decided that the legal industry was a quick and easy way to strike it rich by creating a web-based legal directory and charging my clients for a listing. You know the ones I mean?

Since I feel obligated to check out everything that comes across my desk, I always click the link and go to the site’s home page. The really bad sites are easy to spot right away…poorly designed, little or mediocre graphics, and almost no text explaining any visitor benefit, you know, that old “what’s in it for me?” necessity that keeps a potential client from instantly clicking away.

These directory sites consist basically of a link to “find an attorney” by state. Then most subsequently drive the choice by practice area. This results in a list of attorneys that have paid for the privilege of appearing in this particular web-based database. All directories offer basic contact information, and some offer expanded listings for an increased fee. Some will even prioritize your listing for an even higher fee.

It takes a bit more sleuthing though to determine the credibility and value of some legal directories. To dig deeper, try this… Open another browser window and perform a basic search relevant to your practice. I.E. - bankruptcy northern Connecticut. Then see how far into the results this site appears. If it’s not on the first page or at least the second, there is little hope that this site is receiving any traffic that could benefit you.

Another key factor is your own organic search listing relative to this directory’s. I’m referring to the sites that come up in the body of the search results, not the paid listings at the top or on the side. If your own site lists higher than this directory, why would you pay for a listing on their site?

Most of these solicitors fade away after a single attempt at enticing you to purchase a listing in their directory. But some are persistent, regularly emailing and even calling you. You can either ignore and delete or reply with a simple message requesting the past 6 months of traffic statistics for the page that your listing will appear on, and also a copy of their marketing plan to drive traffic to this site. I have sent this message countless times, and to date, never received a response.

Sometimes it is tempting to write a check and believe that business will just find you, but most online legal directories are transient and will only drain your wallet.

by: Christine Pilch

Your Martindale listing - still relevant or a very expensive waste of money?

Boy, this is a tough one that I constantly struggle with in my capacity as a legal marketing consultant. Martindale is very pricey, and they’ve made it impossible to strip listings down as far as I would like. I don’t believe that educational information in listings is critical. Even admissions information can be easily found on most law firm websites, so is it really necessary here? Or are these requirements more likely a method of driving up the price of your listing? I’ve trimmed listings as far as I can by including only a lawyer’s primary state of admission.

Many law firms have pretty comprehensive information about their attorneys on their websites, and Google makes it easy to find a particular lawyer or firm, so exactly what is the value of Martindale these days?

The peer rating remains arguably the most important aspect of Martindale. Lawyers like to compare themselves against other lawyers, and the peer rating gives you a snapshot of what you’re up against if the attorney is opposing counsel or if you’re looking for someone to refer business to. You can’t necessarily get that information through a firm’s website, which portrays most attorneys in a very positive light.

I am finding that the firms likely to pay for a Martindale listing these days have more than a few attorneys. I’m not encountering many solo practitioners or small firms that see the value in Martindale anymore. The web has leveled the playing field, and as long as small firms have good websites, their lawyers can be found and they can convey the benefit that they offer to their clients. It’s no longer the days of old when most every attorney in the country constantly referenced their Martindale-Hubbell books.

If I were to speculate, I would premise that Martindale will continue to dwindle over the next 10-15 years or so, as older attorneys, who made a habit of being so dependent on Martindale throughout their years, retire. In my experience, the young, web-savvy crop of attorneys rarely use that tool, so it is unlikely that they will gravitate toward something that they don’t perceive has sufficient value to contribute toward building a successful practice.

I have to hand it to Martindale though. They have embraced technology and branched out into complimentary business models rather than sticking their heads in the sand and ignoring the inevitable. It’s likely that they’ll come up with new products that build new value to entice lawyers to continue to spend money with them. And if they make it affordable, thereby enticing the elusive young attorneys, they’ll continue to be profitable for many years.

In the meantime, it’s your call whether or not you list yourself in Martindale. It’s all about value. Can that listing generate enough new business to justify the expense? If you’re a corporate attorney looking for referral business from out-of-market attorneys, maybe. If your practice is retail, what do you think?

by: Christine Pilch

Beware overzealous advertising sales representatives

Unless money is no object, it’s always advisable to be careful about where your spend your advertising dollars. Unfortunately, it’s easy to be misled by media sales reps who live on commissions and are more concerned about their own best interests than yours.

No matter what market I’m in, I constantly see misplaced and misfired legal advertising. Recently, I saw a TV ad that featured two female attorneys, so I Googled and discovered that they were the whole firm. It’s debatable whether the two of them can bring in enough business to justify the expense of talking to a quarter million people, most of whom have closer proximity to competing firms.

Had these women done their positioning, they would have known specifically where most of their business comes from and what is unique about their firm that makes them a more attractive choice than their competition. They would know the message that they have to give the audience to make business come back to them. They wouldn’t have been swayed by the TV sales representative when he or she walked through the door because they would have known that their small practice needs a very targeted message to a specific group of people rather than a broad, throw-it-at-the-wall and hope-that-something-sticks approach.

But what really sank my heart was the message. The :15 ad listed their areas of practice and the name of their firm, accompanied by their photo. There was absolutely no, “What’s in it for me?” message in the ad. They didn’t hit the three essential touch points that grab interest:

1. This is for me
2. I get/want/need what they’re offering
3. I’m going to call them because…

Since they hadn’t done their positioning, they didn’t know what elements to add to their message to have the greatest possibility of success, and the sales rep and whoever wrote the script didn’t ask the right questions.

Sadly, those two women wasted their money all because an overzealous sales person walked through the door with a good pitch, and these women didn’t know better.

It’s not just TV. I regularly hear misfired radio ads and see off-target print ads too. And many legal websites also contain copy that’s all ‘me, me, me’ instead of directed at you, addressing what you get and letting you know how you can benefit by choosing that firm.

The lesson is to be cautious when purchasing media and writing copy. Salespeople have to eat, so theirs is almost always the best product you can possibly buy, whether or not it actually falls in-line with your positioning. The best way to be sure that you’re making prudent and fiscally responsible choices is to know who your clients are, what they get from you and why yours is the best choice for that kind of legal work – your position.

by: Christine Pilch

Marketing by committee - advantage or hindrance?

Many small law firms use marketing committees to make their marketing decisions. After all, it’s not practical to have all partners involved in these decisions when there are so many other responsibilities that must also be shared.

While it is wise to have your marketing committee involved in decisions about how your firm spends its marketing budget, it gets tricky when the time comes to make specific ad design and copy decisions. At this time, your well-intended committee can easily become an impediment that can turn a two hour long project into a several week marathon of frustrating revisions and missed deadlines.

Everybody has their own opinion, and sometimes compromises are hard-earned, so it’s usually advisable to empower one or two members of your marketing committee to make all ad copy decisions in cooperation with your in-house marketing person or agency.

by: Christine Pilch

Winning ad copy – how to create an ad that works

I look at advertising through a different set of filters than most people do. I can instantly tell you what will be a successful ad and what was a waste of money. Typical money wasters are ads that simply list services and mention quality, service and years in business.

Consider the following ad copy seen in a recent senior publication:

Estate Planning

• Wills
• Trusts
• Healthcare Proxies
• Durable Powers of Attorney
• Homestead Declarations

Compare that to the following ad copy:

Enjoy Peace of Mind

• Protect your assets from a nursing home stay
• Provide for your special needs child after you’re gone
• Protect your home from judgments against you
• Decide how your assets will be distributed to friends and family
• Make your own end of life decisions

Life is stressful enough. Proper estate planning can give you one less thing to worry about.

Which would grab your interest and entice you to pick up the phone? The top ad simply lists what you do, but the bottom ad strikes an emotional cord by expressing what your clients get. Remember that it’s all about what’s in it for me? If your advertising doesn’t instantly convey what benefit people receive by hiring you, you’ve wasted your money.

by: Christine Pilch