Websites: Don't Overlook This Marketing Tool
The website is an important element of any marketing program and a singularly important communication vehicle.
For your site to be effective, however, it must be reviewed and updated frequently, which includes adding fresh content and making sure that it represents the types of services and solutions that you can provide. It should not be just a static electronic brochure. Make sure that it represents you well in how you want to be seen by clients and prospective clients.
Consider carefully the design, its presentation, color palette, use of internal links, and, of course, its content to be sure that it reflects your practice at its best. Avoid fancy graphics and complex navigation.
If you do not have a website, you should put one up immediately. Clearly, in today's world, you need to have a website. The design cost may be as little as a few hundred dollars or as much as $10,000, depending on the nature of your practice and the level of sophistication of your prospective clients; the greater their sophistication, the greater must be the sophistication of your site. And, depending on your prospective clientele, you may add the more sophisticated, and more expensive, intranet capabilities as well so that clients can securely access certain information about their matters on the site.
Note also that if your practice is not large enough to have an in-house person who can do the job, there are monthly or yearly site-maintenance services, which should include periodic, but simple, changes to the site.
A word of caution about the content on a law firm's website: Remember your professional responsibilities. The rules governing professional conduct and advertising vary greatly from state to state. Websites that openly provide advice and/or solicit clients may be subject to disciplinary regulation, and many states are extending jurisdiction to lawyers who have no presence in their state other than on the Internet.
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