Is Marketing Worth It?
Return on Investment (ROI)
Despite their tinsel and glitter image, even marketing folks are concerned about the return on the investment in their daily activities. While some folks, including lawyers, ignore the money, marketing professionals are trying to convince their management that they are important to the success of their organization and for new business coming in. An article in Advertising Age about two Los Angeles marketing consultants who I know and admire described the situation this way: "Return on advertising investment has always been a priority for marketers, but in the recession it flew to the top of the list. ... [C]hief marketing officers fought to justify spending within their organizations – often via spirited discussions with procurement departments about where the dollars are going... "
Attracting New Clients
For marketing to be effective, irrespective of the size of the law firm or the firm's marketing activities as a whole, each lawyer must establish the expertise necessary to entice a prospect to become a client. This is done using many tools, some with more credibility than others: writing a newspaper or trade magazine article, speaking to a community organization, running an advertisement, launching a web site, mailing out a brochure. Often this is done less according to a plan than to a hope that something sticks.
Expense and Effort Are Involved
Marketing for small law firm attorneys is no different than for large law firm attorneys. Large law firm practitioners must market individually just as small law firm practitioners do. A large law firm has a staff of people devoted to helping individual lawyers in the firm and individual practice groups; this is absent from most small law firms. Expertise is available inside large firms that small firms must hire from the outside. Either way, expense and effort are involved.
ROI Should be Visible and Immediate
Do you look at this issue? Can you determine whether the marketing money you spend is producing a profit, is enabling you to expand in your practice area, is improving your skill as a lawyer, or otherwise contributing to the improvement of your law practice? You should. The marketing function is not something to be pushed off on outsiders. It should be pushed down to every member of the firm, the professionals responsible for interacting with the clients/prospects, with some organizational assistance. Marketing is the creation of one-on-one personal relationships in order to increase business. The ROI is visible and immediate. If you don't see it, something's wrong.
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