You Must be Present to Win: Search Engine Optimization for Law Firm Marketing

The Legal Marketing Association's South Florida City Group recently held a meeting on Internet marketing and search engine optimization (also known as SEO).

As the group's 2008 Co-Chair, I had the honor of introducing speaker Jay Berkowitz, CEO of Ten Golden Rules (www.tengoldenrules.com).

Here are a few Internet marketing "best practices" for law firms that Jay shared with the group:

1. Using the analogy of "an apple a day," Jay suggests adding one page to your web site every day. Of course, this is not always possible given the demands of a busy law firm. However, the point is that adding fresh copy to your law firm's web site on a regular basis is an excellent way to gain great search engine visibility for your legal practice.

2. Try to get clients, associations and other partners to link to your law firm's web site. Inbound links will increase your search engine placement on Google and other search engines.

3. "Search Engine Optimized PR" is also important for search engine visibility. When issuing a press release, post it to your web site about 24 hours in advance of releasing it to a wire service so that search engines can read and create a link to the release. Be sure to include important keywords in the headline and body copy of your press release.

As I always say, "you must be present to win" on the Internet. These are great tips to help create high rankings in the search engines (Google, Yahoo! and others) for your law firm.

Find Smart Clients in an Economic Downturn

Peggy Nordeen, President of the Fort Lauderdale-based integrated marketing firm Starmark International, spoke to the monthly luncheon meeting of the Florida Direct Marketing Association last week.

Her topic was on marketing in the travel and tourism sector, and she provided excellent advice that works equally well for law firm marketing. "Find smart clients" when times are tough, is what she advises. If your law firm seeks to expand its client base during these challenging economic times, find those clients who understand that moving forward during a recession will generate a competitive advantage.

Many companies tend to cut back on discretionary spending during a recession. This is a natural tendency, and can apply to budgets across industries in the areas of training, legal, or marketing. The smart firms are those who know that by making an investment when everyone else is pulling back, they will be able to emerge in a stronger position when the good times return.

"Never stop marketing," advises Nordeen. (We strongly agree with this, as stated in our legal marketing book "Courting Your Clients.") "Don't cut your budgets; use your marketing dollars more effectively and make your budget work harder."

To managing partners and law firm marketers, the Rainmaking Club suggests that now is a good time to craft a strong "value proposition" for your best prospects. Give some serious thought to the prospect's competitive environment and their economic considerations (best done after you have gained some personal insight on their circumstances). Then ask the prospect if you can have a few minutes of their time to demonstrate how your law firm might be able to assist them in increasing market share, or reducing expenses, or minimizing risk, etc.

Personal, thoughtful attention can go a long way toward favorably impressing a prospect with your attorneys and law firm. Relationships that are forged during economic slowdowns may blossom when the economic outlook brightens, thereby protecting you from account poaching.

Law Firms Go Green: Environmental Marketing

Nixon Peabody is one law firm to go "Legally Green" (see www.nixonpeabody.com). They have incorporated expertise from several practice areas into an Environmental "Thought Leadership" service group for clients. Equally important, the law firm has also adopted sustainable building practices where possible and is committed to following environmentally friendly law firm operations.

Wendel Rosen is another law firm that promotes its "green" status. In order to get certified by the Bay Area Green Business Program, the firm presented an educational series on sustainable practices to all firm employees. They developed a Sustainability Team comprised of attorneys and staff. The team analyzed all of the firm's environmental impacts and made recommendations for areas of improvement. Some were undertaken immediately, and others are being phased in over time. See: http://www.wendel.com/greencertification.cfm

As part of its environmental sustainability efforts, the Minneapolis law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. is switching to wind-generated electricity to provide 100% power for its law firm’s headquarters. See: http://www.rkmc.com/Minneapolis-Office-of-Robins-Kaplan-Miller-Ciresi-Goes-Green.htm

These law firms are discovering that doing good is good for their legal business. This is a great way for the early adopters to gain favorable press coverage while providing a community service and demonstrating their commitment to being good corporate citizens.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for Law Firm Marketing

Last week I had the privilege of addressing the Associaton of Legal Administrators (ALA) West Palm Beach Chapter on the topic, "Courting Your Clients: The Administrator's Perspective." One of the questions that came up was about Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software services that are suitable for law firm use. Here is list of some of the leading CRM providers.

Act! by Sage, Premium 2008
http://www.act.com/

Contact Ease
http://www.colevalley.com/

Goldmine
http://www.goldmine.com/

InterAction® Lexis-Nexis
www.interaction.com

Microsoft Dynamics
www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm/product

SalesForce
www.salesforce.com

Tracking your leads is a critical element in successful law firm marketing. You will want to record how you found your prospect, the date they became a prospect for your legal services, and future dates for follow up action.

Turning a prospect into a client for your law firm is essential to your practice expansion. Don't leave this important process to chance!

NEW: In response to a question posed by a reader, the choice of a software package depends on the number of users, offices, and your budget. Goldmine and Act! are widely used within small to medium businesses. They can be purchased at Office Depot or Staples starting at a price of about $200.

Other applications are typically priced by the "seat" or number of users, and typically involve installation of software and possibly hardware. Interaction is used by very large law firms. SalesForce.com is different in that it is Internet-based, so there is no software or hardware required. You should speak with each vendor directly to determine which service is right for you. Contact us if you need help in the evaluation process.

Best Practices in Law Firm Positioning: Stand Apart from the Competition

As we research business development opportunities for attorney and expert clients, our work takes us to dozens of law firm web sites on a regular basis. We will start to share with you some of the best practices in law firm marketing that we discover.

Today we are impressed by the registered tag line of Andrews Kurth: "Straight Talk is Good Business.®" Visit their site at www.andrewskurth.com/ to see how they carry out this theme visually and also weave it into their law firm marketing operations. For example, attorney presentations are listed on the web site as "Straight Talk Appearances."

The firm speaks directly to current and prospective law firm clients when they promise not to "hide behind the legalese." The implication is that they are a business partner with a roll-up the sleeves approach to evaluating options, measuring risk, and making informed decisions.

Navigation on the site is also excellent. I particularly like the search feature on the left side of the page.

Too many law firms today focus on what they do, rather than approach marketing from the client's perspective. Andrews Kurth offers a good example of straight marketing.

Associate Programs Feel the Pinch of Law Firm Budget Cuts

"Law Firms Curtail Associate Programs as Economy Slows," is the topic of a 4/14/08 article on page B1 of The Wall Street Journal.

As the economy slows, some firms are trimming expenses in the associate area. Examples include the law firm of Thelen Reid, which recently dismissed 26 associates from its staff of 550 lawyers. The firm also shortened its summer associate program from 8 to 11 weeks. Pillsbury Winthrop, an 800 attorney law firm based in New York, is also giving summer associates two weeks less time (from 12 to 10 weeks). Chicago-based Sonnenschein Nath actually rescinded offer letters to two summer associates and two first-year associates in the Charlotte, NC office.

A bottom line focus is absolutely essential, and cutting expenses is one way to manage personnel costs. A top line emphasis is also essential. More law firms should consider providing their associates with business development training as a means of opening additional avenues for new revenue.

Young lawyers a few years out of law school tend to have a strong electronic network of friends and acquaintances, even if they do spend a lot of hours behind a desk. This Facebook generation can tap into college chums and law school buddies who may be working at global Fortune 500 companies or fast-growing upstarts that need legal service.

Frequently associates simply don't know the basic steps of identifying an ideal client, determining legal needs, talking about possible solutions, or closing a sale. Investing in a few hours of business development training for associates is likely to generate a strong return on investment in the near term.

Now is a good time to get "all hands on deck" in looking for revenue opportunities.

Law Firm Marketing Mistake: Failure to Invite the Connection

Almost every law firm web site we visit has a menu option entitled something like "Practice Areas." Once you click on the link you are presented with anywhere from 5 to 20 different legal practice areas; some even have sub-practice areas.

"So what's wrong with this?," you ask. The answer is that invariably there is NO PERSON TO CONTACT once you get to the practice page of interest. This is not a good law firm business development technique.

If I am a prospective legal client and I want to get information on the Energy Practice in your law firm, who do I call? Most law firm web sites leave me guessing. I can try to call the reception in the main office, at which point I am likely to hear lots of mumbling and/or get transferred around (I speak from experience).

I could also try to find the right contact by searching the "Attorneys" menu option on the law firm's web site, but too often I'm presented with a list of dozens of lawyers with little indication of which one can help me.

Here's the solution: always list the Practice Chair or key contact person (ideally an attorney) for each practice area on the practice page. Provide their direct dial number, email address, and a link to their bio page. This is a very simple step.

Best Practice: Vedder Price does a nice job of introducing different members of the firm. See: http://www.vedderprice.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/about.home/about.cfm

Help your prospects make contact with your attorneys! You might even get some new business or alliance partners this way.

Law Firm Marketing Tips for Search Engine Optimization

Last week the Legal Marketing Association's South Florida City Group held a meeting on Internet marketing.

As the group's 2008 Co-Chair, I had the honor of moderating the session featuring speaker Jay Berkowitz, CEO of Ten Golden Rules (http://www.tengoldenrules.com/).

Here are a few Internet marketing "best practices" for law firms that Jay shared with the group:

1. Using the analogy of "an apple a day," Jay suggests adding one page to your web site every day. Of course, this is not always possible given the demands of a busy law firm. However, the point is that adding fresh copy to your law firm's web site on a regular basis is an excellent way to gain great search engine visibility for your legal practice.

2. Try to get clients, associations and other partners to link to your law firm's web site. Inbound links will increase your search engine placement on Google and other search engines.

3. "Search Engine Optimized PR" is also important for search engine visibility. When issuing a press release, post it to your web site about 24 hours in advance of releasing it to a wire service so that search engines can read and create a link to the release. Be sure to include important keywords in the headline and body copy of your press release.

As I always say, "you must be present to win on the Internet." These are great tips to help create high rankings in the search engines (Google, Yahoo! and others) for your law firm.

Law Firm Restructuring: Anderson Kill sets an Example

I just came across an interesting announcement from earlier this year that merits a mention in terms of law firm marketing and strategic planning.

The New York-based law firm of Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. was faced with the amicable departure of 69 shareholders to Reed Smith after terminating merger discussions. Taking a proactive stance, Anderson Kill issued a press release announcing that it was refocusing its practice on the firm's core competencies in about six key legal practice areas. Read the release here: http://www.andersonkill.com/news_article.asp?newsid=1113

There are times when downsizing or refocusing is the right step in a firm's business development cycle. Such a dramatic action allows you to restate your mission and re-energize the team. In today's turbulent market conditions, perhaps your own firm will benefit from a refocusing or streamlining action.

The tighter your focus, the more effectively you can allocate resources. You will also be able to develop and communicate your USP (unique selling proposition) to the marketplace more forcefully.

Burger King's Success: Insights for Law Firm Marketing

Burger King's management team has orchestrated a successful turnaround in the past couple of years. Today's Wall Street Journal article ("Man Behind Burger King Turnaround; Chidsey Says Identifying His Restaurants' 'Superfan' Helped Beef Up its Offerings," by Janet Adamy) contains some marketing nuggets for legal marketers. Here is an excerpt.

WSJ: What were the keys to your company's turnaround?

Mr. Chidsey: Most importantly, I'd say it was finding who our target customer was, figuring out who was the superfan and not wasting our time trying to be all things to all people.

This is similar to the General Electric (GE) strategic goal to be first or second in each market segment, even if it means creating a unique market niche. The same type of approach works in any business, including law firms. Focus on your "ideal" clients with the right mix of distinctive service offerings. Try to avoid spreading yourself too thin by being a jack of all legal trades and master of none.

This principle can be applied also in regard to multiple practice areas within your firm. Consider eliminating the weak performers in order to focus your resources on what you do best.

(In the spirit of full disclosure -- since this is a legal column -- I must admit to being a fan of the Whopper Jr. priced at about $1. With all too easy access to a Burger King right across the parking lot from my office building, I will continue to watch and weight the firm's success.)

In Memoriam: Catherine Callaghan Grisdela

Today, for me, is one those days when life comes front and center to remind us of what is truly important.

My mother died peacefully in her sleep last night at age 81 after suffering from poor health associated with Parkinson's disease. She joins my father, Elmer, in eternal rest.

There are so many characteristics that I admired in my mother, but the one thing that stands out the most was her daily commitment to doing the right thing for her family, friends, community and church. She and my father raised eight children (born within 10 years) to be close, productive and caring adults. She always had a kind word for people. Despite the daily stresses of life, she was never ill-tempered.

She assumed leadership volunteer roles in the United Way, Michigan Parkinson Foundation, and worked as a religious education director at St. Alphonsus Parish in Dearborn, MI.

Before marrying, she earned two Masters degrees. A strong sense of education was instilled in her children, who all went to college and four to graduate school. She was a fan of the Detroit Tigers and classical music. Her circle of friends from Marygrove College (1948) remain close to this day.

This weekend we celebrate her life. Warm memories of her will live in our hearts forever.

The Bear Essentials: Balancing the Eggs in Your Basket

The Wall Street Journal today includes a story entitled "Law Firms Likely to Miss High-Fee Work for Bear." Several large law firms may find themselves at risk of losing business on the Bear Stearns account as the firm becomes part of JP Morgan Chase, according to the report. Cadwalader Wickersham, Skadden Arps, Latham & Watkins, and Weil Gotschal are among the firms mentioned as historically providing legal services for Bear Stearns.

One week ago today Bear Stearns stock was trading at $65 per share, to be followed by a proposed fire sale of $2.00 per share less than 4 days later. One Bear Stearns trader who read about the deal in the paper said he was sure the offer price was a typo.

What if the unimaginable happens to a client of your law firm? Do you have 1 or 2 large accounts that represent a significant share of your business? The old adage "don't put all your eggs in one basket" holds true for law firms as well. If you determine that the misfortune of a small number of accounts can cause great potential harm to your practice, now is a good time to work toward rebalancing your portfolio of clients and/or practice areas .

A Team Focus on Billable Hours

I heard a great idea recently from a wise law firm administrator at an insurance defense firm. There was some grumbling among the support staff about simple things like why an attorney could not make their own copies (sound familiar?).

The Office Manager offered some very simple staff training, taking the time to point out that the firm's clients monitor invoices very carefully. Copying charges were acceptable to clients, but only when done by support staff and not the attorneys.

Staff members were encouraged to look for ways to help the attorneys spend more of their time on client work. The Office Manager emphasized that when the attorney spends the maximum amount of their time on billable client hours, everyone wins because the firm becomes more profitable.

Strategic Networking: 5 Steps to Snag Hard-to-Reach Prospects

Strategic networking is the process of focusing your time and attention on reaching the big fish.

You can go out every night of the week and meet dozens of people at Chamber meetings, professional association dinners, or fund raising events. If you are a member of the plaintiff's bar, this is probably not a bad approach (although it is time consuming). However, you have little control over who you meet.

But what if your time is limited and you need to see a better return on your networking activities?

Let's say as an example that you are a partner in a defense law firm offering some type of healthcare legal service to hospitals, clinics, HMOs, or other health care related firms. In order to maximize your referral networking time, you want to connect with the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Risk Officer, in-house General Counsel, or Chief Executive Officer. Unfortunately, these people can be hard to reach.

Here is a way to reach the person with purchasing authority through your networking efforts.

1. First, identify the top 5 to 10 local firms in the health care industry that you want to reach. (D&B's Zapdata - www.zapdata.com - is a great way to compile your list)

2. Write down the names of the 3-5 executives within each firm who would be good contacts for you.

3. Do some research to find out where these prospects and/or their employers get involved in the community, like the local Chamber or Economic Development Organization.

4. Start to attend meetings of the organizations where your prospects are involved.

5. Once you meet someone within a target firm, ask for referrals and introductions that will eventually get you in front of your intended prospect.

This is likely to take some time, and you may need to volunteer for a committee or project, but it will be time well spent. The bottom line, if done properly, is your success in opening a new account with one of your top prospects.

Remember the secret to business development: never stop marketing!

Helping Law Firm Associates Build a Referral Network

Law firms that rely only on their referral network may not be tapping into other productive marketing channels, as reported in my previous post.

Visits with several law firms this week remind me that there is another underutilized resource in regard to the power referral network. What I'm referring to is the fact that many law firm associates, still early in their legal career, are not trained on how to build their own referral network. Happy to rely on work brought in by other partners, these associates may not be developing the skills they need to bring their own business in the door.

Whether you develop an in-house mentoring program, or bring in outside trainers, teaching your associates how to build their own referral networks can be one of the best investments that a law firm can make.

Showing your associates how to think strategically about the business they want to develop, then showing them how to go out and network their way into these accounts, can start paying off in weeks or months.

Our next post will focus on how to map out your networking activities to get an introduction to the decision maker at a hot prospect. Stay tuned!

Beyond the Referral Network

"How do you get most of your legal business?" is a question I frequently ask attorneys and other law firm professionals. In the past three weeks I've asked this question to dozens of as part of our participation at Association of Legal Administrators (www.alanet.org) events in Orlando, Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida.

"Referral from other attorneys," is the most common response to the question. It's true that many attorneys and law firms make a very nice living by waiting for leads to come in from other attorneys. As the law becomes more specialized, this practice will undoubtedly become more pronounced.

It can take quite a bit of time to build a referral network to the point of robustness. When properly maintained, an attorney should have an extensive list of prioritized (A/B/C) referral sources. "A" referrals are current producers you should be communicating with monthly. "B" referrals are less mature sources that you are grooming and/or periodic producers that warrant coffee or lunch every 90 days or so. "C" referral sources should be on your newsletter mailing list.

But wait! There's another question to be asked. If a law firm is doing well with referrals, that means you may be leaving money on the table. This is particularly true if you don't pursue any or many other business development campaigns.

The question is, "What else can I do to get more business?" Business development takes time, and you need to plant a lot of seeds. Try adding at least one more marketing program, whether it is a newsletter, educational seminar, or publishing an article. Keep trying to stretch for more. Only then will you be able to create a truly integrated legal marketing program that can get you through the good and bad times.

As we always say, legal marketing is a process and not an event. Never stop marketing!