Business Development and Marketing for Lawyers

Linda Pophal, Justin Grensing

Description

Attorneys learn a lot in law school, but one important thing they don't learn much about is marketing. In today's opportunity-laden marketing environment attorneys have many outlets to choose from–which can be both a benefit and a challenge. This book provides an overview of marketing and its implications for attorneys in solo, small, mid-size or even large firm environments.

You will learn about the elements of the promotion mix, advantages and disadvantages of each; how to generate publicity and media coverage; the importance of your web site and how to maximize it for effectiveness; how to use social media effectively; developing marketing plans and best practices in business development and networking.

Importantly, this book offers a strategic approach to marketing focusing not on "one-off" tactics, but on developing strategies to drive desired outcomes.

The practical approach taken will provide you with many key takeaways and action items that you can immediately implement to grow your practice.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Développement personnel
• développement personnel
• Success
• Self-help
• Personal Growth

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 18 août 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456617165
• Langue: English

Extrait

Business Development and Marketing
for Lawyers
 
by
Justin Grensing, Esq.
 
and by
Linda Pophal

Copyright 2013 Justin Grensing, Esq.,
All rights reserved.
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1716-5
 
 
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
 
 
The materials available in this ebook are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem you may have. Use of and access to this ebook does not create an attorney-client relationship between the authors and any reader.
PART I: The Basics
Introduction
Marketing. To many the word is synonymous with advertising. In reality, though, marketing encompasses much more than advertising. The marketing process begins long before a copywriter ever creates a headline, long before a designer ever designs an ad, long before a creative director ever sketches a rough storyboard—and long before a lawyer ever builds a LinkedIn profile.
Marketing draws from a number of different fields of study. An educational background or experience in any of these areas can prove useful. In addition to the marketing profession itself, successful marketers will benefit from a familiarity with economics, psychology, sociology, and journalism.
The skills of great marketers are many but are primarily rooted in an understanding of consumer or human behavior and all of its complexities. Marketing is a challenging field of endeavor because, while there are certain principles and tenets of practice that are widely accepted, there are also many exceptions to the rules. Those who will be most effective in marketing-related positions are those who:
• Welcome ambiguity. Things change. Often. Rules changes. Methods change. Needs change. Successful marketers, rather than becoming frustrated with a changing environment that can quickly make the successes of today irrelevant or outdated, embrace the challenges that such uncertainty involves.
• Are consciously and constantly aware of the environment in which they operate, taking more of an external than an internal view. You, of course, know what you have to sell—intimately. But that’s not enough. This knowledge is worthless without an equal or greater understanding of the competitive, social, economic, and cultural environments that are changing around you every day. Successful marketers are well-read and well-informed. They watch the news. They read magazines and journals from a variety of fields and areas of interest. They interact with others—inside their organization and out, inside the industry in which they work and out, inside their age and demographic boundaries and out.
• Are analytical. Successful marketers are comfortable—even enamored—with data. They peruse sales data, market share data, and census data and draw conclusions from these various pieces of information that are pertinent to the organization’s marketing efforts. They don’t accept the “easy answers” or take statements at face value. They constantly question and challenge and search for truth.
• Ask why. Why are we introducing this new service? Why does our billing cycle work this way? Why do we think clients will value these attributes of our firm’s services? Why do our prospective clients value what our competitors have to offer more than what we have to offer? And on and on. Marketers are curious.
 
Are marketers creative? Certainly. But creativity isn’t coming up with clever sales slogans or developing eye-catching graphic design. Creativity involves drawing conclusions from a broad array of information sources and implementing strategies and tactics based on those conclusions that generate results. Marketing is about far more than simply being creative.
We are all marketers. Even attorneys. And, in fact, considering the list of attributes provided above, marketers sound just a bit like attorneys don’t they?
Attorneys in their own private practice obviously need a solid understanding of the marketing principles, practices, and tactics that can help them grow. But even attorneys in larger firms with on-site or contracted marketing staff can benefit from a solid understanding of marketing. Why? Because marketing is pervasive. It permeates virtually every aspect of a firm’s operations as we’ll see when we look at a formal definition of marketing.
Marketing is often too narrowly defined. Marketing isn’t advertising. It isn’t sales. It isn’t producing television commercials. Marketing is the underpinning of every decision and of every communication activity in any organization, whether that communication is received by staff, by shareholders, or by clients. Whether that communication is in print, online, or in person. Whether that communication is designed to elicit a direct response (from a client) or to help support the brand.
Effective marketing generates positive financial results for organizations. Effective marketing is marketing that meets consumer needs. This is such a simple statement. Ironically, it is perhaps the very simplicity of the concept of marketing that leads to so many misinterpretations and missteps on the part of even the most experienced “marketers.”
This e-book is designed to provide a workable overview of marketing for attorneys and to demonstrate the role that attorneys play within the realm of marketing, offering actionable information that will allow you to strengthen your role whether you are independent, in a small or medium-sized firm, or working as part of a larger firm. It will, hopefully, provide you with the understanding and tools you need to boost your marketing efforts.
What Is Marketing?
The American Marketing Association’s definition of marketing is “Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.”
Marketing is an organizational function…
Marketing occurs within organizations. Those organizations may be large (Baker & McKenzie, for example), very small (a private law firm), or anywhere in between. Marketing is a function, just as accounting is a function or purchasing is a function.
What is a function? One of Webster’s definitions is “Any of a group of related actions contributing to a larger action,” such as “The normal and specific contribution of a bodily part to the economy of a living organism.” Think of an organization as that living organism. Organizations are dependent on marketing for their existence, value, and significance. Without marketing, therefore, there is no organization.
Another key point here is that marketing is an organizational function, not a departmental function. Marketing doesn’t exist only within the confines of the marketing department—if the company even has a formal marketing department. Marketing is a function that spans the artificial departmental boundaries within organizations. Elements of marketing take place in finance (pricing), R&D (product development), corporate communications (public relations), facilities management (building expansion or acquisition—the “place” function of the marketing mix), customer service (market research), etc. In short, marketing is not an isolated departmental function but an organizational function and, as such, it can become extremely complex.
and a set of processes…
Marketing is not a tactic. It’s not a single process. It’s a set of processes —a series of events that are designed to reach clear, objective goals. A process, says Webster, is “a series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result.” Marketing involves a series of these processes—an interrelated set of activities and events that are, hopefully, aligned and coordinated to produce maximum results.
Marketing does not occur in a linear format, although its individual components can be broken down and explained in a linear fashion: a client need is identified, a product or service is developed, a market is targeted and informed about the product or service, a sale is made. That seems fairly straightforward. But within this list of events, other activities are also occurring. Client needs may be shifting and changing even as a product or service is being developed. The market may also be shifting and changing due to demographic or psychographic influences. Other products or services may be introduced, creating competition. Sales may lead to customer dissatisfaction and returns. New, potential clients may be entering the market. The product or service may become obsolete. And on and on. Each of these events has an impact on all of the other events. The practice of marketing does not exist within a static environment. Marketing is a set of processes that are interdependent and constantly evolving.
for creating (value)…
Marketing creates value. The function of marketing within a law firm should be an integral part of the process for developing, improving, and delivering legal services. Marketing is the input that ensures these services are designed to meet specific client needs. That’s the value connection. A high-quality service (as defined by the firm) that does not meet a client need (as defined by the client) does not deliver value.
Value is relative and perceived as a balance between the delivery of some tangible or intangible benefit (defined by the client) and the cost (price) to attain that benefit. A price that is perceived as too high for the value the client places on the service will not maximize sales. The same is true of a price that is perceived as too low