Top 5 Reasons Why Attorneys Fail At Marketing Their Law Practice
Most attorneys don’t like the fact that marketing is a part of their job. In fact, only recently, have attorneys become comfortable with the phrase “law marketing.”
Today, if an attorney wants to compete in the market, they must engage in some sort of marketing.
Here are five common reasons why attorneys fail at marketing their law practice.
1. Not properly defining their firm identity
Most attorneys either fall victim to the “image” lie or they don’t properly define who they are as an attorney. Attorneys who fall victim to the “image” lie are usually concerned about how everything “looks” and not how the client feels. They forget who they are dealing with, and consequently, lose track of their mission.
Attorneys who don’t properly define themselves have a hard time conveying a consistent message to clients and in return send out mixed messages.
Both are serious marketing mistakes.
An attorney must clearly define him or herself to convey their true identity. Clients can feel the difference between “image” and “identity.” Identity wins, every time, over image.
2. Not properly defining their market
Attorneys who do not properly define their market have a hard time reaching and getting through to the right person for their services.
Not defining a market will kill any marketing effort, regardless of any factors. Does a hunter shoot into the forest to get his game? No. He has a clearly defined target, say a 12 point buck. He knows what he’s going after.
The same is true for an attorney. The market must be clearly defined and the attorney must know exactly who is the most likely person to utilize their services.
3. Not creating a system that consistently delivers clients to them An attorney must have a system that consistently delivers them new, quality clients.
A good yellow page ad, a consistent referral source, or a website that delivers new clients is the difference between feast and famine.
Putting together a client delivery system sounds much more complicated than it really is. Boiled down, it involves defining a market, delivering a message, and tracking the response.
4. Not properly testing their marketing
Attorneys who don’t properly test their marketing run the risk of losing large amounts of money. Too often I hear horror stories from my customers who’ve thrown thousands of dollars at a program that never even earned their money back. Also, an attorney runs the risk of confusing the marketplace by “trying” different large scale approaches. A confused buyer becomes someone else’s client.
Testing a marketing program should be on a small scale until the system is tweaked and perfected. Only then, when the evidence is clear, should a program be rolled out on a large scale.
5. Not pricing their fees high enough
This is my favorite. The fact is, most attorneys fees are set way too low. One of the very first things I do with an attorney who asks me to consult for him or her is raise that attorney’s rates.
This is scary to them. But, no one has ever told me I was wrong or moved their fees back to the lower rate. In fact, every attorney I’ve consulted for has told me how grateful they are for my insisting on the higher fees.
Here’s what raising fees does. 80% of an attorney’s time is spent with 20% of his or her client base. That 20% is the group of clients that call too much, are unreasonable, and take the fun out of practicing law. Raising the rates will get rid of most of those people, however the income will not decrease due to the higher rates.
Further, raising rates puts the attorney in a higher position of respect and authority. If a client has a serious problem, they want the best. People are conditioned to pay top dollar for top quality. They know that the best is expensive. The rates have to be high for the client to perceive the high value of the service. People do not value things that are lower in cost or free.
Each of these marketing mistakes can be easily corrected. With a little time, patients and creativity, any attorney can define their firm identity and market, create and test a system that consistently delivers clients, and command serious fees.
