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Legal Marketing & PR

Legal Marketing Blog

By Tom Kane

Post Frequency: 3.6/day

Last Entry: March 29, 2011 at 13:55:00

Referral System: Check Back With Those You Referred

Posted on June 18, 2009
Every lawyer should have a good referral system in place, since at least 71% of new work comes from referrals, as mentioned in an earlier post. As that post noted, 'giving vs. getting' is a very important element of any system. And every lawyer should check to insure his/her outgoing referral – whether to another lawyer, accountant, banker, etc...

Build Your Client Relationship's by Adding Value

Posted on June 16, 2009
My friend Stacy West Clark has 25 suggestions for adding value to your relationship with 'current clients, referral sources and potential clients,' which are for the most part 'free.' And I agree that by following her suggestions, 'you will get business' as well...

Work on the Good Surprises, and Avoid the Bad Ones in Your Client Relationships

Posted on June 12, 2009
Some may think that I have schizophrenic tendencies for saying "Surprise Your Clients!" in one recent post and "Clients Abhor Surprises' in an earlier one. Well, let me make this perfectly clear. That doesn't prove a thing. Although it does, it doesn't...

Good Advice From Lawyers Who Get It

Posted on June 09, 2009
A client reminded me this past week, as we're about to begin another coaching group, that I should emphasize to the lawyers that business development is not a single event but rather an ongoing process. As he put it, the lawyers need to realize that the coaching program is not about hitting home runs, but rather getting singles...

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Treat Your Clients Like My Mechanic Would, and They Won't Consider Hiring Another Law Firm

Posted on June 04, 2009
Many years ago when I moved to Columbus, Ohio, I needed a brake job on my car. I went to the dealer, and also a small shop I heard about. The mechanic's quote was actually higher than the dealer, but I decided to use him anyway since his reasoning was sound...

Some Thoughts About Pitching In-house Counsel for Business

Posted on June 02, 2009
In several posts over the last couple of months (see Continue Reading below for four of them), I have mentioned that now is the perfect time for smaller firms to approach in-house counsel at larger corporations for business. Some of those reasons include: Rates are more reasonable; In-house lawyers are more cost conscious; More flexibility when it comes to alternative fees; Greater value from partners vs...

Understanding Your Clients Experience with Your Firm

Posted on May 28, 2009
In my last post, I talked about some simple, smart ideas from Reid Trautz that were pretty easy to implement. One of them involved lawyers 'experiencing' what clients experience upon entering the firm's office. Building on that idea, I came across an interview of Gerry Riskin of Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices by Arnie Herz of Legal Sanity...

Simple , But Smart Ideas to Improve Your Practice

Posted on May 25, 2009
Reid Trautz, one of the blogosphere's pioneers at Reid My Blog, has a helpful piece in the current issue of the ABA's GPSOLO Magazine where he shares a 'few management ideas that, through a small investment of time, can have the biggest impact on clients, office productivity, firm profitability, and your quality of life...

Love Those Clients - Now More Than Ever

Posted on May 21, 2009
Emotion has everything to do with everything we do in life. Yet apparently, the B2B marketplace according to a Gallup Poll doesn't reflect the importance of an emotional connection when it comes to business-to-business dealings. I guess I'm surprised by that, and would think that such is not the case when it comes to the legal industry...

Client Feedback Is More Important Than Ever, But Be Careful

Posted on May 19, 2009
Not only is client feedback important, but in past posts I have sung the praises for in-house client feedback programs that demonstrate to clients the firm's management is sincere in determining whether the client is satisfied with the law firm's services...

Surprise Your Clients!

Posted on May 14, 2009
If there is one thing I have preached over the years is to NEVER surprise your clients. In conducting client interviews over the years, I have consistently heard from law firm clients that they HATE surprises. So, what's up with the title to this post? Have I gone mad? I'll leave that to others...

Sage Marketing Advice from an Experienced Litigator

Posted on May 12, 2009
A litigator with 57 years of experience was recently quoted in an article on Law.com's Small Firm Business on the art of attracting clients. One might think that someone who started practicing law in 1952 might be a bit long in the tooth when it comes to developing business in this day and age...

Have You Talked With BigCorp Yet?

Posted on May 05, 2009
In yesterday's online issue of AmericanLawyer.com, there was more talk about corporations, who have traditionally utilized BigLaw, switching to smaller law firms. Companies like Nouveau Elevator Industries, SAIC, Cisco Systems, HCA, and 3M Company are among those cited in the article 'The Big Squeeze' (free registration required) as switching at least some of their business to smaller firms...

Google Alerts and Google Profiles - Set Up Both Today

Posted on April 28, 2009
Over the past several weeks, I have been emphasizing during my client coaching calls how easy it is to set up Google Alerts for their business development targets (i.e., clients, referral sources and prospects). Then when they pick up tidbits of information about these targets, they can use it as an opportunity to make contact (borrowing from the real estate industry, the most important factor in personal services marketing is: contact, contact, contact) to build on an existing or desired relationship...

Ask Your Clients What They Need

Posted on April 23, 2009
It has been a couple of years since I looked at 365 Marketing Meditations: Daily Lessons for Marketing & Communications Professionals. This handbook of snippets produced by Richard Levick and Larry Smith of Levick Strategic Communications, is a goldmine of useful, pithy sayings useful to the legal marketing community...

Another Reason Smaller Firms Will Pick Up More Corporate Work

Posted on April 21, 2009
We've talked about (here and here) several reasons why small and mid-sized regional law firms are picking up corporate work that has traditionally been done by larger law firms. The reasons include: Lower hourly rates, Alternative fees, Tighter in-house budgets, BigLaw partners departing for smaller firms to retain clients, Unsustainable associate salaries in large firms, Now comes another reason I hadn't thought about...

Both Business and Personal Brands are Important for Lawyers

Posted on April 16, 2009
Back in February I wrote the post Your Personal Brand is Important For Your Success. In it, I said: 'Your personal brand impacts whether clients hire you or not. I believe that how you act in public, treat your staff, dress, contribute to the community, talk to strangers, act with your clients, etc...

Public Speaking: Get There Early and Make Them Laugh

Posted on April 14, 2009
Last week a client asked me for ideas on how to begin his CLE presentation before a state bar group. We talked about humor as an ice breaker, if he was comfortable with that. After that call, I ran across a post by Tom Antion at Great Public Speaking blog about showing up early and listening to the other speakers who are presenting ahead of you...

Will Clients Gain From Cutting Lawyers and Staff?

Posted on April 07, 2009
According to general counsel Paul Newton of Bupa, the large U.K. based international health insurance company with 8 million customers in 190 countries, 'some of these savings have got to find their way into clients' pockets, not just partners' pockets...

Marketing Opportunities Abound for Mid to Small Law Firms

Posted on April 02, 2009
Law departments in large corporations and some law firms are definitely re-evaluating their relationships, according to an article in the March issue of Inside Counsel magazine. The article "Feeling the Pinch: How the economic crisis could change your law firm relationships' sets forth succinctly the realities of today's world...

More Evidence That Smaller Firms Are Winning Over BigLaw Clients

Posted on March 31, 2009
It was reported in Law.com's In-House Counsel back in 2007 that small firms were using flat fees to gain an edge in taking corporate clients from larger firms. That is still the case. As reported in a post on the Desert Law Blog citing the now famous New York Times article quoting Evan Chesler of Cravath, Swaine & Moore denouncing the billable hour, small firms are still ahead of large firms in going to flat fees...

Does Your Web Site Adequately Reflect Your Brand?

Posted on March 26, 2009
Your web site, as with all your marketing materials should be consistent and reflect your brand, which hopefully echoes the value you bring to clients who hire the firm. Too few firms do a good job at that. Now, don't get mad at me. Although I agree with the statement, it really comes from someone who knows and has received dozens of awards for web sites his company has designed over the years...

Are You Too Timid to Ask Clients for Legal Work?

Posted on March 24, 2009
A client of mine during one of our weekly coaching sessions last week told me that she was not comfortable asking clients for work. At first, I was taken aback, since I'm thinking that it isn't as tough as asking a prospect for work. I mean for goodness sake, it is a client that already knows and uses you...

Job Seekers: Market Yourself on Social Media Sites

Posted on March 19, 2009
Certainly you know of someone who is looking for a job during these tough economic times, whether in our legal community or not. It appears that social media sites may be able to help I'm learning more each day about the benefits of social media, and don't pretend to have a full grasp of all its implications...

Is "Social Media" Networking's Nirvana? Possibly Not!

Posted on March 17, 2009
According to a guest post on Duct Tape Marketing by Susan Wilson Solovic, CEO and co-founder of SBTV.com (as in Small Business TV), she prefers to network 'the old fashion way.' Her post probes the issue whether anyone really knows what networking means anymore...

Important Tips From Three Referral Gurus

Posted on March 12, 2009
Focusing on prospects in a down economy – or any economy for that matter – is far down my list of suggested marketing priorities. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rank it a 15. Business development activities should be focused on existing clients and referral sources 99...

Do Your Clients Value Your Services?

Posted on March 10, 2009
Doing a good job for your clients, keeping them informed, not overlawyering or overbilling, treating them with respect, and visiting your clients off the clock are just a few of the ways you can bring value to your client relationships. Jim Durham, formerly CMO at Ropes & Gray in Boston, spoke to the Delaware Valley Law Firm Marketing Group recently and equated the phrase 'Listen to Your Clients, Stupid' with the KISS truism...

Lawyers: Don't Sell The Wrong Thing

Posted on March 05, 2009

Associate Warning: Learn To Market or Plan to Win the Lottery

Posted on March 03, 2009

Marketing with Limited Budget in Hard Times

Posted on February 26, 2009
Although I have preached about the need to increase not decrease marketing budgets on this blog over the past month or more, let’s be realistic – I say to myself – not every firm will follow that advice. Some have or will cut budgets no matter what...

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