Creating A
Strategic
Marketing Plan
by Art Italo
A strategic marketing plan is vital to success in a competitive market. Unfortunately, many attorneys cringe when they think of marketing. They shrink from it partly because they aren't sure it sends the right message about the profession and partly because they are in unfamiliar territory. In a perfect world, they would automatically get calls from large clients with interesting cases all of whom pay their bills on time.
The growth of the profession in recent years has made the world increasingly less perfect. The number of attorneys is growing at a rate far faster than the general population. The pie is thus being divided into smaller slices. Clients realize they have more choices in legal services than ever before.
There has been a sharp increase in competition for clients. Many attorneys are scratching their heads because the phone isn't ringing as frequently with new clients. Yellow page ads don't pull like they used to. When the phone does ring, clients ask you to sell yourself.
This increase in competition is generated not by the profession but by the marketplace. When consumers have a choice they force you to work harder to find, earn and keep their business. If you are to survive in this competitive environment, you must give excellent service and be proactive and organized in your marketing approach.
It is a time honored belief that providing excellent legal services will cause an attorney's business to grow automatically. That was true when clients didn't have as great a selection. Now there are numerous attorneys giving excellent service and the clients know it. Good service isn't enough any more. You need to market yourself effectively as well.
The traditional attorney marketing approach is passive and reactive. It causes many attorneys to be victimized by Marketing Drift. They drift into an area of law or a type of client simply because that is who has been on the phone. If their first client lived in a trailer park and liked their work, they get an inordinate number of trailer park referrals. If they handled a divorce with a favorable outcome, suddenly half their business is coming from divorce.
Most attorneys are susceptible to Marketing Drift because of the Security Imperative. If your earnings are not covering the bills, sustaining the lifestyle you want or reaching the firm's expectations, there is great pressure to take any matter that comes along regardless of the size, the area of law or the probability they will pay your fee.
This leads to the Security Trap. The propensity to take smaller matters with less desirable clients is self perpetuating because people tend to associate with others like themselves. If you have a passive marketing approach, these undesirable clients become your only source of referrals. You are forced to continue the cycle. This is especially true of sole practitioners and small firms who operate on tight budgets.
Large firms can also get trapped, but in a different way. Larger firms often rely too heavily on a few rainmakers to cultivate business. As the firm grows, so do the expenses, and more pressure is placed on the rainmakers to bring in business. Soon they are bringing in a disproportionate percentage of the revenues. When an important partner leaves or retires, large chunks of revenue are stripped from the firm and no one knows how to replace it. Expenses are still high but now revenues are dramatically reduced. Unless the firm finds a white knight it implodes, sometimes within a matter of months.
The key failing in both cases is the lack of a proactive marketing plan. When you take a passive reactive approach to marketing, your revenues are highly dependent on others. You give up control.
A marketing plan for attorneys doesn't necessarily mean television advertising and direct mail campaigns. As a matter of fact, I discourage most of my clients from considering these approaches. The best marketing plan for attorneys is a systematic strategy of networking and client cultivation.
All good plans start with an objective. Most attorneys are so driven by urgent matters that they lose sight of the big picture. What are your income goals? In what area of the law would you prefer to be practicing? Who is your preferred client? If you don't have a clear idea on these types of issues your results are likely to be random and perhaps disappointing.
There are three basic business development problems attorneys face in their practices. The first problem is having too few clients. The second is having the wrong type of clients. The third is having too many clients and not enough income. All of these problems are caused by the drift arising from a lack of clear objectives.
Once you are clear on what you would like to accomplish you must develop strategies to get there. Focus on networking with people who can bring you clients. These include your current clients, other attorneys and professionals such as doctors, accountants, etc.
Develop strategies for sustaining desirable clients. Stay in touch with your better clients, especially if you're not working on a matter for them. Newsletters are helpful but there is no substitute for an occasional phone call or lunch.
Include strategies to create mutually beneficial relationships with other attorneys. Most attorneys do this but fail to get a sufficient number of attorneys in their network. I have found most attorneys have between three and five other attorneys to whom they refer clients consistently. It's no surprise that most of those refer clients back. The key here is to develop a network of at least 25 attorneys with whom you can exchange referrals.
If you can't take a prospective client's case, always recommend an attorney who can. Call the attorney personally to inform him or her that the prospect will be calling. Even if the prospect fails to call, the attorney will appreciate the effort and give you greater consideration the next time he or she is making a referral.
Creating mutually beneficial relationships with non-attorneys is more challenging because of rules against personal solicitation. Since you are prohibited from asking for referrals in many states, the key is to give without asking. You can do other professionals a big favor by sending them referrals from your client base. There is an inherent tendency in people to want to return favors done for them even if you don't ask. Cultivate relationships through personal events such as lunch, sporting events, dinner with the spouses, etc. At the next opportunity, send a referral.
This is not a radical idea. Most attorneys do this. Unfortunately, they don't do it often enough nor do they seek these relationships proactively. In addition to your list of 25 attorneys, you should also have a list of 25 other professionals to whom you send referrals. Cull both lists frequently. If you are sending referrals and not receiving any from certain people, remove them from your list and find replacements.
At this point, most of my clients ask me, "Where am I going to get all these people to refer? I only refer about one or two a month now." If you aren't making many referrals now, it's probably because you're not getting many. If you increase your active network to 50 professionals your volume of referrals will increase dramatically. You will then experience "throughput" (referrals you receive that you refer to someone else) simultaneously allowing you to feed the network and keep the more desirable cases for yourself.
Once you have created your Strategies, the next step is to develop Action Plans. Many of my clients tell me they have often thought about strategies for bringing in business, but they failed to act on them. Action Plans must be specific, time dependent goals for weekly activity consistent with your strategies. If you hope to establish 50 new professional contacts in the next year, you need to meet with one new person every week. That will require a certain amount of proactive networking.
This networking should be scheduled on your calendar. Make an appointment with yourself to spend an hour or two per week making networking and follow-up phone calls. Give it the priority of a court date.
Schedule events such as Bar Association, Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce, etc. to make new contacts. Follow up with these contacts and schedule personal events, such as lunch.
The objectives you originally made for the year should be broken into monthly and weekly goals. Adjust your level of activity to reflect your performance against these goals. If your goal is to take one new person to lunch each week and you already have two scheduled, you might cut back on networking calls that week. If you have no lunches scheduled, you should increase your networking activity.
Networking is your most valuable marketing tool. Your income is largely dependent on the quality and size of your network. It requires consistent effort to maintain and expand it. If you hope to be successful in protecting your financial security and moving toward financial independence, you must schedule time to cultivate it.
With today's tough competition in legal services, a strong practice requires strategic planning and consistent proactive networking. Take time to make a Strategic Marketing Plan and work your plan every week. This will stop Marketing Drift and let you take control of your financial destiny.
Copyright © Art Italo, 1993. All Rights Reserved
Related Articles:
Leveraged Networking
Setting Goals And Achieving Them
Select
this link to see Art Italo’s Practice Profile
Art Italo is a consultant working exclusively with attorneys in the areas
of business development and strategic planning. He speaks internationally on
legal marketing and strategic planning.
He has developed and refined the concept of Leveraged Networking after
over 15,000 hours of individual consultations with attorneys. He has personally consulted with over 250
attorneys in
For on-line help with your marketing questions, e-mail Art Italo at
italco@mindspring.com or contact Art
Italo at:
Italo Consulting®
P.O. Box 680474
Marietta, GA 30068
(770) 859-0600
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