Who Does Marketing for a Law Firm?
For many years as a young entrepreneur, I had a difficult time defining the difference between marketing and advertising. It seemed as if people used the terms interchangeably, and no one could give me a good answer. So, I created my own. First, I believe that marketing is the umbrella where advertising, sales, and customer service reside. Ray Kroc used to argue with his accountants that the labor and cleaning supplies used to keep his bathrooms clean should be a marketing expense. I agree with Ray’s theory.
What Marketing Means for a Law Firm
I believe the Perfect Client Life Cycle (PCLC) describes my view of marketing perfectly. We use advertising to generate leads and the phone and initial consultation sales process to convert leads into clients. We then follow up with unconverted leads and clients who owe us a fee using email, direct mail, text messaging, phone calls, and other forms of technology. Thereby micromanaging the client experience from the very first phone call until the day the client refers us to their friends and relatives. That’s marketing.
I believe the formula for marketing is: 50% systems, 30% arithmetic, and only 20% new ideas. I believe what gets measured…
. . . gets done
. . . gets managed
. . . magnifies
Which leads me to the point of this article. One of the most essential tools inside your marketing umbrella is the phone. And, to “measure” the phone, you must have the right phone system. To properly manage the phones in your office, you must have a VoIP phone system that allows you to easily record calls and run reports on your staff’s inbound and outbound phone calls as well as their total talk time for a given period.
US Law Firm Management
Not using the proper phone system is like catching water in a sieve. Not very useful and a massive waste of time. Because I say this a lot, I receive several questions regarding finding the right VoIP system. I partnered with Nextiva many years ago to solve this problem and provide you, members of EA Nation, an in-the-box solution. The first step here is choosing the right vendor.
As is typical, the telecom industry has decided to take the simple and make it complicated. Many local vendors will attempt to sell you a VoIP system that still contains a “box in a closet.” Don’t walk away from those systems; run! Any VoIP system whereby the central processing phone hardware is located on premises is limiting and dangerous to the Attorney Entrepreneurs growing their firm.
Ensure the vendor you choose has excellent support, including the function to log into your computer remotely to make any necessary hardware configurations. Ensure the vendor you choose has easy access to run reports so your staff personnel can run them independently without involving the vendor and being subjected to an additional fee. Ensure your vendor makes recording calls AND retrieving those recordings simple and easy to download.
Marketing Your Firm, the Phone System, and VoIP
Not many are aware that a critical aspect of US law firm management and marketing are the systems you use. It is essential to keep in mind that the VoIP company you choose offers a solution to use a “softphone” – a piece of software that sits on your computer and allows you to make phone calls without a physical phone and handset. Likewise, it is essential to choose the right phones. And this is not the time to be cheap. You don’t need the phones with ‘50 buttons (unless you have a front office receptionist who acts as a phone traffic cop), but you do need a quality phone with the most modern technology. You cannot use your old digital or analog phone; you’ll need to purchase a VoIP phone.
When it comes to purchasing the correct router, gone are the days that you can just grab any old router. You know that box located in the closet allows you to connect to the internet and wirelessly in the office. Today, you must have a smart router that knows the difference between phone traffic and data traffic and gives the phone traffic priority every time. This way, if someone in your office is uploading your most recent YouTube marketing video and forgot to throttle the size, it won’t interrupt the phone service because the router will give the phone traffic priority placement.
Once the router is installed, be sure to have the VoIP company log into the router by remotely taking control of your computer (securely) and check the settings to ensure everything is set up according to how their system works best. If you ever have an issue going forward, it’s likely because one of these settings changed (yes, it happens). Get Support on the phone and have them log in to fix it. These pieces of equipment act just like computers; they need to be restarted every now and then.
Online Marketing Beyond Website Traffic and Online Presence
Making use of traditional marketing and advertising using digital media are not simple tasks. More so, converting web traffic from your target audience to actual new customers is not something that you can easily do yourself. A good content marketing strategy is necessary to get a measurable increase in inbound traffic and grow your business online. However, many search marketing campaigns fail because they do not execute them properly.
If you spend your marketing budget on a stand-out website design, but your target market is not calling or messaging or trying to connect with you, something could be missing from your marketing plan. Build your website and allow your business to thrive in this evolving world by upgrading the marketing tactics you use. Online marketing efforts can make your law firm more profitable, but only if you have marketers who know what they are doing.
US Law Firm Management and Search Engine Marketing Campaigns
One of the most effective marketing solutions in e-commerce is local search engine optimization (local SEO). Optimizing for keywords used in search engines is key in making the most out of these internet marketing techniques. Rankings influence the positioning of search engine results. You can generate leads by utilizing great content (say in blog posts, if you are into blogging) optimized for search results.
Remember that you must not limit digital advertising and your marketing activities to branding, web design, and the customer experience. If you want to market your law firm more effectively, you need a marketer who can help with content creation and devise a digital strategy suited for your needs and preference. From the name itself, marketing tools must be used by people who know how to use them. You will need a digital marketing agency that offers reliable marketing services and a legal systems expert who can help with US law firm management.
If you wish to learn more about marketing and bringing your law firm to new heights, speak to a legal systems expert like Richard James. Schedule a one-on-one consultation with our law firm specialists today!
