Thursday, August 16, 2007

Do most law firm websites stink?

It’s a question that’s being bantered around, but I think Duo Consulting has hit the nail on the head.  That is, it’s a chicken and egg question.  The only way you can know whether or not your website stinks is to first know what you’re trying to measure.  I know that there are some objective measures by which you can rate websites, but determining whether or not your website is an effective marketing tool has got to rest on your overall marketing strategy.  If you don’t have a marketing strategy, you can’t possibly know whether or not your website actually stinks.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Who is Your Opposite?

Seth Godin has an interesting, dare I say Taoist, post on branding. He suggests that you need to know your opposite in order to effectively brand yourself (or your product). I guess that makes sense for the purpose of branding as a marketing technique. Things like Gap and Pepsi can have opposites because they spend massive amounts of money defining who and what they are. The hardly offer products, however, that are opposite from their major competitors. In fact, the opposite (no pun intended) is true—you need to effectively brand yourself when you offer very similar products to very similar audiences. If you think that Coke and Pepsi or McDonald’s and Burger King are opposites, you should get out more.

So how does this relate to legal marketing? I think the same holds true—if you’ve got a lot of competition in your space, you should spend more time and money branding yourself. To that extent, you should ask how your major competition is branding itself, for better or worse. I don’t think you have to worry about creating an opposite, but determining a solid distinction on which you can rest your brand.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Beating Lawyers Over Their Heads

Why is it that so many former lawyers, who now sell legal services, feel it necessary to beat practicing lawyers over their heads about adopting new technologies?  Now, I’ll admit that I’ve been one of those former lawyers.  I don’t think I’ve been that direct, but I can recall saying things like “technophobe” and “behind the curve” when it comes to lawyers.  After reading a particularly harsh post about lawyers, it made me wonder what an awful sales technique it is.  If you’re product or service (tied in with sales and marketing) doesn’t convince someone to buy, it’s your fault, not the consumers.  Stop telling them how stupid they are and start asking why you aren’t converting more!

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Is blogging for every lawyer?

No.

It’s just that simple.  How do I know?  I’m really not that good at it.  It takes me a long time to sort out what to write about and how to write it (like not ending a sentence with a preposition).  Maybe I’m dense, but I’m fairly certain that I can do more productive work than hunch over my keyboard for 30 minutes writing a one paragraph, not so interesting blog post.

Of course, the blog experts will tell you how wrong I am and how much money rolls in because of their blogs.  To me, it’s like Tiger Woods saying “of course you can hit a 350 yard drive, all you need to do is strike the ball like this....”

Now, I would encourage everyone to try blogging.  It shouldn’t be that expensive or time consuming.  As long as you give it a fair and honest shot, you’ll know within a few months whether it’s right for you.