An introduction for attorneys and other professional practitioners (Part 1)
By John F. Sase, Ph.D.
Gerard J. Senick, Senior Editor
Julie G. Sase, Copyeditor
“It’s hard to target a message to a generic 35-year-old middle-class working mother of two. It’s much easier to target a message to Jennifer, who has two children under four, works as a paralegal, and is always looking for quick but healthy dinners and ways to spend more time with her kids and less time on housework.”
— Elizabeth Gardner, Internet writer and editor, on the Internet Retailer Web site (InternetRetailer.com)
In this month’s column, we take a break from our multi-part series “Sufficient Affluence/Sustainable Economy” to discuss the matter of Internet marketing for law firms and other professional practices. We feel that this subject is important and relevant enough to our audience in order to create a sub-series.
First, we will review the state of marketing in the first decade and a half of this new millennium. We then will compare the traditional forms of marketing to the newer ones that rely upon the Internet. Next, we will discuss the need to define ourselves and our marketing efforts in terms of business to business, business to consumer, or some mix of both. Finally, we will address some concepts to define each of our markets with clarity and focus in order to develop our message and to select a mix of optimal Internet-marketing tools.
Survey Says!
Some means of reaching out to potential clients remain the same as with traditional non-Internet media. These include face-time networking, walking our fingers through the Yellow Pages, looking at billboards, and noticing mass-transportation placards. In addition, public entertainment always has provided a resource for advertising as subsidizing revenue to the media onstage, in motion pictures, and on radio and television. However, the immediacy and swiftness of searching for any kind of information on a desktop computer, on an iPad or a similar device, or on a Web-accessible cellphone no longer can be ignored. In fact, most potential clients, who are Baby Boomers and younger, make online devices their avenues of choice. The Lawyernomics Web site published the results of an online survey of 1183 respondents in November 2012. Conducted by the Florida law firm of Moses and Rooth, this survey asked respondents how they search for a specialized attorney. To begin, we must note that businesses are more likely to have a regular or retained counsel than are individual consumers. With this in mind, the survey reports that 20% of respondents ask their current general counsel for a referral.
We find interesting information in the survey as we move beyond the circle of professional referrals. In searching for a specialty attorney, 37% of respondents reported that they seek assistance from a friend, a colleague, or a member of their social network. This percentage underscores the fact that our most traditional method for acquiring information or referral has not faded away. We prefer to ask someone whom we know, like, and trust.
However, the next set of statistics may be more interesting, though financially disturbing to some of us. A total of 33% of respondents stated that they search on Google, Bing, Yahoo, or elsewhere on the Internet in order to find a specialty attorney. Only 11% of respondents replied that they searched the printed Yellow Pages. Though not cited in the report, we suspect that this percentage is even lower for Generations X and Y.
Gyi Tsakalakis, a Web marketer for attorneys (attorneysync.com), comments in his article “How Do People Find and Hire Attorneys?” for Lawyernomics, “If you’re a lawyer, this may be difficult to comprehend. A lawyer is extremely unlikely to begin their search for another lawyer at a search engine. Lawyers know lawyers. Lawyers are related to lawyers. They’re married to lawyers (yeesh). Their friends are lawyers. Their acquaintances are lawyers. But even in the country with the most attorneys per capita, many people don’t know a single attorney. And so, you shouldn’t be astonished that many people use search engines to find attorneys.”
(http://lawyernomics.avvo.com/legal-marketing-2/how-do-people-find-hire-attorneys.html#ixzz3D2505D6W)
We must offer the caveat that the researchers Moses and Rooth conducted their study strictly via online response. Nevertheless, it is revealing that three times as many respondents use the Internet rather than traditional print media to find an attorney. In total, two-thirds of searchers use their families and social networks for referrals or search the Internet as their path of choice. In respect to this second point, 93% of Internet browsers use Google Chrome (60%), Mozilla Firefox (25%), or Internet Explorer (8%). These are important statistics to keep in mind as we continue our journey into online marketing.
B2B or B2C?
In any discussion about Internet marketing, we must identify whether firms reach out as businesses to other businesses (B2B) or as businesses to consumers (B2C). Forensic economists and other experts hold themselves out as businesses to businesses. Law practices that focus on matters of intellectual property, antitrust, and similar litigation do the same. However, plaintiff attorneys representing victims of personal injury, wrongful death, and employment law focus their marketing efforts differently as businesses to consumers. In addition, some firms reach out both to businesses and consumers. These basic distinctions are important, since this level of identification determines the focus of our marketing efforts, the style and content of our messages, and the optimal mix of online marketing elements.
Ever-Decreasing Circles
Our next task is to identify and assess our interests, skills, and knowledge in order to focus our communication efforts optimally toward current and prospective clients. One approach to managing this task for a multi-field firm is to look upon our market as we would a Renaissance genre-painting within the dimensions of height, width, and depth. Many great paintings include multiple sub-scenes within their composition. However, the viewer is drawn to the most relevant focal point. As an example, let us consider one of our greatest treasures at the Detroit Institute of Arts, The Wedding Dance by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1566).
The prurient interest provided by the erect codpieces worn by the three men spread across the foreground of the painting initially draws many spectators to the work. However, the painting contains many other captivating features within it as well a deeper subtext. Some of the scenes include a group of men in a discussion next to a tree, a mixed group interacting toward the left side of the canvas, two trios in conversation near the entrance of the tent, and a man wearing an orange shirt peering downward toward a pair of pipers. From this scene, we are drawn in by the male piper and the other two men wearing codpieces forming the base of a triangle. The raised hands of a dancing couple in front of a tree form the peak. The bride, who wears a dark dress as opposed to modern white, dances with flying hair near the midpoint of the left side of the triangle. Meanwhile, a couple kisses near the midpoint of the right side. Breugel uses sunlight and color to draw our attention to the main focal point. There, a woman wearing a red dress, a tan blouse, and a white apron and hat, dances with her male companion, who wears a rust-colored jacket and hat and black pants that deemphasize his codpiece. Rather than facing full front towards the woman, he faces to the side. Importantly, the man gazes serenely downward at her enlarged belly. Breugel seems to want us to ask, “Is she with child? If so, is it theirs? Is this the true theme of the painting?” Through this couple, the painter brings together a complex gathering of elements with a clear and intimate focus.
Good Web-site creators and video/filmmakers learn the rules of composition from great art. Here is the effective use of height, width, and depth. A captivating Web page or video production emulates the rules of three-dimensional geometry, layout, contrast, and color, among other elements, that are taught to us by the Masters. As Breugel did in The Wedding Dance, it is important to pay attention to the kinds of details that engage the viewer and make the piece distinctive and memorable.
An alternate method may serve us better in reaching a wider and more transient audience: We develop market focus by drawing a series of concentric circles that ends up resembling an archery target. This approach to market definition may work better when we reach out to a large group of potential clients with whom we have but a few seconds to make the initial connection. We define our market in this manner and focus on it by drawing a large outer circle representing our widest potential client-base. Then, we work inward toward a small center circle using medium-size circles of ever-decreasing diameters. As with arrows shot at a target, we may end up with clients who come from market space that sits far away from our tightly focused center. However, given the degree of competition that exists in cyberspace, we want to establish a clear and compact focal point with some expanse radiating outward from it. In this sense, the middle point represents our ideal client. However, we may venture to guess that most of us cannot be so selective as to serve only a small select group of our most ideal clients.
In next month’s column, we will continue our discussion on Internet marketing. We will discuss the selection of communication tools that include written, graphic, and video content. Then, we will consider how to build the best Internet structures for our marketing endeavors by using standard elements such as multipage Web sites, separate Blog sites, Vimeo and YouTube channels for video, LinkedIn for professional networking, Facebook for wider broadcasting of our messages, and Google Local for reaching more immediate markets. Finally, we will conclude with an introduction to optimization methods and tools in respect to search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
We hope that this article is enlightening to our audience and that it suggests some tools to increase revenues for attorneys and other professionals. Enjoy your journey into cyberspace!
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Dr. John F. Sase has taught Economics for more than three decades and has practiced Forensic and Investigative Economics since the early 1990s. He earned an M.A. in Economics and an MBA at the University of Detroit and a Ph.D. in Economics at Wayne State University. He is a graduate of the University of Detroit Jesuit High School. Dr. Sase can be reached at 248-569-5228 and at drjohn@saseassociates.com. You can find his educational videos of interest to attorneys at www.youtube.com/saseassociates.
Gerard J. Senick is a freelance writer, editor, and musician. He earned his degree in English at the University of Detroit and was a supervisory editor at Gale Research Company (now Cengage) for over twenty years. Currently, he edits books for publication and gives seminars on writing and music. Mr. Senick can be reached at 313-342-4048 and at www.senick-editing.com. You can find some of his writing tips at www.YouTube.com/SenickEditing.
Julie G. Sase is a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. She earned her degree in English at Marygrove College and her graduate certificate in Parent Coaching from Seattle Pacific University. As a consultant, Ms. Sase coaches clients, writes articles for publication, and gives interviews to various media. Ms. Sase can be reached at Julie@royaloakparentcoaching.com.
A PDF copy of this article will be posted at http://www.saseassociates.com/legalnewscolumn.html
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