By Andrew Wetzler
Special to Lawyers Weekly
For most legal professionals, marketing through the Internet is a bit of a mystery. There was a time when just being listed in the Yellow Pages was enough for the phone to ring.
But in today’s highly competitive world of instant online information and communication, just hanging out the shingle is not enough.
For many years, simple presence in the legal field was enough to be successful and earn a significant living. Today a much broader strategy needs to be utilized just to stay on the playing field.
In an e-commerce environment, the focus or goal of a Web site is encouraging the site visitor to buy something. Since that approach is not workable for lawyers, the most critical objective is to capture the contact information from a visitor so that a pipeline of prospective clients can be developed.
While the gist of this article is about utilizing the Internet to help develop new clients, I think it’s also important to mention that leads arising from the Web will still need to be pursued in an effective and professional manner.
Building a pipeline of new clients via a Web site begins with attaining both a phone number and an e-mail address from someone. If you have a marketing program in place, such as direct mail follow up, then a street address is vital as well.
While direct mail can still be of value, e-mails can be powerful, better targeted and less expensive. For example, by grouping your prospective client base into areas of law such as divorce, bankruptcy, contracts, criminal, etc., you can send out e-mails that are tightly aligned with someone’s interests. You will experience a much better response rate by segmenting in this manner.
Here are a few more ideas to boost the effectiveness of your Web site / online lead generation efforts:
• Take advantage of the two main opportunities on search engines: search engine optimization and search engine marketing. SEO, also know as organic or natural search, is the process by which a site is designed to be aligned with the algorithms of the engines. Key ingredients include robust content, search engine-friendly architecture and effective linking strategies. Each major search engine has a paid component to their search results as well. This involves paying for site visitors on a “per-click” basis. There are a series of variables that need to be considered when starting a campaign. These include keyword selection, geography (where do you want your listing to show up), bid strategy (how aggressive do you want to be? What is your budget?, etc.).
• Keep the content on your site fresh, accurate and robust. For example, it’s a big turnoff to arrive at a site with inaccurate information or links that don’t work. Create a compelling reason for someone to contact your firm based on Web site content.
• Honor channel preference. By that I mean make it as easy for someone to contact you via e-mail as by telephone. Prompt follow-up is critical. Make sure you get back to them before they have a chance to reach out to a competitor. And as already mentioned, get complete information from each person so that you can maintain multiple contact points with them.
• Utilize a contact management program. There are a number of these programs on the market today that will allow you to keep in close contact with those who warrant it, schedule others for contact later on and also parse the database for mailings (as described above).
• Study competitor sites. Although most sites have similar attributes, especially ones that are template driven, others are unique with varying degrees of professionalism. While a template site is OK, it has limitations from both a design standpoint and from a search engine optimization perspective.
• If you send an e-mail to your database and you do it in one bulk e-mail, make sure that you blind CC all of the recipients. I received an e-newsletter recently from an area law firm about e-commerce law. The e-mail was sent to more than 200 individuals who had requested to be on the mailing list. The person who sent it out didn’t blind CC everyone, and the entire list saw each other’s names. Besides the negative credibility impact for the law firm, it was likely a bonanza for other firms in the area who could now pull in and use the e-mail addresses to prospect.
There is no question that these are challenging economic times. Many people and businesses are holding off on seeking legal advice unless absolutely necessary.
What remains in your control is the lead generation and follow-up process. Hard work, strong organizational skills and a willingness to embrace e-mail and the internet, are important ingredients to attaining impressive results in a competitive marketplace.
Editor’s note: Andrew Wetzler is president of MoreVisibility. Founded in 1999, MoreVisibility is a two-time INC 500 company and leader in search engine marketing/optimization. He can be reached at awetzler@morevisibility.com.
June 16, 2008
