Law Firms and Online Marketing Mistakes
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Even though you might not consider a law firm to a business entity that concerns itself with selling products and services, they almost certainly are, needing to “sell” their business to prospective clients. This article discusses the marketing for these law firms. Essentially the article reads like a list of “thou shalt not” commandments. I will discuss the majority of such commandments; all pertain to law firm websites (online marketing). The first “commandment” deals with listing a firm’s won cases or success stories on their website. If I was the head of a firm, I would have a detailed list of these cases, with links to website articles relating to the cases and a pdf of the court document signed by the judge – or something similar. “Potential clients look for examples of [the law firm’s] work.” Additionally, I believe that if “won cases” are displayed, all cases should be displayed. I believe in marketing the whole firm, its successes and its failures, being as truthful as possible. When one does this, he brings integrity to his business. The phrase “you’re only as great as your biggest mistake” comes to mind.
The second point deals with listing clients on their websites. Again, I agree one hundred percent with the author of the article. Why firms do not do this is beyond me. Potential clients should know whether or not they would fit in with the law firm. A company like Microsoft might want to re-consider law firms whose clients consist solely of mom and pop stores.
All of these commandments are similar in that they focus on establishing the firm’s reputation, positioning the firm. As the article continues, things like website aesthetics and old information are discussed in greater detail. All of these points should be considered before publishing a website; some even apply to businesses other than law firms. The article helped make tangible some pretty common-sense ideas, which is quite beneficial for any online marketer.
Thank you,
Tyler Somers
posted by tyler @ 8:06:00 PM
1 Comments:
I find this article to be quite interesting. It had some important points, but I am not sure if I agreed with all of them. I agree that it is good to post the cases that you won and perhaps the ones you lost too. That does indeed provide an honest representation of the firm. However, I am not sure about the listing of the clients on the website. While it would definitely be helpful to potential clients so that they could compare themselves with the current clients, I do not know how the current clients would feel. Posting their names on the website could be a breech of confidentiality. They might not want to share with the world that they use this particular law firm. However, if the current clients agreed to have their names on the website, than I see no harm in the matter. Company websites are a very powerful tool to market one’s company and reach the general public. I think it’s great to offer guidelines because I am sure many companies feel lost. They might recognize the need to have a website, but the specific content to include is a whole other problem.
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