September 28, 2005
Every picture tells a story: lawyer bio photos with a twist
It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So..., what does the average law firm website bio photo of a lawyer say? Most often it says "I can wear an expensive suit and look serious". The other 991 words that could be available to engage your audience and forge deeper relationships with your existing clients generally go to waste. But not always.
Today's Globe & Mail carries a story about Calgary's Burnet Duckworth & Palmer LLP. The firm's website features bio photos of its lawyers along with some item that is meaningful to them. The items featured range from sports equipment (skis, tennis racquets) to an antique dictaphone - the images are instantly more engaging than traditional portraiture and they help to put a human face on the law firm.
Putting an authentic face on your firm's lawyers is one way to contribute to the relationship building component of your marketing strategy. Many clients want to know something about their legal advisors. The more unusual photos are also guaranteed conversation starters. Moreover, distinctive images that reflect your firm's personality can help differentiate your lawyers from the grey-suited hordes down the street. In professional services where there are few concrete and tangible markers upon which clients can base their assessment of your services, intangibles matter. Bio photos that stand out instead of fitting in are one such marketing tool.
Posted by dougjasinski at 06:24 PM | Permalink
September 19, 2005
Keeping up with the Joneses
Lawyers love precedents. One of the first questions many legal marketers face when pitching a new marketing idea to firm management is "who else has done it?" While that penchant for the tried and true can make for solid law, it often makes for very cliched marketing (insert greek columns and photos of business people shaking hands here).
One method of at least circumventing the "let's be fifth" mentality is to make sure you have current information about what others are doing. That way you can show your lawyers that what they initially think is some new-fangled craziness is actually something the guys and gals at Jones & Jones down the street have already been doing for the last 10 months. Then their competitive instinct kicks in and "we can't do that" magically transforms into "hey we need one of those too - how soon can we get it?"
So consider this an open call to Canadian legal marketers - our goal is to make Legal Marketing Canada a resource for the collective professional development of our industry. To that end, we would like to extend an open invitation to you to tell us about your firm's unusual, innovative or noteworthy marketing initiatives. We’ll make a point of blogging about the best things that cross our desks. In addition to helping raise your firm's profile and showcasing them as innovators, it will also help to raise the bar (or topple the Greek column) for everybody else. We all win.
Posted by dougjasinski at 09:03 PM | Permalink
September 16, 2005
Clark Wilson LLP draws attention south of the border with RSS technology
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds in blogs have been around for some time and are now starting to see application in regular websites as well. (RSS feeds allow visitors to a blog or website to "subscribe" to a particular site or topic area within a site and receive notification whenever new content is available).
Vancouver's Clark Wilson LLP is one of the first Canadian firms to employ the technology with 14 different RSS feeds for articles and practice alerts in various legal subject areas. The firm's efforts have caught the attention of American strategic management consultant Larry Bodine who recently cited the firm on his Professional Marketing Blog. Being at the forefront of technology advancements such as RSS is a great way for firms to distinguish themselves in the market and demonstrate forward thinking.
For a look at how Clark Wilson has set up their RSS click here.
Posted by dougjasinski at 05:48 PM | Permalink
September 15, 2005
Collecting magnets and avoiding lawyer hotels
Collecting magnets and building a culture that makes your law firm more than simply a “hotel for lawyers” were just two of the interesting ideas that emerged from the Legal Marketing Association’s Vancouver chapter inaugural event that took place on September 9, 2005. Approximately 80 people attended the half-day session that featured 3 distinguished speakers.
Roberta Montafia, Chief Marketing Officer, Day, Berry & Howard LLP, spoke on the fundamentals of planning. Her key message: effective marketing strategy is based on knowing who you are as a firm, how the market perceives you and where you want to go. She also discussed the eternal challenge of identifying unique differentiators for your law firm. Her approach is to collect “magnets” – cultivating multiple human-scale differences that can serve as points of attraction rather than looking for a single magic cure-all.
Dr. Mark Greene, Practice Development & Market Research, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, (and formerly director of the Brand Research Company) followed up by taking the audience through research he conducted (in conjunction with Greenfield Belser) that led to the report “Why Law Firms Fail/Why Firms Succeed”TM, . As Dr. Greene identified the characteristics that separate successful law firms from failed ones, the picture that emerged was that successful firms were more likely to embrace change and accept risks, albeit in a disciplined and managed way. Shared culture and consensus building were also two traits that markedly defined successful firms and allowed them to be more than just “hotels for lawyers”.
Silvia L. Coulter, Managing Partner, Coulter Consulting Group and President, Legal Sales & Services Organization used the “S” word (sales) – still very rare in law firm parlance, and spoke to the critical role of exceptional client service as the key to turning opportunities created by marketing into new business for law firms.
Overall a great kick-off session for the Vancouver LMA chapter, Canada’s first.
Posted by dougjasinski at 09:15 PM | Permalink
September 02, 2005
Canadian Lawyer Magazine features cover story on legal marketing
The August 2005 issue of Canadian Lawyer Magazine features a cover story on legal marketing entitled "Legal Marketing Gets Hip; The New Marketing Gurus".
The article emphasizes the growing importance of the marketing role in Canadian law firms, and highlights the work of innovators within law firm marketing departments who are moving their firms away from a "follow-the-pack" mentality in their approach to marketing and brand development.
Heather Gray-Grant, Director of Marketing and Business Development for Alexander Holburn and Lang LLP (and a Skunkworks client) is prominently featured in the article and is cited as "one Canada's top legal marketers".
Posted by dougjasinski at 06:17 PM | Permalink
