We invite you to read our weekly Public Reputation tips which integrate various marketing disciplines including media relations, marketing strategy, creative focus and web/technology/2.0. Please send us your comments or questions and join our conversation.
Public Reputation Tip of the Week
February 3, 2010
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Law Firm Financial Reporting 101: The AmLaw 200 Survey
You know you’re truly a law firm marketer - signed, sealed and delivered - when you anticipate the AmLaw 200 survey on law firm financial information this time of year, sometime after the recovery of the holiday season and before the reality that February has already set in.
You know the survey: the e-mail has already been forwarded and cc’d so heavily that you have to scroll down for 5 minutes to reference the original note from the reporter. For those who have responded to it in the past, you may already have a system in place. If your firm falls below “the reporting line” for AmLaw lists, your financials and any related stories are still important to understand in order to address any Public Reputation issues head-on: So read on!
Here are some tips on how to manage the process:
- Set an internal deadline for the numbers that allows for revision cycles. Though the note may not have come directly to you, track it down and take ownership.
- Understand what is being asked. While the survey looks cut-and-dry, we all know that the numbers are usually not. Ask the reporter for clarifications as needed, and use last year’s survey response as a guideline for your firm’s reporting consistency.
- Most importantly, get the story behind the numbers. Sit down with your financial officers and leadership, and understand what the numbers mean for the firm. Maybe you didn’t hit the budget mark, but there could be a positive story that can be cultivated.
- Prepare the firm with strategic key messages to help you and your spokespeople talk meaningfully about the numbers if asked by other media outlets or clients.
January 27, 2010
Is your firm efficient? Now is the time to gain market share
There is no doubt that the economic downturn hit the legal industry hard. And “BigLaw” took the biggest blow. In 2009, the nation’s largest law firms laid off more than 12,000 people, including 4,600 lawyers and 7,500 staff. A paradigm shift is occurring, marked by demand for law firms to become more cost-efficient. LexisNexis recently released its State of the Legal Industry Survey, which found that 71 percent of corporate counsel believes law firms today are not doing enough to respond to the current financial pressures on their business model. This presents enormous opportunity for those who do.
The American Lawyer recently commented, “The recent boom – with its eye-popping billing rates of $1,000 per hour, first-year associate salaries of $160,000, and bloated ranks of junior associates – is over. In its place, for now at least, is a new era in which law firms are expected to focus on being more cost-efficient.”
Small and mid-sized firms are especially well suited to provide cost-efficient legal services. Big firms can too, but clients may need a little more convincing given the current environment and negative press. Here are a few small steps your firm can take right now to leverage the current demand for cost-efficiency:
- Start with your current clients. Any good marketing initiative should always begin here. Analyze your relationship, conduct a non-billable visit to ascertain your client’s needs. Find ways to be more efficient, then let them know how you’re doing it.
- Promote your efficiency. If you survived the recession without laying off any staff, tell the world about it. Explain how you did it and what that means for your clients. If you’re hiring now, again, tell the world about it (you’d be surprised how it’s actually newsworthy right now). If you invested in new IT or implemented a new process aimed at efficiency… you guessed it, tell the world about it.
- Write an article or give a speech on efficiency. Show how your firm is an efficient legal provider without ever sacrificing quality. Provide tips for firms looking to become more efficient or for corporate counsel looking to get more from their firms.
January 21, 2010
Monitoring Your Public Reputation
A marketing strategy’s effectiveness is measured by results. Legal marketing is no different, and law firms must identify Public Reputation management opportunities, benchmark positions, and track the impact of tactics and initiatives.
Your Web audience, clients, and the media, among others, build your Public Reputation. With those audiences in mind, here are ways to monitor and measure your Public Reputation:
- Search Engine Rankings: Regularly search Google to see where you appear in the results and the nature of the listings. If you don’t see the rankings you want, optimize your site or publish new content to enhance your position.
- Web Site Traffic Reports: Services like Google Analytics reveal who’s visiting your site, what pages they’re viewing, which search engines and Web sites they’re coming from, and how often they return. You can then determine whether you should revise your Web pages or build in new links. A skilled SEO specialist can also provide strategic advice upon reviewing your traffic reports.
- Client Interviews: Speak to your clients, and ask for feedback – what’s going well, what isn’t? If you receive unfavorable comments, get the details. Understand the situation so you can act to improve the relationship. If you feel clients won’t be upfront with you, ask a consultant to conduct interviews and to provide a report.
- Client Surveys: Use a questionnaire to learn your clients’ thoughts on a particular subject or business practice. The results can generate deeper conversations.
- Media Audits & Alerts: Journalists can impact a firm’s Public Reputation, characterizing facts and opinions in ways that may differ from the perception you wish to convey. Media search programs plus tracking tools like WestClip or Lexis can show what’s being written about you, and an outside publicist can help you obtain more frequent and more favorable media mentions.
January 6, 2010
Don't Just Fly In and Fly Out: Make More of Your Speaking Engagements
Speaking at an industry event gives you multiple marketing opportunities. Please don't just fly in, present, and then fly out. Mix up your public reputation tactics to get the greatest effect: