Marketing For Lawyers - Mistakes Attorneys Make--and How to Avoid Them, Mistake #3
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MARKETING MISTAKE 3:
USING PASSIVE MARKETING VERSUS ACTIVE MARKETING
One of the mistakes I talk about in my book, Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers, is using passive versus active marketing strategies in Law Firm Marketing.
Passive marketing is when you wait for your prospective clients to come to you—like placing an advertisement in the newspaper or waiting for a referral to walk in the door.
Active marketing is when you go out and find those prospective clients—like giving a presentation or formal networking.
PASSIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES may include: Sending out direct mail letters, postcards, or flyers announcing my company, new services, or law firm websites. Researching area associations I can speak to. Refining my Unique Competitive Advantage. (UCA). Waiting for referrals to come in. Writing or reworking the firm’s brochure.
ACTIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES may include: Making a follow-up call to everyone I sent the direct mail pieces to until I reach them and ask them to attend or sign up. Calling a list of ten organizations a month and inquiring about speaking opportunities. Sharing my UCA with potential referral sources in a 1-1, face-to-face setting. Conducting a phone survey of leading experts in my target markets industry and interviewing them on a specific topic. Handing the brochure out to hot prospects I meet at a networking event and following up with them via phone & email within 24 hours.
What's wrong with using Passive Marketing Strategies in your law firm marketing plan?
There is nothing wrong with using Passive Marketing Strategies. Passive Strategies are not necessarily better than Active Strategies; however, as a law firm marketing consultant here are two common problems I frequently encounter with the attorneys I coach and offer legal marketing services to:
1. First, attorneys have a much greater tendency to use passive rather than active strategies. As I said, one is not better than the other. The key to success is using a powerful combination of both.
Take a look at your 12-month law firm marketing plans and ask yourself, does it contain a balance between the passive and active strategies or am I favoring one or the other?
2. Passive strategies tend to take a lot longer to produce results—which is fine if you have lots of time to make money and generate revenues, but if you're hurting for cash flow right now or want to quickly ramp up your revenues, you really need to use Active Marketing Strategies more frequently.
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