With the growing reliance on the internet, most law firms have come to recognize the critical role of online marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy, and in their bottom line. Marketing companies also recognize this, creating an influx of online legal marketing firms. These firms have so many different sizes, configurations, and marketing philosophies, that it can be hard to distinguish the lone man running a website from his garage from an established online marketing program.
The standard online marketing sales presentation usually includes a slide show that emphasizes the strengths of the legal marketing program, omitting important information you need to make a sound business decision. An attorney who wants to work with a marketing firm should turn the “sales pitch” into an “interview” focusing on two issues: (1) understanding the program and how it works; and (2) qualitative measures of the program’s success. Read our follow-up interview on what questions should be asked. This process will quickly identify the effective programs.
Data and statistics reveal programs that lack substance. A company that does not disclose
(1) number of clients in the market/practice area;
(2) length of tenure of those clients;
(3) volume of actual leads delivered to those clients;
(4) overall renewal rate; and
(5) volume of traffic to the firm’s website fails to do so for a reason. Since this information is the most compelling “sales data” that can be presented, the refusal to provide the data should warn that this firm’s data is not compelling.