Easy Marketing Ideas for Your Practice

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“Today we are going to talk about business development,” said Linda Lawyer opening the monthly meeting of the L & L Law Firm. Her brother Lance and their associates Aaron and Jennifer all sighed and looked up at her.

“I know; marketing is hard, but without it, we won’t have any business. Since I believe that, for marketing to work, we need to focus on the activities each of you do well and that you can carry out consistently. I have compiled a list of thirteen marketing ideas. I am asking each of you to pick two or three that you think you can accomplish in the next two weeks. It’s okay if someone else is doing the same thing. Remember to select activities you enjoy.

Linda passed out the following list:

Contribute information to the firm’s blog that can help clients.
Write a thank-you note to the last person who sent you a referral. No matter whether the referral did or didn’t have a legal problem that could lead to work. You’re thanking your contact for thinking of you. And, a hand-written thank-you note stands out in a sea of e-mail.
Think about your target market and where you can connect with those potential clients. Make a list of organizations where you can find them and select the ones of interest to you. Contact the organizations to volunteer.
Attend local bar association events where you can meet lawyers who don’t want to represent the clients you do. Those lawyers can be a good referral source for you and you can reciprocate by suggesting them to your clients when appropriate.
If your community offers free classes, think about volunteering to teach one in your area of law or that compliments your practice.
Like to teach? Investigate adjunct professor work. It adds to your expertise and former students can be a great referral source.
Contact 3 or 4 potential referral sources and meet for coffee or drinks or a meal.
If you have a business reception or bar association event coming up, ask to be a greeter. This is a good way to introduce yourself to everyone attending the event.
Think about sending a card for a holiday you enjoy or a day relevant to your practice. Perhaps a date from the history of Social Security would be a good choice or if your clients are in the car business, maybe July 30, Henry Ford’s birthday, would be an interesting day to celebrate. Sending cards during the year will separate your card from the many greetings clients receive during the holidays. Make a note of the date on your calendar.
If you send other lawyers potential clients, let them know. They’ll appreciate the referral and remember you as a referral source.
Before meeting your next client, do a Google search to get a better sense of their legal needs.
Research the local business publications to see what legal needs are not being met or may arise.
Check your profile in the online SBM Member Directory to be sure it is up to date and accurate.

Business development or marketing is vital to your practice. The more business development activities you do and the more consistent you are doing them, the more clients and revenue you’ll bring in and the faster your practice will grow.

Roberta Gubbins has served as the editor of the Ingham County Legal News. Since leaving the paper, she provides services as a ghostwriter editing articles, blogs, and e-blasts for lawyers and law firms. She is the editor of Briefs, the Ingham County Bar Association e-newsletter, and The Mentor, SBM Master Lawyers Section newsletter.

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