Peter: Okay, thank you all for joining.
So, welcome to Maximizing Legal Marketing Part Four.
In November, I recently gave a webinar
on how you can create interest and consideration
in those you want most as clients,
and what we did was we covered your reviews and reputation
can make or break your campaign,
and how your firm is perceived.
Advertising costs are skyrocketing,
so you'd better be judicious with how you spend your budget,
you know, to acquire new potential clients,
and finally, the overall experience you offer
through marketing online or in person
will establish how you're regarded,
which can either encourage those
to take next steps to hire you
or move onto your competition.
So, in today's webinar,
I'm covering what you need to focus on
so you can ensure your potential clients
overcome any doubt about hiring your firm,
and actually generate reassurance
that they're in the right place and should call.
This is a key step to capturing and encouraging people
to reach out and inquire with your firm.
Everything is intrinsically related
throughout these phases of the marketing funnel.
Or, simply stated, the journey a potential client takes
in determining who best to hire.
Now, someone can move from knowing nothing about your firm
to wanting to hire you in mere seconds,
all based on the impression you've given them
about your practice.
We've all spent money and time to get potential clients
to narrow down their viable choices
to where they're ideally considering you,
whether they're aware of it or not,
so we can't afford to let them trigger their doubt
and give them the impression they just avoided
a potential mistake by hiring you.
And if anyone has any questions
or would like to speak with me,
please email me at Peter@scorpion.co.
So, if this is your first webinar
that you're attending of mine,
here I am, my name is Peter Webb,
and I'm the senior vice president of sales at Scorpion,
and law firms have called me in for the past 20 years
to identify and evaluate what they need to be doing
to make the most of their marketing.
And having been with Scorpion since its inception in 2001,
I've had the pleasure of helping thousands of law firms,
both large and small,
come up with a tailored strategy that works best for them.
It's my goal to explain key factors
which are influencing how you get cases today,
and what you should be paying attention to
in order to maximize your online marketing campaign.
Now, losing potential clients due to an online poor image
is costing firms more than they may realize.
Unfortunately, this is not something that's easily tracked.
You can't go run a report
of all the people that were interested
and didn't decide to contact you.
For this reason, it's very hard to fix,
unless you address all of it.
Ensuring wherever someone goes online,
they find a professionally ubiquitous firm image
will paint a very positive picture
for all relevant audiences, such as potential new clients,
referring attorneys, prior clients,
opposing counsel, and more.
Factors that can ruin or at least dilute
your campaign's success include
short attention spans of people
considering your representation,
millions of sites and destinations
for people to visit online,
you know, the internet's a pretty darn big place,
overall lack of familiarity with the law,
thus making it hard to choose the best firm for them,
and the fact that we are a mobile first society,
and are constantly on mobile devices,
which have much less screen room for your messaging,
being overwhelmed with the choices and circumstances
related to their case and what they're going through,
and the general public are rife with misconceptions
about the law and how it works, right?
So, essentially, you're spending time, money and effort
to interest and encourage people to consider your firm.
You can't afford to let any last minute doubt
stop people from hiring you,
especially due to areas that can be addressed
and easily fixed.
As consumers, we all know trusted household brands
that have gone out of business.
Well, how and why does that happen?
They essentially fail to evolve
and adapt their business practices
to the current behaviors of their clients,
so don't let that happen to your practice.
Consider this: It's your make it or break it moment.
You've paid with either time, money or effort
to get the prospective client this far along
in the buyer's journey.
The following are pitfalls
you must constantly pay attention to:
Low conversion of your overall campaign.
You know, if you're capturing
a low percentage of opportunities,
you're leaving money on the table.
Low return on investment,
resulting in a non-sustainable campaign over time.
Let's say, cost per case acquisition is too high,
and also not sustainable.
A wrong or poor impression of your firm is given,
and contributing to low conversion and a loss of new cases.
You aren't connecting with potential clients as you should,
so cost to generate new cases can skyrocket from this.
Your image doesn't advocate for your own representation.
It leads to doubt and confusion
of if you're the right firm for them.
And poorly written content that doesn't communicate
also leads to frustration,
due to their questions not being answered.
This is impacting the legal industry as a whole,
and what we're seeing is that cases
are not being pursued as they should and could be,
specific cases are not going
to the best local firms they should,
which is resulting in a rising number of people
who are not getting the legal outcomes
they deserve for their case.
The good news is that most of these pitfalls
are immediately addressable.
I advise each firm I meet with
to not only focus on fixing everything so it's current,
but to also adapt and adopt protocols and processes
so it's done in an ongoing fashion.
This way, you're not having to scramble to figure out
why you have a decline in new cases,
yet you're spending more in marketing
than you ever have before.
Think of it as your law firm brand maintenance.
At a high level, these are the areas
that will reduce and ideally negate any doubt,
and provide reassurance
that you are the best firm for their case.
Having a professional image online
that really portrays your firm in the best light possible.
Having a great reputation online,
meaning multiple real reviews that people can relate with.
Highlighting your track record of success
and leveraging testimonials from past clients,
which show that you're competent and effective,
and being positioned front and center
wherever someone goes online,
so people feel that you're the best fit for their case.
Let's dive into locality matters, now more than ever.
Over 95 percent of people searching online for a service
are looking locally, they wanna hire people locally, right?
So you should ensure your marketing plan
includes how you're going to emphasize that you're local
to the people searching near you.
I've read and listened to countless intake transcripts
where the person concluded that they would hire the firm
once they knew that they were right down the street,
or were familiar with them, or where they live,
or they went to similar schools, or whatever it may be,
they felt connected, like they shared common bonds,
and believed the law firm or intake specialist
empathized in a way that showed they cared.
We all wanna make the best choices we can,
especially when it's regarding legal representation,
which unfortunately, most people don't fully understand.
Now, by showcasing how you've done right
by people in your community, you can build further trust,
and remove potential doubt.
The following are examples of things you can do right away
to bolster your existing campaign, and build more trust:
Gathering and posting real testimonials.
Don't promote something that says "Attorney Smith is great,"
or "George helped me with my legal problem."
You know, we as people tend to immediately disregard
anything too generic or too good to be true,
without substantiating evidence or prior trust.
And leverage any pro bono work you've done.
This shows that you care,
and believe more in doing what's right
than being in it for the money.
You know, charity work is another good thing,
and it's good for several reasons.
People tend to like and share any activities
involving goodwill and charity through social media,
plus these stories are usually picked up by local news,
because they involve charitable organizations
which most people support.
And as an additional benefit, firms receive local publicity
and usually higher engagement.
And finally, scholarships.
Firms are now funding local higher education initiatives
to further cement their status
as a pillar in their community.
This creates goodwill associated with their legal brand,
and better positions them as a local and trusted firm.
Just to give you an idea,
firms typically donate a few thousand dollars
towards these scholarships,
which can be a drop in the bucket,
considering the positive engagement they get in return.
The internet is moving towards 70 percent
of all content being video in the next two years.
Well, why is that?
Well, for one, we as a society
would much rather watch something than read it.
Using high quality video allows you
to connect with your ideal clients
in a way that traditional content could never do.
With video, people are able to instantly see who you are,
your demeanor, if you appear trustworthy,
and essentially, would they wanna contact you
and do they like you?
You know, I once had a potential client
proudly show me the videos that he had on his site.
I took a look at it, and it was pretty funny.
The videos were shot on an old iPhone,
there was a distant baby crying,
which could be heard in the background,
an occasional dog bark, a delivery van showed up,
believe it or not, in the middle of it,
and the ceiling fan was rattling
the entire time he was telling his story.
And I told him I personally wouldn't hire him
based on the video,
and it's not doing him any justice.
It made him look essentially sloppy,
and didn't accurately represent his practice.
We re-shot the video professionally,
and then ran video ads through YouTube,
and immediately noticed a 50 percent uptick in engagement
just by doing them properly.
So when done properly and correctly,
videos can showcase the human side of your practice,
which can clinch you being the firm
that they reach out to first.
With everyone trying to find what they're looking for
as quickly as possible online,
it's more important now than ever
to highlight your track record of success.
Your website should answer these questions quickly:
Have you handled their type of case in the past?
Have you done it often?
Were you successful, and if so, how successful?
Could you possibly help them with their case?
You can answer those questions
as well as these following questions,
and encourage people to contact you
by displaying your case results
or verdicts and settlements.
Food for thought, typically the two most visited pages
potential clients go to when looking to hire an attorney
are the attorney bio pages, and the case results page.
They wanna know who you are, and have you done it before.
Showcase testimonials from prior clients.
Sometimes you'll sign cases just from this alone.
Utilize real client reviews.
Let people read about your highly lauded representation
from those you've helped previously.
Write relevant blog articles
which will answer those questions.
And highlight any mention of you on TV,
in the news, radio, or any citation in traditional media.
In fact, I just had a personal injury firm I work with
get a great case, because they listed
that they have recovered billions
on behalf of their clients.
Now, at first, they were very reluctant
to have the website list this,
because they felt it was bragging,
and they're a much more conservative firm.
They've been around a long time.
They didn't want to appear as a money-hungry firm at all,
because they were pretty much anything but that.
They focused on complex cases most other firms had rejected,
that was their forte and specialty.
Anyway, we decided to test it out,
so we listed that they'd recovered billions,
but we did it in a tasteful way.
And the client that they had actually just signed,
that he just told me about,
had started their research locally
and found a law firm that stated on their website,
"Millions recovered."
It got him thinking, and he said,
"I wonder if anyone's out there
"that has billions recovered."
And so he revised his search,
and he ended up finding my client.
And what ended up happening was, he hired them right away,
because he had complete trust in knowing
that they've recovered substantially more
than anyone else he found.
Now, we don't all have billions recovered,
but the point is to put your best foot forward,
so you stand apart and create trust.
There are many ways to create trust,
such as through your reliability, your accomplishments,
your experience, your tenure, your testimonials.
What people say about you, and much more.
There's many things you could leverage in those.
So, there's many ways to reassure prospective clients,
just make sure you do it tastefully,
and focus on how your accomplishments can help them.
That way, you don't come across
as egotistical or arrogant.
Now, a good question to ask,
are you providing and proving to your potential clients
that they made the right choice to consider your firm?
Think about the experience potential clients receive
once they reach out to your firm.
Think of the factors that play into
a surprisingly good experience,
and then one that was mediocre,
which sets the expectations for the future.
Think of things such as the intake process,
where perhaps the individual who answers the phone
already seems annoyed or distracted,
or sometimes they even say the firm name incorrectly.
What about the time it takes to speak to a real person
when calling a law firm,
versus getting an answering machine?
How are you greeted when you are calling in,
or what is said exactly?
Do they hear about the firm's differentiators
during the hold music?
And how long does it take to receive
a call back from the attorney?
Most firms pay so much attention and money
to drive people into the firm,
but then drop the ball on the experience people receive
once they engage the law firm.
This is a key point in an area
that usually ends up being cited
in any bad reviews that you might receive.
You know, attorneys are notorious
for being hard to get ahold of,
or not calling anyone back.
So we have to break that stereotype.
A good thing to do is start tracking
what this looks like with your firm.
When using call recording, or call tracking,
see what the experience looks like for yourself.
Pay attention to how long people are left on hold.
Are you reinforcing all the reasons
they picked up the phone and called in the first place?
Unfortunately, I had a law firm
who was interested in generating mesothelioma cases.
And just so everyone knows,
every one of these cases costs
usually tens of thousands of dollars to generate online.
And in this particular case,
the son called to hire the firm
on behalf of his father, who was the victim.
The unfortunate thing was, when he called,
the call was answered by the receptionist,
who is new and quite rude.
I know this because we had call recording set up,
and I listened to the call
right when I saw the inquiry come in.
She mentioned she didn't know
if they took those type of cases,
and then put the potential client on hold for five minutes.
He actually waited the whole time,
and then she came back on the phone and said,
"The attorney you wanna speak with is out to lunch."
And then she hung up.
She didn't even get any information from him,
and when the lead attorney got back from court
and called the son back,
the son mentioned he had already hired another firm.
This could have been a seven figure case,
as most of these cases are,
and think of the money they spent
to generate all the calls to ideally get this call.
No one can afford to bring a potential client
all the way to the finish line,
just to drop the ball at the end.
So start paying attention to the experience
you're giving everyone who calls,
or writes in, or enters your office.
These experiences can be leveraged to retain future clients.
Firms that don't address how they're perceived online
will always spend more to acquire cases.
Let me give you a practical example that showcases this,
and everything else we've discussed so far.
Let's say someone's interested in hiring an attorney.
Let me walk you through an everyday situation
of what they would do.
Let's say they hear a recommendation about your firm,
and search for you online,
but can't find you quickly, or at all.
This creates immediate doubt,
and they usually end up hiring another firm.
Now, think of the marketing dollars
you spent to generate new cases,
and it being wasted this way.
Let's say they do find you, but see unflattering reviews
or an outdated website.
Again, this creates doubt in their minds about hiring you.
They leave and hire another firm, right?
And every time this happens,
it's not only the missed opportunity,
but it's also giving people
a bad or wrong impression of your practice, right?
So in thinking with the unflattering reviews,
think about down the road,
if someone mentions to that person
that they were thinking about hiring your firm.
They very well may tell them,
"I was about to hire them, until I saw their reviews."
This would create instant doubt,
and they would probably think twice
about hiring your firm now, right?
What if they look and only find inconsistent
or unmaintained descriptions of your practice
throughout different sites?
You know, whether it's where you are,
or your practice areas,
or the attorneys that you have at the firm.
Or places like Yelp or Facebook,
or things like your last update was two years ago.
You would get the impression
they may even be out of business.
The end result is another missed opportunity, and case lost.
And lastly, imagine they're looking for your address,
so they can come in for, let's say, a consultation.
And they only find inaccurate addresses
throughout Google Maps and other directories.
They see satellite or virtual offices,
and they don't know which one to go to.
Let's say they end up calling,
and no one picks up the phone,
or the attorney they wanted to meet with
is busy or in court.
It's not a good experience, so they've decided to see
if another firm is close and easier to get to.
I actually had an attorney call me up last year,
who I wasn't working with yet,
and he was irate, and said that he just lost
a potential client who had a big case.
Apparently, the potential client
had used their lunch break to drive across town
to meet with the firm to sign up.
The problem was that they went to an address
they found online, which was an outdated address.
They were so frustrated, that they called the attorney
and said they would be going with another firm.
Well, we ended up working with that firm,
and first order of business
was to essentially clean everything up
in all the iterations of the firm name,
you know, business address and all the phone numbers.
As I said before, we can't afford to spend money
trying to generate new clients,
only to lose them to something that can be fixed
and addressed and prevented moving forward.
So, let's recap.
Perception is the reality online.
Ensuring you're putting yourself and your best foot forward
is key to how you're gonna be perceived.
It's a costly mistake to lose case opportunities
based on a poor image.
I always find this to be the most regrettable way
to lose cases, because it's so easy to fix.
And increasing community engagement
will boost your firm's reputation in your local market.
As we've discussed and covered, locality matters.
Make sure you're doing something about it,
because it immediately differentiates your firm.
Think of you versus, let's say,
statewide or national law firms.
You should get the cases from your backyard.
And lastly, providing a great overall experience
for your potential clients will reassure them
that they made the right choice
in picking you in the first place.
You don't wanna spend money
bringing people all the way to the finish line,
to just drop the ball near the end.
So, that concludes the fourth installment
of my webinar series on maximizing your legal marketing.
Please join me again at the end of January,
when I cover the next installment,
which is on empowering the decision
to convert, essentially, prospects into clients.
And at this point, you should have a better understanding
of the importance of overcoming
a potential client's doubt online,
and reassuring them why you're the best fit for their case.
I strongly recommend you go through
the experience you're delivering to your clients,
take a fresh look at the reviews
and what people are saying about you.
Ensure that you have an accurate online footprint
with regards to your firm name,
addresses, phone numbers, attorneys who work with you,
anything like that.
And set up local initiatives to boost your legal brand.
And finally, embrace video,
but remember, do it properly, do it right,
remember who your audience is.
I would be more than happy to schedule a time
to evaluate your campaign
and shed any light on opportunities I see available to you,
and we could walk through any problems you're experiencing,
and discuss any potential solutions
to determine the best fit.
What I would need you to do is feel free to email me.
Again, my email is Peter@scorpion.co.
And thank you very much for your time.
As always, I look forward to helping you succeed.