The National Creditors Bar Association Law Practice Management Blog

With so much competition for clients, law firms are seeking any edge they can find.  Even so, many attorneys remain camera shy.  Despite the fact that video is a unique way to market a modern small business, small law firm websites that feature video remain few and far between.   But, there are a number of reasons why video can be an effective marketing tactic for your law firm.   In the first place,  consumer attention spans (all attention spans, really) are becoming shorter, in part because of the way we now consume technology and media ; and, video offers short snippets that are easily digestible.  Furthermore, video is a far more visceral and resonant medium than text, in much the same way that speaking with someone in-person is a far more immediate experience than receiving a letter from someone.  Creating and publishing videos can also support and extend a law firm’s content marketing platform, by offering another place to publis...

Nobody has ever liked waiting.  But, there has never been a point in recorded history where people have liked waiting less.  Cave people, I suppose, never had the benefit of the internet and smartphones.  But, I’m not even talking about the Neanderthals; heck, people are far less patient than they were even ten years ago, since things like Netflix have pumped urgency addition up on steroids.  No one wants to wait for anything anymore, because no one has to wait for anything anymore.  Except for hiring law firms. Despite the fact that consumers are simultaneously less patient and have more choices than ever before, attorneys still make those consumers wait.  They call; you wait to call them back.  They want engagement; you give them online forms.  They text; you ignore their texts.  Converting leads starts at first contact; and, if you’re not the first contact back, you’ve already lost the game.  Everything you do in marketi...

Modern law firm consumers are an entirely new breed.  They have more law firm options than ever before, and aren’t afraid to use them.  They are committed to mobile search.  They are more cost-sensitive than any consumer base in modern history.  Absent a near-instantaneous response from a potential lawyer hire, they will immediately move on to the next attorney on their list. This can be frustrating for law firms, whose billing practices tend to be antiquated.  Hourly billing, without a cap, is perhaps the scariest consumer pricing arrangement there is.  Put yourself in the shoes of your potential client, and ask how appealing it would be to sign an agreement undefined in length, and with a high hourly rate attached.  Furthermore, if you’re asking for retainers, consider whether you’d be able to draw that cashier’s check on your own bank account, on short notice. The good news is that these two obvious roadblocks to client engagement fo...