Presented at the ALA Region 6 Conference in Las Vegas, November 2011

1. The Strategic Mind:
Marketing and Positioning Your Law
Firm
Brian Caffarelli, Productive Strategies,
Inc.
Adam L. Stock, Allen Matkins

2. Agenda
Positioning your firm
Understanding your sales pipeline
Matching tactics to market needs

3. Positioning your firm

4. How will your firm
stand out from the
crowd?

5. Positioning
A marketing strategy that aims to make a brand
occupy a distinct position, relative to competing
brands, in the mind of the customer.
Companies apply this strategy either by
emphasizing the distinguishing features of their
brand (what it is, what it does and how, etc.) or
they may try to create a suitable image
(inexpensive or premium, utilitarian or luxurious,
entry-level or high-end, etc.).

6. You’ve hurt your knee.
Which doctor would you go to?
General practitioner
Orthopedist
Orthopedic knee specialist

7. Who is Bert Hinkler?
Bert Hinkler
The 2nd person
to fly solo
across the
Atlantic!

8. Who was the first person?

9. It is better to be first than to be best!
Charles Bert Hinkler
Lindbergh The 2nd person
The 1st person to fly solo
to fly solo across the
across the Atlantic!
Atlantic!

10. Who was the third person?

11. Who was the third person?
Charles Bert Hinkler Amelia
Lindbergh The 2nd person Earhart
The 1st person to fly solo The 1st woman
to fly solo across the to fly solo
across the Atlantic! across the
Atlantic! Atlantic!

12. If you can’t be first in a category…
create a new category to be first in!
Amelia
Charles Bert Hinkler Amelia
Earhart
Lindbergh The 2nd person Earhart
The 1st woman
The 1st person to fly solo The 3rd person
to fly solo
to fly solo across the to fly solo
across the
across the Atlantic! across the
Atlantic!
Atlantic! Atlantic!

13. Brand positioning worksheet
For (target customer)
who (statement of the need or opportunity)
the (product or service name)
is a (product category)
that (statement of key benefit)
unlike (primary competitive alternative)
our product/service (statement of differentiation)

14. Can you spot the performance car?
“The Ultimate Driving “The guiding principle behind
Machine” everything we make is safety”
Brand positioning drives your perception of the product

15. Understanding your
“sales pipeline”

16. How lawyers and firms are hired
People hire firms
because of
Their abilities
Their comparable
abilities
Their different abilities
 Build differentiation

17. How lawyers and firms are hired
People hire an attorney People hire firms
because because of
They like him/her Their abilities
They trust him/her Their comparable
They think s/he knows a abilities
lot Their different abilities
 Build relationships  Build differentiation

18. Your sales pipeline describes how you get
business
Loyal
Strangers Friends Clients
Clients
 How you move prospects through your sales pipeline
defines
your marketing and business plan

19. Different parts of our pipeline have different
attributes
We don’t know them.
Strangers There are lots of them!
We know them but they haven’t
Friends bought from us.
They may be prospects or referral
sources.
They’ve used our services recently.
Clients
They may only use one of our services.
Loyal They like us a lot and use us a lot.
Clients They view us as a partner in their
business.

20. Different activities address different parts
of our pipeline
Loyal
Strangers Friends Clients
Clients
Satisfaction: Surveys, Reviews, Teams
Relationships: Events
Face-to-Face: Pitches
Direct Communications: Alerts, Newsletters
Education: Seminars
Online: Website, Blogs, Podcasts
Public Relations, Directories
Conferences/Associations

21. Turning strangers into friends
GOALS
Attain qualified leads
ACTIVITIES
Online marketing: blogs, video, whitepapers
Public relations, articles
Conferences, associations

22. How to get started
 Identify your “for’s” and “who’s”
 Find out:
 Where they hang out
 Who they hang out with
 Listen:
 What do they enjoy talking about
 What concerns them most
 Be there:
 Constantly
 Consistently
 With value

23. Blogs and social media are a cost-effective way
of finding qualified leads
Blogs get higher search
rankings so they can be
found faster

24. Turning friends into clients
GOALS
Build credibility and familiarity
Overcome objections
ACTIVITIES
Direct communications: email, thought leadership
Face-to-face meetings, needs assessment

25. The critical steps
 I developed trust
 Credibility
 Rapport
 I helped you better appreciate your problem
 We crafted and owned the solution
 I am willing to take ownership of the outcome
Problem knowledge is more critical than product knowledg

26. Deepen and build relationships

27. Direct communications & thought
leadership

28. Turning clients into loyal clients
GOALS
Be more strategic
Deepen relations
ACTIVITIES
Client service, Client teams, Client surveys
Face-to-face meetings and seminars

29. Top 200 clients account for 60-85% of
revenue
0 200
Typical distribution of law revenues for top 200 clients

30. Why focus on client service?
“Follow the money…”

31. Clients who see their primary law firms as
best in client service deliver nearly twice the
spending
$1.15
Million $
$0.59
Spending on Primary Spending on Primary
Law Firm Law Firm Client sees
as BEST in Client Service
BTI Survey of Client Service Performance and Client Needs 2009

32. Shift service delivery… from the lawyer

33. Shift service delivery… to the team

34. The client review process

35. Client Surveys:
There is no substitute for asking your clients
Every client has different specific needs:
 Responsiveness
 Billing detail and formats
 Budgets and summaries
 Bench strength
 Business referrals
 Education
 Etc.
 Find out what the needs are and address them

36. It takes a “whole firm” to deliver
superior client service
Sample Client Service Improvement Checklist – everyone has a
Action Who
Introduce another practice group Attorneys
Managing partner visit with GC Management
Host a client event, Add client to Marketing
mailing lists, Perform a client survey
Set information alerts Library
Provide a customized billing format Billing/Finance
Create a Client Extranet IS, Secretaries /
Paralegals
Improve responsiveness Attorneys, Secretaries

37. Turn your tightropes into bridges
Commerce flows safely, securely, and reliably over bridge

38. Matching tactics to
market needs

39. Madrid Protocol
This marketing
program drove
over $200,000 in
revenue
- Emails were
personalized
- Part of larger
program
- High value topic
- Urgent action
needed

40. 409A Compliance
This marketing
program drove
over $550,000 in
revenue
- Campaign
included
emails, memos,
calls
- High value issue
- Urgent action
needed

41. How can you stand out online?
300,000,000
web sites
200,000,000,000
searches/year

42. Social media amplifies your message
Traditional Social

43. Levels of social media engagement
I’d like to support you  Act
I’d like others that I know  Share/Tweet
to know about you
Friend  I’d like to join your community
Like  I like your message

45. Internet video is the fastest growing
part of the web

46. Online video is a persuasive new medium
that law firms are tapping
People hire an attorney
because
They like him/her
They trust him/her
They think s/he knows a
lot