Law Firm Marketing | Creating an Identity

This is the second in what will hopefully be a long line of Wednesday law firm marketing posts. Today we're going to talk a little bit about getting creative - thinking outside the box to get more customers. Here we go!

One of the things I find the most frustrating about marketing my law firm is the fact that everyone so often seems to do the same thing. Don't believe me? Google DUI attorney and start clicking around. Everyone is "aggressive," everyone is "dedicated," and everyone is "experienced." I even have that stuff on my website. The problem is, I have no idea if that kind of talk helps. Honestly, I don't think it does. But I'm at a bit of a standstill on what I can do that is different to get my name out there.

Yesterday I took some time and I wrote down a long list of law firm marketing ideas. This is what I came up with:

Billboards;

Creating a brand - who is my firm?;

Radio ads;

Print ads;

Matchbooks;

Coozies;

Keychains;

Television ads;

A website with less "friction" - that is easy for people to take action on;

Booth at the local farmer's market;

Lunch with great known referral sources;

Better business card;

Getting some press;

T-shirts (funny/catchy/true slogans);

Magnets;

Wrapping the car in an ad; and

Get more customer reviews (seek them out instead of waiting for them to come in).

As I looked at this list, I began to realize something that I've been avoiding for a long time because I think it's a little uncomfortable - my law firm has no true identity. And that sucks.

Sure, I know I want to give great service and yada yada yada, but I don't have all of that wrapped up into a tight, clearly defined package so that when people see me, my firm name, or my firm logo they know exactly who I am and what I do. That's not good. And that's the key to differentiating yourself from everyone else in a world where everyone seems to be the same - figuring out exactly who you are and then not being afraid to tell everyone about it in every way you can think of.

I read a lot of emails from the personal finance guy, his name is Ramit Sethi. He's got a blog called I Will Teach You to be Rich and he sends out a monthly newsletter about personal finance and going after your goals full throttle. His newsletter this month was about the power that we let failure have over us. And while I know it applies to starting a law firm, I also think it applies to marketing a law firm, in the sense that I know I feel apprehensive about whether or not my ideas are going to work out (and whether or not they are going to get me laughed at by my peers in the process). Here's the part of the newsletter that I really liked:

People think failure is a bad thing, which always makes me laugh. Failure can be managed, planned for, and even eagerly anticipated.

For example, I have a "failures" tag in Gmail where, if I'm not adding 5 NEW FAILURES PER MONTH, I know I'm not doing enough.

Another data point: for every 10 marketing initiatives we do at "I Will Teach You to be Rich," 7 will fail. And we are pretty freaking good at what we do.

You can treat rejection as a normal step in the process. Expect it. Manage it. Own it.

I think the point of that is that it's okay to go out on a limb. It's okay, and in fact is critical to success, that new marketing ideas are consistently created and tested. And it's okay if you fail, because in the end you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

Here's my challenge to you. Create an identity for your firm. Who are you? What do you do? Why are you different? And then own that identity in every part of your business. Once you do that, come up with 5 creative marketing ideas and implement them. Don't just think about them - actually try them out. If they fail, at least you know. And if they succeed, you've probably just substantially increased your business.

If you'd like to share your ideas in the comments, please do. Next week I'll tell you what I've come up with.