By Mark S. Britton
Special to the Legal Technology Blog
Avvo toured the West Coast recently (six cities in five days) speaking to hundreds of lawyers regarding law practice marketing, specifically online marketing. It was a great trip full of interesting discussions and tips from our different panels of experts. One of our panelists was the great marketer, Los Angeles divorce lawyer Kelly Chang Rickert.
On our Los Angeles panel, Kelly offered the following advice, “It is important for every lawyer out there to build your reputation as an expert. Clients want to hire experts.” On its face this feels like pretty simple advice; but, as Kelly’s point was teased out by fellow panelists (Stephen Fairley from The Rainmaker Institute and lawyer, writer and blogger J. Craig Williams, the power of her suggestion started to sink in and it got me thinking.
Legal services are a product that offers few differentiation opportunities. They are not like automobiles or electronics, which can be designed with any combination of marketable bells and whistles. Instead, what any lawyer can offer is limited by what is permitted by the legal process. Yes, there is some creativity in it all; but lawyers are hired to deliver an expected outcome, and as such the differentiation is in the downside rather than the upside. In other words, the differentiation opportunity is similar to that of an airline or drug company -- something to the effect of “Use us because we won’t screw it up.”
I call this “disaster differentiation,” and the only way to succeed in this differentiation is to ensure prospective clients that the expected will occur (or, conversely, that the potential disaster will not). In the legal profession, the “expected” is that you to know more than any potential client regarding their legal issue and the legal system that governs it. You satisfy this by establishing that you have the expertise to avoid any downside – that, similar to a pilot, you will not lose control of the plane in a storm.
In Los Angeles, our panelists focused on three principal tools for demonstrating (or do I dare say “advertising”?) your legal expertise:
- Interviews by the press: Rickert talked about television as a powerful medium for establishing your legal expertise. If a credible news channel asks for your legal point of view, who will doubt your expertise? Same goes for a credible periodical or radio show. You can see a number of Rickert’s television interviews on her Avvo Profile.
- Blogging: Offering your opinions on a blog allows others to understand and reference your expertise. If many in the blogosphere, including traditional media outlets, are referring to your blog posts, your status as an “expert” is dramatically enhanced.
- Testimonials and Endorsements: Politicians have used these for years, and lawyers are only now getting around to using them effectively. One of the reasons that LinkedIn has boomed is because it allows people to speak to and endorse the expertise of another (Avvo offers the same for lawyers). That’s powerful stuff. Anytime someone takes the time to compliment your expertise, it helps reinforce that you are in fact an expert.
For some lawyers, “advertising” their expertise feels too salesy. For others, it is a critical part of their marketing strategy, and they are out there every day turning their expertise into business. It’s ultimately your call; but, in an environment of limited differentiation, the only real choice is to market yourself as the expert that you are and that your potential clients expect you to be.
Mark Britton is the Founder and CEO of Avvo. He is a 17-year lawyer with deep experience in the legal and e-commerce industries. Mark is the former general counsel of Expedia.com and has worked as an attorney in large, medium and small law firms. In 2007, Mark was named one of Seattle’s "Top 25 Innovators" by Seattle Business Magazine. He is also a frequent commentator on financial, legal and other business issues, regularly appearing on programs such as ABC’s "Good Morning America," Fox Business’ "America’s Nightly Scoreboard," CNN "Money" and Dow Jones "MarketWatch."
I could not agree more with the commentary presented in the blog entry, as presenting one's expertise in a particular field of law is truly invaluable. Christopher - http://www.leaselawyer.ca http://www.leasinglawyer.ca
Posted by: Chris Neufeld | October 04, 2009 at 02:51 PM