Content and legal marketing, marketing & public relations agency

Apr

How much should you spend on marketing during a recession? Here’s what the research says

April 13, 2020

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As COVID-19 sweeps the world, our economy is quickly going down the toilet (along with stockpiles of toilet paper). Unfortunately, we are likely already in a recession. For marketers, recessions have historically been scary times. Often, marketing seems like the easiest thing to cut. But is that wise?

As a marketer, if I wrote a blog post telling you to increase marketing during a recession, I’d look a little self-serving (to say the least). So instead, I decided to look at what the research tells us about marketing during recessions.

What I found is overwhelming evidence that it pays to maintain — and in some cases increase — marketing expenditures during an economic downturn. As Peter Fader of the Wharton School said, “As companies slash advertising in a downturn, they leave empty space in consumers’ minds for aggressive marketers to make strong inroads.”

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Feb

Legal marketing ethics: How specific can a law firm get with targeted social media advertising?

February 10, 2020

by: Steven Gallo in Law , Marketing strategy , Content marketing , Public relations

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Law firm advertising and social media. These two subjects are complicated enough on their own, not to mention when you put them together.

Unlike radio ads and the Yellow Pages of yesteryear, today’s social media platforms allow marketers to appeal to users in a more targeted and personal way than ever before.

But how much is too much? And where does that leave law firms?

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Nov

Spread the cheer! How to do holiday marketing the right way for B2B and professional services

November 20, 2019

by: Michelle Calcote King in Law , B2B , Content marketing , Public relations , Architecture, Engineering and Construction

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Ah, the holidays. A time when we’re surrounded by warm wishes, those we love — and a never-ending sales pitch to get us to spend, spend, spend. The holiday fervor seems to start earlier every year, too (I swear I saw toy Santas alongside the American flags in one store this past July 4th).

This is the noisiest time of year in consumer marketing, with brands of all kinds clamoring for attention. So why would B2B companies and professional services firms — which have much different sales cycles — choose to enter that fray? Wouldn’t it be best to just lie low and go big in January?

Unfortunately, that would mean disappearing from view for weeks, maybe even a couple of months. In today’s connected environment, that can be a death blow when you’re trying to maintain a consistent brand.

Done tactfully and in line with the spirit of the season, holiday marketing for B2B companies and professional services firms can help you maintain awareness while leaving a warm feeling behind that clients and prospects will remember all year long.

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Oct

Boo! Five scary pitfalls to avoid during law firm marketing budget season

October 24, 2019

by: Michelle Calcote King in Law , Marketing strategy

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*Foreboding, creepy music plays*

Our law firm marketer hero is alone in the office, at her desk. Everyone else went home hours ago. It’s deathly silent, aside from the echoing sound of her keystrokes as she sets up tomorrow’s social media posts on Buffer. She’s just about done. She can go home after a long day of helping build the financial future of her firm.

*Ping*

An email? At this hour? Annoyed, she switches windows to look at the offending message. Annoyance morphs slowly into creeping dread and then abject horror as she reads the name of the sender and the subject line.

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Sep

From blah to ah-ha! How to write law firm case studies that win new business

September 24, 2019

by: Michelle Calcote King in Law , Content marketing

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This post was first published on Law Journal Newsletters.

Visit any law firm’s website and you’ll find bulleted lists of representative matters and deals that look like this:

Represented leading international retailer and several of its officers and directors in securities class action and shareholder derivative suits.
Represented an investment fund in connection with a $500 million secured credit facility.

This might be the most wasted opportunity in the land of wasted opportunities called Law Firm Marketing. While laundry lists of every single matter an attorney has ever touched may be helpful on a resume, it’s much less effective for law firm marketing goals.

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Jun

The hidden costs of cutting your legal marketing budget

June 19, 2019

by: Michelle Calcote King in Law , Marketing strategy

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Note: This post was first published on the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute blog.

It’s the classic chicken-and-egg problem: You don’t have money to invest in marketing, but you need marketing to grow. And while there are plenty of studies clearly demonstrating a direct link between law firms’ marketing investment and financial growth, many firms still choose to cut back on marketing when money gets tight.

This was one of the findings from a recent study by the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute. In the 2018 Dynamic Law Firms Survey, law firms categorized as “static” (no growth or contraction) reduced their marketing spend by 1.7% in 2017. That’s a 5% point difference from “dynamic” (high-growth) firms, which grew their marketing spend by 3.4%.

So why do many law firms still axe the marketing budget first when looking to save money? My guess is that there’s a lack of understanding surrounding the many hidden costs of cutting marketing. Below are seven of these tangible, day-to-day losses and how they impact a law firm long after the financial crunch is over.

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Sep

How law firms can use marketing automation to enhance their client experience

September 25, 2018

by: Michelle Calcote King in Law , Marketing strategy

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Acquiring new clients is expensive. Depending on the study, research shows that the cost to acquire a new client is anywhere from five to 25 times the cost to retain an existing client.

Yet many law firms focus the majority of their marketing efforts on client acquisition — not client retention.

Here’s more research if you’re not convinced of the value of client retention: Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company (the inventor of the net promoter score) found that increasing customer retention rates by 5 percent increases profits by 25 to 95 percent.

From client alerts to blog posts, webinars, educational events and more, law firms are investing heavily to demonstrate their attorneys’ expertise and attract the right clients. How can these efforts be leveraged to enhance the client experience?

Enter marketing automation.

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May

4 reasons marketers must shift toward a ‘knowledge extraction’ mindset

May 2, 2018

by: Michelle Calcote King in B2B , Marketing strategy , Content marketing , Architecture, Engineering and Construction

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Marketers… if you had to describe your most important role in one or two words, what would you say? My gut tells me that many would say “promotion,” “brand building” or “thought leadership.” I doubt many would say “knowledge extraction.” And that must change.

Knowledge extraction is basically that — extracting knowledge from your subject-matter experts (SMEs). It’s a specialized skill when done right, and it’s imperative for effective business-to-business and professional services marketing. Here’s why:

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Apr

7 ways to overcome content marketing’s biggest challenge: just getting it done

April 24, 2018

by: Michelle Calcote King in B2B , Content marketing , Architecture, Engineering and Construction

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We’ve all heard it before:

“I just can’t get my subject-matter experts to give me the information I need.”

“We would do content marketing, but we can never find the time — we’re too busy focused on billable work.”

I get it. Content marketing takes time. It’s the reason I have a viable business, after all.

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Apr

Legal marketers: Here’s how to get general counsel’s attention, straight from the horse’s mouth

April 17, 2018

by: Michelle Calcote King in Law , Marketing strategy

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Four marketing strategies are particularly effective, says panel of GCs at Legal Marketing Association conference

Law firm marketers: Want to know what works to get the attention of general counsel (GC)?

Here’s the short answer: high-quality, relevant and timely thought leadership content, in the form of client alerts, helpful articles vendita piscina gonfiabile con scivolo and speeches. In addition, well-written case studies help GCs understand your firm’s experience in solving specific problems (that they may be facing themselves).

Five GCs sat down for a panel discussion at last week’s Legal Marketing Association national conference and laid bare how they choose outside counsel, what gets their attention and how to cut through the clutter in today’s information-saturated environment.

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How much should you spend on marketing during a recession? Here’s what the research says

Spread the cheer! How to do holiday marketing the right way for B2B and professional services

Boo! Five scary pitfalls to avoid during law firm marketing budget season

From blah to ah-ha! How to write law firm case studies that win new business

The hidden costs of cutting your legal marketing budget

How law firms can use marketing automation to enhance their client experience

4 reasons marketers must shift toward a ‘knowledge extraction’ mindset

7 ways to overcome content marketing’s biggest challenge: just getting it done

Legal marketers: Here’s how to get general counsel’s attention, straight from the horse’s mouth

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