Understanding What Marketing Strategies are Right for You with Mark Homer

content marketing digital marketing law firm marketing Nov 18, 2021

Not all law firm owners understand that running a firm is not all about their practice. Law firms are businesses — good marketing is integral to its success. The problem is, not all law firms can afford to hire agencies and employ costly strategies. Our guest today shares that these methods are not necessary for new firms to be successful. A vital thing to figure out for your law firm is determining what marketing strategies apply best to your company.

In this episode, Mark Homer, the CEO and Founder of Get Noticed Get Found, joins us to share his journey from working in IBM to being a consultant for law firms and small businesses. He details what marketing strategies to try considering your comfort, time, and money. We also discuss the importance of having a CMO and why we need to invest in marketing to elevate your law firm to the next level.

If you want to know what marketing strategies to use for your law firm’s growth stage, then this episode is for you.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

Learn what marketing strategies to choose for your law firm.
Understand why it’s necessary to invest in marketing and how to budget for this business expense.
Discover methods you can use to start tracking metrics and increase conversion.

Resources

Take your law firm to the next level with Profit With Law Incubator, where we help grow your revenue from 0 to 250,000!
Profit With Law Podcast Episode 237 - Your Law Firm’s Secret Weapon
Connect with Mark: GNGF Website I LinkedIn I Twitter
Want to learn more from Mark? Listen to his podcast with Melanie Leonard at Your Law Firm is a Business Podcast.
Online Law Practice Strategies by Mark Homer, Jabez LeBret, and Chris Homer
Profit with Law listeners get a special freebie from Mark at GNGF!
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Google My Business
Avvo
DocuSign

Episode Highlights

Mark’s Journey to Working on Marketing for Law Firms

Mark has ten years of experience in law firm marketing.
Before that, he used to work in the technology industry with IBM, where he helped big companies like General Motors build a website.
After dabbling in startups, he started consulting for small businesses. He found the most success working with law firm owners, and that’s where his client base grew.
Contrary to popular opinion, Mark found it surprisingly easy to work with law firm owners.
However, many of them spent money on ineffective marketing strategies, such as Yellow Pages.

How Marketing Changed

Marketing is now more dynamic and no longer just an annual decision.
Not only that, tools today allow you to track whether your marketing investments are paying off. Even the smallest law firms have access to these tools.
You can still track offline marketing like billboards and newspaper ads. Find out what marketing strategies Mark's clients use for traditional media!

Don’t Focus On The Numbers

Figure out the context of what your metrics are showing you.
In the full episode, Moshe shares an experience he had using Facebook ads. Getting an incredible number of leads doesn't translate to paying clients.
Make sure that you're focusing on the metrics aligned with your goal.

How to Choose the Right Tactics

Marketing is a vital aspect of business intertwined with sales.
With so many options available, we tend to get overwhelmed with choosing what marketing strategies to use.
You cannot apply what marketing strategies you learn all at the same time. Learn to add or change things little by little.
If you don’t know where to start, ask yourself where you’re comfortable and self-reflect.
Some people naturally prefer referrals, networking, or social media. Find what works for you.

Moshe: “If done properly, every single marketing strategy can bear fruit and can produce results for you. And it's really a question of comfort, affordability, and time.”

The Matter of Budgeting

Mark recommends allocating 8%–12% of your revenue to marketing, depending on how fast you want to grow your business.

Mark: “Find the tactic that works. Spend where you can spend, and then just grow that. Then, you can layer on other tactics.”

Some marketing strategies take time before delivering ROI; you might be pulling the plug too early. So, you also have to be mindful of your risk tolerance.
Most law firm owners find it hard to grasp this idea since service-based businesses don't require a large upfront investment.
As you grow, you need to be more mindful of your operating expenses so you can set a target for your revenue.
Growth requires marketing, but you don’t have to spend on services right away. Use free platforms like Google My Business. Also, learn from books, podcasts, and incubators.

Mark: “If you're not doing 250 to 300,000, just stop thinking you're going to find an agency that's going to have the right price for you and be able to actually do something that moves the needle. Think about doing a lot of little pieces on your own.”

Building a Marketing Foundation

If you don’t have a budget for marketing, first start by building a basic website. Eventually, you can improve it when you have more resources.

Mark: “An entire generation now believes that if you don't have a website, you don't have a business.”

Then, work on your referral and email lists. You can send monthly newsletters to build familiarity.
Set up your Google My Business — an easy way to start tracking metrics. Mark has clients who get more calls from this platform compared to their website.

What Are The Social Media Marketing Basics

Social media can be overwhelming due to the number of platforms and possible tactics. But marketing on it can be as simple as answering questions on video.
You can also use existing content and turn them into different formats for social media.
For example, podcast episodes can be transcribed and turned into blog posts.
Most importantly, you have to have your profiles in place.
People will search for you, and you need to show credibility. Protect your referrals by being searchable.

Mark: “What's important is that when somebody looks for you, they find you. So make sure that you actually have a listing. Make sure you're actually there.”

What to Do Once You Have a Marketing Budget

At this point, you can either hire an agency or freelancers.
If you haven’t done either, now is the time to start tracking.
Metrics drive your goals. Your goals then inform what strategies you need to employ.

Mark: “Once you have the goals, then we're going to kind of say, ‘What strategies make sense for that goal and your market, with your competition, with where you're currently at?’”

What Marketing Strategies to Consider

Look at the tactics you’ve already been doing, see if they are still working, and think of how to improve them.

Mark: “There's ways to measure the things you're already using, and then start layering in new things.”

If you’re leaning towards getting leads digitally, a good long-term investment strategy is working on your SEO.
On the other hand, if you want to speed up your lead generation, consider using Google and Facebook ads.
You can also research directories and find out what keywords are doing well in the market.

Mark: “Hopefully, at this point, you're having some smarter business conversations; you understand your metrics and your numbers better.”

How to Have Continuous Growth

Depending on what marketing strategies you use, you can speed up your success. It won’t happen overnight, but it can take you five years as opposed to 20.
As your firm grows, start thinking about whether you need to bring in a point person for marketing or a CMO.
Beyond considering what marketing strategies to utilize, start to understand your brand and the community you’re serving.
Make sure that the brand aligns with your values and principles. If it's misaligned, consider rebranding.
In the full episode, Mark shares how one of his clients started rebranding after their persona no longer matched their services and who they are.

Understand Your Market

When you understand your market and how to reach them, it will be easier to identify the right marketing strategy.
If you’re considering hiring a PR agency, make sure that they know how to work with social media.
Don’t limit yourself to offline marketing like TV, billboards, magazines, and newspapers.
If you have a dedicated CMO, they can make sure you focus on the target market, retention, brand building, and more.
They can be the “conductor” to your marketing orchestra and make sure that you produce a beautiful, harmonious outcome.

Giving Your Clients Choices

Many law firms and attorneys now offer online payments and consultations.
These services provide convenience to your clients, so advertise them.
However, don't forget to consider those who have yet to embrace technology.
Give people choices on how they can interact with your office.

About Digital Marketer Mark

Mark Homer is the founder and CEO of GNGF (Get Noticed Get Found), a digital marketing agency that helps law firms and attorneys protect their referrals and grow leads through effective marketing strategies. He is an international keynote speaker and has co-written the book Online Law Practice Strategies.

After working for over 20 years in the business world, Mark has accumulated experience in technology, marketing, and consulting. He has founded several successful companies while building experience on growing teams and achieving targeted results. Mark has also coached and counseled many business owners on building and maintaining their workplace culture.

Interested in Mark’s work? Check out GNGF. You can also reach him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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