Marketing the Solo Practice by Sharon Younger
Sharon Younger founded Younger Associates, a market strategy consulting firm and full-service advertising agency in 1990.␣ She holds a Ph.D. in Market Research, an MBA in management and a BS in accounting.␣ Younger Associ- ates assists law firms and other professional organizations in developing and implementing marketing plans that support growth and profitability objectives.␣ Among her clients is the largest personal injury law firm in Tennessee.
If you think the primary difference between marketing a solo practice and marketing a large law firm is the resources available, you are thinking inside the box. It is a common mistake to begin thinking about marketing a solo practice in terms of what the limits will be. This inhibits creativity and misplaces your focus. The steps to developing an effective mar- keting campaign are basically the same regardless of the size of the law firm. The type of clients or cases you are seeking has a far greater influence on how you mar- ket your firm than the size of your firm. The most critical element in creating
a marketing plan for any law firm is de- fining the target client audience. For example, a solo practitioner who has de- veloped expertise in toxic tort cases has a much different target audience than a solo practitioner who wants to attract a larger number of local social security disability applicants. Both of these solo practitio- ners have the same basic marketing tools available to them. Each must develop a marketing plan that utilizes the tools most effective in reaching the targeted clients. The basic marketing tools available to all law firms are: newsletters/ direct mail; internet websites; yellow pages/ directory advertising; and mass media advertising and networking. Reviewing each of these marketing tools individually reveals which would be more effective for each of our hypothetical solo practitioners.
Newsletter/ Direct Mail A newsletter can be an effective tool for marketing any law practice. It can be used to help generate referrals from friends, classmates, family, clients, and other attorneys. Everyone has a built-in mailing list that can be used for a news- letter. Newsletters are most effective when published three or four times per year. This schedule keeps your mailing list cur- rent and keeps your practice in the minds of those who are likely to refer clients to you.
Both of the hypothetical solo practi- tioners could benefit from a newsletter. Each should personalize the content and
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focus on topics related to the specific area of law they practice. The toxic tort prac- titioner might choose to supplement the newsletter with direct mail letters to key law firms who could provide client refer- rals.
The social security practitioner should focus on building a wide-ranging mailing list of working people for the newsletter.
Internet An Internet website can be a relatively inexpensive marketing tool. Consumers often use websites to gain an understand- ing or impression of a company or professional practice before they call or visit. A website can be an excellent tool for attracting specialized cases from a wide
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