Chasing Clients, Not Ambulances
Donald Rohan, a LexisNexis Territory Account Manager, posts an insightful piece geared toward personal injury attorneys.
Ask 10 nonlawyers about the legal profession, and nine will probably refer to mid-morning commercials for personal injury (PI) firms. Marketing is paramount for firms that work on contingency and seek to attract clients who might lack personal referrals for this type of legal work. Dramatic images and content are effective with all sorts of marketing, and PI firms are known for pushing the envelope with striking messages.
However, it's easy to go too far and present an image that many would-be clients find unprofessional and unappealing. So, many firms seek a subtler approach that attracts attention without turning off prospects or damaging their prestige. Here are a few tips for PI attorneys and firms that want to position themselves as client chasers, not ambulance chasers:
• Use imagery that involves the viewer personally.
If you have a brutal accident or injury picture next to a standard attorney portrait, the viewer's eyes will automatically leap to the dramatic image (unless the person in the portrait resembles the viewer or someone close to him or her, such as a family member). If you don't want to use stock photos of vicious dogs or mangled cars, find an image that people can connect with and imagine themselves as the victims in that type of situation — a situation that your firm can help make right.
Read the remainder of Donald's post here.
