Hardcode: “Nice to meet you. Here’s my [crappy, flimsy] card.”
“Nice to meet you. Here’s my [crappy, flimsy] card.”
You ever receive a business card that’s on cheap paper? That feels thin and flimsy, and… wilts? We all have. Remember the subtle, subconscious feeling of disappointment? What a missed opportunity that was for them to convey their quality and prestige? First impressions matter, and for a few lousy cents per card, perhaps an extra couple bucks a year, they could have conveyed a dynamic, high-end impression to every single person and prospect they met, all year.
Your logo and business card are the tangible, physical embodiment of your entire law practice. If your card implicitly says “Mediocre,” “Cheap,” or “Boring,” it’s just a little bit harder to prove that you’re high-quality and creative. Why take the chance? Would you trust your money to a bank that saved a few pennies on the paper on its executives’ cards? Would you hire a law firm to handle a crisis if their cards seemed to be designed by Kinko’s? Maybe. But maybe not.
Lawyers sell an expensive, high-risk, intangible service. Prospects can’t take us for a test drive, so always they’re looking for something tangible to hang their hat on.
This is why business cards are disproportionately important — it’s something prospects can actually see and feel. It’s why we usually recommend to our clients that we engrave their cards and use slightly thicker card stock. It’s why we make a big deal about a high-quality logo and layout. Little things can mean a lot when forming a first impression.
These are the types of lawyers who have handled hundreds of big trials. They’re a VERY impressive group; I don’t think the CIA vets its spies as rigorously as the FDCC does its potential members.
Of course, I collected some of the members’ business cards for later follow-up. And as always, there were the wide variations in design and message. Above is a quick snapshot of eight of them I just pulled out of my pocket. It’s a fairly typical cross section of what you’d generally expect to receive.
What do you notice? Which grabs your attention? Which do you like or dislike? Most importantly, where does your card fit in this spectrum? These are all from amazingly high-quality trial lawyers, but the cards’ design, style, and tone vary greatly.
Garvey Schubert Barer’s strong orange box grabs your attention, and the unusual triangular notch adds interest. Compare the GSB card to
Beirne, Maynard & Parson’s to its left. These two designs convey very different messages about the nature of the firms’ culture, style, and practice. It’s not a question of whether any particular design is “better or worse” as much as whether the messages they convey about the firm are what they intend.
The piercing gaze of Ottawa’s Bertschi Orth Smith’s sculpture* commands attention.
Although you can’t feel it, Bob Christie’s card in the top-right corner is both extra thick (practically a cardboard drink coaster) and a full quarter-inch taller than a standard card, and has rounded corners. The all-caps sans serif font completes a truly standout design – while elegant, this card could also come from a design, marketing, or other creative agency.
Now compare the logos from the bottom two cards, Bertschi and Meckler Bulger. Notice the tight lines above and below the Lewis Brisbois logo, and how all the names are on a single line.
The Bertschi text is in all caps, emphasizes the first firm name, and adds an unusual diamond-shaped “ampersand.” Compare that to Meckler Bulger et al.’s, which weights all five names equally, with very little space dividing them. Note the subtly embossed initials.
Do you see how the layout of W. Michael Scott’s card emphasizes the lawyer, rather than the firm?
Each is an intentional design decision made by a skilled law firm — either a specific decision made by a professional designer, or by the law firm’s decision not to use one. Look at these options, just a random group I pulled out of my pocket, and consider whether the card in your wallet conveys the message you want it to regarding the nature and quality of your practice.
For example, it’s easy for me to believe that Bob Christie approaches his cases creatively – the clean design of his business card reinforces that message. Neil Dymott’s card is strong and direct — just like its dynamic founder, Marine General Mike Neil.
Bertschi’s card makes me want to go visit the website for more information.
Does yours?
* “Whether to you our logo recalls Cicero, the Emperor Justinian I, Solomon or a Centurion – to us, it is a single figurehead upon which rests the foundation and principles of our practice.”
If your firm needs a better strategy, design, or marketing campaign, please give
Ross Fishman, CEO of
Fishman Marketing a call directly, at +1.847.432.3546, or ross@fishmanmarketing.com.
All the images (c) 2012 the referenced firms.
Hardcode: When your marketers are still living in the 1970s…
When your marketers are still living in the 1970s…
I saw an ad for Ally Bank in this month’s Fast Company magazine that inadvertently highlighted the value of demographic variety on creative teams.
… Because any Summer Intern or college temp would have caught this mistake.
Do you see it?
You would if you are under 25 or have your own children.
Here’s the headline: “ONLY TEENAGERS LOVE TO TALK ON THE PHONE MORE.”
Subhead: “We’re happy to talk to you anytime for as long as you like with 24/7 live customer service.”
That’s a nice, service-oriented message. Yes, teenagers are rarely more than an arm’s length away from their phones — playing Angry Birds or Cut theRope. They text and IM, browse on Pinterest, and Facebook each other.
What DON’T teenagers do on the phone? TALK. They don’t “LOVE to talk on the phone” – they HATE talking on the phone. They’d rather text “911” from inside a burning house than call the fire department and talk to a live human.
Which is why this well-intentioned Ally Bank ad seems socomically olde-fashioned. The copywriters or CEOs who conceived this headline must remember their countless sepia-toned teenage hours spent on Princess phones. (“What’s the story, Morning Glory?”) But they must not know any actual 21st Century teenagers.
Because if Ally’s Customer Service professionals are even LESS likely to talk to me than today’s teenagers are, then I’d suggest stuffing your Ally Bank money underyour mattress.
Sure, I understand using creative exaggeration and stereotypes to make your point (We knew my beloved Cubs didn’t REALLY win the World Series in this ad, below, we did for a service-oriented St. Louis law firm…). But you undercut your message when you’re obviously out of step with the times.
Looking for a powerful new strategy, message, marketing campaign, or website? Call Fishman Marketing at +1.847.432.3546 or ross@fishmanmarketing.comImages: (c) 2012 Ally Bank. (c) 2012 Sandberg Phoenix & Von Gontard, PC
Hardcode: “We work in a city!” – Is that all you got?
“We work in a city!” – Is that all you got?
Does your website home page still have a skyline?
Is that the best you can say about yourself and your law firm? Is that what makes your firm unique?
The harsh truth is that you can’t prove that you’re a high-quality law firm if your website shows a skyline; it’s psychologically inconsistent. It’s like walking into a doctor’s office and seeing a filthy lobby with ratty furniture — you’ll subconsciously start to question his/her technical skills. You sense that a brilliant physician wouldn’t have shabby furniture.
And your home page is your 24/7 lobby-to-the-world. It tells your story when you’re not around to do so. It should set the tone and convey your style and culture. What’s the nature of your practice? What makes you different? Why should a client hire you? What can they expect from your lawyers? How will they remember you later?
How many clients have ever said, “You know what I want from my law firm? I want them to work in a CITY.” It’s just not a decision-making issue.
Try this:
Which of the two websites above looks like the more modern law firm? (Click the image to enlarge.) This is the before-and-after on one of our recent website overhauls. Doesn’t the “after” version on the right look like a nicer place to work? Don’t you think the lobby is cleaner? Isn’t their technology newer? C’mon, admit it, you can’t help but feel that it is.
Jones Foster is a terrific firm, a leader in their market. But their website had gotten older and needed a facelift; they needed an image makeover (more about that
here) to help convey their quality.
Across the country and around the world, mediocre marketers and weak web developers, simply shrug and take the easy way out, and slap yet another building or skyline on another website.
Fight the slippery slide into ordinariness. Demand more.
Again – which of these two websites looks like the higher-quality firm? Aronberg Goldgehn is a small, creative firm where, we discovered the lawyers have a strong client-service philosophy — they really get “personal” with their clients. Does their original website convey that sense to the viewers? Of course not, it’s just a small skyline. But the “We Take It Personally TM” we developed to help convey this message helps generate some interest and gives them the chance to tell their story.
Today there remain so many small-firm websites that look like the left side, the “before” home page. Doesn’t the right side look more unique?
Figure out who you are and what you aspire to become. Learn what your targets are looking for. Get some outside help if you need it. Then show that you provide those things, using all the marketing materials available to you, starting with your website.
I promise, if your home page has a skyline on it (or any of the other obvious law firm
icons and clichés), your marketing is missing the mark. You’re squandering an opportunity to be great.
And don’t you want to be great?
If you’re ready for something better, a website that works – if you’re ready to use marketing to help generate real revenue, call Ross directly at +1.847.432.3546 or ross@fishmanmarketing.com.
Hardcode: MSI Global, 2012 International Conference
Ross Fishman will be speaking at the MSI Global 2012 International Conference, to be held at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, on October 20-23, 2012.
Hardcode: Is your website wearing bell bottoms? — “Useful Links.”
Is your website wearing bell bottoms? — “Useful Links.”
If your website has a “Links” page that connects visitors to, e.g.:
- FindLaw,
- the White House,
- AOL,
- Yahoo!, or
- The Wall Street Journal…
…then fire your web developer and get a new website ASAP. Why? Because they’re making you and your firm look technologically clueless and out of touch. Basically, your website is wearing bell bottoms. You’ve ripped out the green shag carpeting in your house — it’s time to do the same thing for your website.
A little law firm website history:
Do you know how “Helpful Links” pages got started? Back in the 1990s, when law firm websites were newer, effective search engines like Google didn’t really exist yet. Information on the internet was relatively hard to find.
I remember those early meetings. I developed my first law firm website in 1995 when I was Marketing Partner for
Ungaretti & Harris. (Remember those HUGE buttons websites had? Web design has changed.)
The state-of-the-art thinking back then was that you wanted to make your site “useful,” so that clients and prospects would keep coming back. The most popular idea was to collect a variety of “Helpful Links” that people could use.
In other words, youngsters, lawyers and law firm marketers thought they could act like Google, causing prospects to return regularly to their website because it was such a helpful way to find otherthings. The attitude was that clients would think, “I can’t remember how to get to America Online, so I’ll find it by going to that smart and helpful law firm’s website.” This is why many first-generation websites still have live links to Alta Vista, Lycos, time/currency calculators, etc. They simply haven’t bothered to get rid of them. They’re the vestigial tail of law firm websites.
If you still have a generic “Links” page, it’s proof that no one’s minding the shop.
Frankly, you need to change whoever is in charge of your website too, whether that’s your local web developer or the billion-dollar legal company that sold you a cheap template site, because they’re now publicly embarrassing you. The website is reflecting poorly on your firm and its technical skills — a high-quality organization doesn’t have an eight-year-old website.
With rare exception* these Links should have been removed YEARS ago.
Here’s a special deal:
If you have a FindLaw or Lexis/Martindale-Hubbell website with a “Links” page, or any site connected to WestLaw, The Wall Street Journal, Alta Vista, or an obvious government office or resource, we’ll consider that a 10% off coupon and redesign your site at a discount.
We’d consider it a public service…
* If you have a narrow specialty, industry, or other focus that is so unusual that you legitimately CAN become a real resource, consolidating a variety of different tools together in a uniquely helpful way, you might be one of the exceptions. However, if a basic Google search can compile the same things, simply fuhgeddaboudit.
Why not take this opportunity to subscribe to our blog!
—————
Shout out to Above the Law: and it’s Non-Sequitors 2.16.12:
“* Links that make your legal website look outdated and silly.
Hardcode: Integrated Marketing in a Rebounding Economy
Ross Fishman will be presenting Integrated Marketing in a Rebounding Economy to the ALA and LMA at the Cleveland Bar Association in Cleveland, Ohio on March 27, 2012.
Hardcode: STAND OUT – It’s not about the fanciest photos
STAND OUT – It’s not about the fanciest photos
There’s a disturbing trend in law marketing where the advertising/design/branding agency builds a highly visible campaign around a series of eye-catching photos. They can be crazy animals, or people acting weirdly, or all sorts of things. This can be effective, although having its agency sort through hundreds of $5000 Rights-Managed photos is hardly the strategy a firm should build its brand upon.
Here’s one of my favorite comics – XKCD. It’s smart, sophisticated, and tech savvy. This one makes the point that it’s not about the colorful label, it’s about standing out from the crowd of competitors, wherever you compete against them.
When we design an ad campaign, for example, we try to determine where it will be placed first. Sometimes black and white works better than color. In some highly visual publications or contexts, all-text can work better than photos.
One thing I especially like about XKCD is the mouseover comments that add context to the strip:
Hardcode: Possibly the best lawyers we’ve ever worked for.
Possibly the best lawyers we’ve ever worked for.
We absolutely love these guys.
Imagine you’re at home when you get an official-looking letter from the government telling you that your home’s tap water just might be poisonous.
The water you’ve been drinking. And cooking your spaghetti in. And bathing your children in. And actually, it’s been toxic for maybe 20 years, and your own government knew about it, but never told you.
We’ve represented hundreds of law firms over the years of every conceivable descriptions, but I can’t think of any we’ve felt better about helping than
The Pollution Lawyers. These guys are white knights representing the poor and underprivileged whose homes, schools, or neighborhoods have been polluted by some mysterious toxin in the air or groundwater.
They are a dynamic team of lawyers from two different firms (
The Collins Law Firm and
Varga Berger) who work together on these Erin Brockovich-style “environmental contamination” cases. They handle cases where entire neighborhoods have toxic chemicals like benzene or TCEs in their drinking water, often silently poisoning the local families for years or decades.
When the polluting company up the street or local leaking landfill denies that it’s a problem, minimizes the health impact, or seeks to cover it up, and
the neighbors’ own government doesn’t protect them, these lawyers represent the families, on contingency. They force the big corporate polluters to fix the problems they caused, and
pay money damages to the homeowners for the lost value of their property. They help some with the personal injury cases too.
And they’re doing it for the right reason, not for the money, but to protect the weak and powerless. We’re honored to be able to help them help their clients.
More poor families are getting help who would otherwise have had no recourse. (They’re usually poor neighborhoods. As Shawn Collins says, “Rich people don’t have landfills in their backyards.”)
Sometimes the mere threat of bringing The Pollution Lawyers (TPL) into the case forces the local EPA or equivalent to finally do the right thing. We like to think that every time that happens, we had just a little part of it.
 |
| One of the draft ad concepts. |
In this branding overhaul, we gave them the TPL name, developed their branding message and strategy, designed the visual platform and a couple different targeted ad campaigns.
We developed their logo/identity, created both a blog and website, handled their public relations, and developed a business-development strategy to get them into social-media conversations with the aggrieved homeowners.
Sure, as a marketing firm, it’s a win for Fishman Marketing every time one of our law firm clients get hired to handle a big piece of litigation, or prominent corporate transaction, or see their revenues skyrocket.
But when Shawn Collins, Norm Berger, Ed Manzke, or Mike Hayes get hired, it means that potentially dozens or hundreds of families won’t be breathing polluted air in their own homes or drinking polluted water much longer.
Sure, we love all of our clients and value the work that they do.
But c’mon, these guys are special. Spread the word.
Hardcode: Litigation Counsel America
Ross Fishman will be speaking at the Litigation Counsel of America at The Breakers in Palm Beach on October 24-26, 2012.
Hardcode: How to PROVE your website conveys the right message. Interesting RESULTS.
How to PROVE your website conveys the right message. Interesting RESULTS.
[Here’s the third installment in the
Vedder Price London Launch series.
After the web-based market-research participants have had their eyeballs tracked all over the ads, websites or other marketing materials, we asked a series of questions regarding their perceptions of the two home page designs.
Was their reaction to the websites positive or negative?
(Both sites scored overwhelmingly positive).
What was the general impression of the quality of the technical skills of the law firms represented by the websites? Again, extremely positive, although the more conservative “Icons” version tested slightly better, with an impressive 85% perceiving “Very good” or “Excellent” technical skills. Not bad results after a quick look at a website home page.
What we thought was particularly instructive was the viewer’s emotional connection. We asked which among a list of adjectives viewers felt described the firms represented by each of the websites. The results were quite helpful.
Although the sites were very different in design, tone, imagery, layout, and appearance, neither was considered “Boring” (just 15-18%).
This proved what we’ve long taught our clients — that “Conservative” does not have to mean “Boring.”
In other words, a firm’s marketing can be professional, ethical, and conservative, while still being unique, eye-catching, and effective.
Nearly twice as many called the “Hats” website “Creative” than the “Icons” site.
Our international target audience is not as comfortable with aggressive American-style marketing, so Creative wasn’t as important an adjective as “Traditional.”
Fortunately, nearly three times as many judged “Icons” to be “Traditional.”
In other words, not only did the Eye Track testing objectively shows that the Icons campaign conveyed our message more effectively, but the viewers’ subjective perceptions supported the choice as well.
All in all, a nice result.
If your firm, big or small, would like a new image, marketing campaign, or website, please give Ross Fishman, CEO of Fishman Marketing a call directly, at +1.847.432.3546.
