Marketing to lawyers

For marketing and PR professionals, lawyers are one of the most exiting target groups.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be!

Just consider the following:

1. Law touches all aspects of human behavior and social interaction. It is so flexible, that the Romans already categorized it as an Art and not a Science “Ius est ars aequi et boni”. Lawyers specialize in all kinds of law that keeps changing.
   
2. Lawyers are a substantial target group – there are an estimated 650,000 lawyers working and more than a million registered in the US alone.
   
3. Due to their profession, lawyers are early adapters of technologies and trends.
   
4. Lawyers are also publicity savvy and realize that “publish or perish” applies to them.
   
5. Lawyers are creative and know how to use new media or venues to their advantage.

How do you market to lawyers?

• Know your customer.
  Find out who the lawyer you are approaching is and what services he/she provides.
  
• Keep it short and sweet.
  Lawyers charge per hour, so your approach or message must the short, sharp and to the point. The average window of opportunity to grab attention with a letter or email is 4 seconds.
  
• Keep it simple.
  Your message must be in clear and in plain text. Lawyers are the ultimate wordsmiths by nature; don’t go into competition! Forget about graphics and flash elements (such as banners in electronic newsletters) – l’art pour l’art wouldn’t cut it.
  
• Make a strong business case.
  Lawyers are business savvy. They know how to make money.
  They also are conservative in spending.
  The main message (no matter what your product or service offering is) should translate into more qualified client leads.
  
• Make sure it’s tailor-made.
  The vast majority of the lawyers (an estimated 90%) are small practitioners with a specific specialization and/or client base.
  It is therefore critical to make sure that the product/service meet the specific needs of that specific lawyer or law firm.