SPRING, 2011, APRIL 15TH, “POST” RECESSION AND 2012????? ARE WE REALLY READY FOR ALL OF THIS?

I recently went to PILMMA (Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing & Management Association) Spring Summit in Atlanta. The trees and plants in Atlanta were all about 2 weeks ahead of the plants in NC and it was beautiful! The winter of 2010 is finally OVER! There were about 110 attorneys from across the US all talking about the state of the country, “post” recession (not really – “post”), how they had fared, how things were going in 2011 so far, taxes, where they felt they were headed and what seemed to be in the forecast for 2012. I couldn’t help but realize that the reality of the situation was as always: the times they are a changing! Change, change and more change seemed to be in store. Read more

WHAT’S NEW CORNER

I just got back from the PILMMA spring conference last week. Most attendees are extremely busy practicing law and are hard pressed to find the time to keep up with changes in technology and social media. It occurred to me that adding a section to the newsletter to define some of these trends (some new and some not) might be of value, hence the birth of the What’s New Corner. We hope you find this information helpful!

Online Recommendations

There are an increasing number of places where consumers can post reviews and comments about local businesses they have used. Years ago if you had a comment (usually a complaint!) you notified the Better Business Bureau. Nowadays, anyone can post anything online.

Some businesses have been doing this for years, including Amazon (book ratings) and Trip Advisor (hotel ratings). But tools such as Google Places, Bing Local, YellowPages.com and Yelp all allow visitors to rate the businesses that are listed. Consumers can also post comments on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. And Google has just added its +1 capability that allows you to set up an account and see how your friends have rated specific businesses.

Why is this important? It makes basic business sense to see what people are saying about your firm. Testimonials posted on your website are great, but we do recommend asking your clients to rate you online. Building recommendations over time should provide an accurate view of your firm to those who read them. [Unfortunately, if people are happy with service they tend to be less likely to rate you than if they are unhappy, so asking for ratings will help provide a more realistic picture!] There is also quite a bit of discussion in the SEO world these days about utilizing ratings as part of the search engine algorithms, so compiling ratings now may help you in the long run.

If you would like help managing your online reputation e-mail Lauren Black Currin.

CAN’T STOP THE TRAIN

Do you ever feel like the world is spinning so fast you just can’t keep up? It seems that the pace of change has increased over the last 20-30 years, making many people uncomfortable. A good percentage of humans are change averse, and the pace of change has forced many to reinvent themselves and their law firms.

If you just passed the Bar and have hung out your shingle, you may be thinking that your reality is not what you expected when you started law school. If you’ve been in practice for years, you are probably finding that your business and marketing practices that worked in the past are not driving clients in the door. The change that is happening around us is not going to stop. And most of us can’t (and don’t want to) stop the train. What remains is dealing with the new environment and the changes around us. We must test old assumptions, learn new trends and keep our eyes open for new opportunities.
The old saying that change is the only constant is truer than ever. So take the time to look closely at your goals and figure out how to reinvent yourself and your firm to meet those goals. Not sure where to start? We’d love to talk to you—just send an email to lauren@lawyersmarketingagency.com or give us a call at             919.821.4004      .