Marketing is more art then science but one thing is for sure, if you take the time to define your niche, you will have a lot more success in generating referrals. I always tell my coaching clients to think of legal marketing as if you were aiming at a dart board. The bullseye is your ideal client and the work you like to do for that client. Maybe you like doing M&A and VC work for emerging technology companies. Perhaps your ideal client is a regional bank and you prefer to handle commercial loans between $10 and $50 million for those clients. Maybe representing high net worth individuals in divorce is where you want to focus your marketing efforts.
The point is to have some focus when you are out and about talking to potential clients and referral sources. If you try to be everything to everyone, you will dilute your message and miss valuable opportunities to develop interesting legal work.
Focusing your message is like focusing a camera. If you don’t take the time to focus, it is hard to be memorable.
At the same time, it is also important to know what work you are willing to take on that doesn’t meet your definition of ideal work for an ideal client. That is the second ring on the target. Finally, know what work you don’t want to do and would refer out.
Maybe you like commercial litigation, you are willing to do some bankruptcy work if it comes across your desk but you’ll refer out commercial collections. Or maybe you are happy to take on divorce cases but you would refer out highly contested child custody matters.
Who is in the bullseye, who is in the next ring and who is in the outer ring may change over time. But having clarity about the work you want, the work you are willing to do and the work you will refer out is the first step in building a marketing plan.
