Lawyers generally found to be little reluctant in marketing their profession. They do believe that their image should go up through word of mouth and not through the advertisements or other lawyer marketing
techniques. They are suspicious whether their image boosting activities are of any good to them or they will bring in enough return on investment.
Conducting public seminar is a solution to their apprehension where in they can measure the outcome. For e.g.: If an attorney firm organizes a seminar on which he spends around $5000-$6000 and turn out are 40-50 people and 50% of the crowd makes an appointment with them, their revenue out of it would be much more than what they have spent on the seminar.
Investing on the image is not an acceptable preposition as far as lawyers or legal firms are concerned. However, image can also be marketing in various forms. It goes without saying legal profession is a service and it is, unlike other products, invisible. So it is very important that how you market it. If we put it in simple terminology, packaging of a product or service is more important than its usage and image. It is a proven research fact, that women takes a decision in 35 seconds but men make up his mind only in 45 minutes but it is firmer than women’s decision is. So the power of first impression counts a lot. If in the first meeting itself, an attorney is found to be very loyal and attractive in his behavior and gestures showing eagerness in the client’s case, he will be hired sans any doubt. So personality plays a very vital role in legal marketing. It is a classic example of nothing but impulse buying in marketing terminology.
In legal marketing, the clients tend to look at his/her lawyer mostly with their eyes rather than with their ears. So if an attorney looks shabby and unfocussed in his/her profession, people will turn a blind eye towards him/her for sure. At the same time if you look impressive that itself will market you well without your knowledge. Most of the prospects in the legal profession make a decision hire a lawyer based on emotion and not out of in-depth knowledge about the legal profession or even about the lawyer they meet.
Nevertheless, the instantaneous decision one lawyer takes based on the evidences he could gather has a great impact on his profession itself.
In short image marketing is very important in legal marketing as any other marketing wing. That will boost up a lawyer’s demand among the prospects who wish to hire him/her. So an aspirant lawyer has to look at furnishing his office and library there in an aesthetic manner and it would boost up his/her image among his prospective clients. Even a small business card counts when somebody meets you for a legal discussion.
So If you are a lawyer with a clear vision, even if your image building activities do cost you a little more in the initial stages, seldom or never bother about it because it is only going to benefit you in the long run of your legal practice.
Legal marketing is a byproduct of nothing but a lawyer’s own thoughts and outlook.