Mapping Out Your Attorney Marketing Strategy

If you're running your own legal practice, then you probably already have strategies for most of the work that you perform for your clients. In order to win a case, you probably have strategies in place on how to argue your case at trial, including the tactical maneuvers you will need to employ. Similarly, if you are closing deals for your clients, you also have a strategy for how to get the deal done and protect your client's interest.
In other words, all your actions for your client will be directed by an encompassing strategy to reach a goal or objective that you have set in your sights.
So why should you have a different approach to your attorney marketing strategy?
I was being rhetorical; of course it shouldn't be any different. Anyone who is serious about marketing should have a strategy and stick to it. Sure, they may change or be modified, but they will be what your actions will revolve around in order to reach your goal. Let us take a closer look:
Target - Your marketing strategy needs to have focus. Your target should be clearly distinguished, not just anybody who is in need of legal services. It should be an exact subset of individuals undergoing a particular issue needing legal attention. Now this subset or group should be the focus of all your marketing efforts. If you have a more defined target of the potential clients you will be aiming for, the greater your chances will be of turning them into actual clients.
Diligence - I am not saying you should fastidiously stick to a certain marketing strategy even if it is clearly a losing idea. Make it a point to set aside time to evaluate the state of your marketing so you can revise it accordingly. However, you should also be diligent about following through on your strategy. The reason why marketing strategies fail is not because the ideas sucked to begin with, but because the implementation and follow-through fell short.
Learn - Most attorneys, partially because of their education, believe that they can read and think and learn all that they need to know about marketing. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Unless you have an expert marketer on your particular focus market working with your or under you, you would have to stay on your toes and revise your strategy accordingly. And often, you only find out what works by finding 5-10 things that don't work. It could be quite a lengthy process, but what you need the most is determination and effort.
Marketing is not for the faint of heart, and getting clients as an attorney is never as simple or straight-forward as you might like. However, the bar is actually set pretty low, so if you know what you're doing, and if you're persistent, your attorney marketing can easily and quickly become very successful and very effective.
A starting point and a well-laid plan that you can stick to are what you need. If you don't have a plan, then either develop one on your own (even if you don't have experience), or ask for help. You can either acquire the services of a marketing firm or ask for the help of other attorneys who have already been doing it. Whatever route you choose to take, you must have a plan and you should stick to that plan until you have learned enough to figure out if something is working or not.