Who Will Advocate for the Advocates?

While lawyers are known for sharp advocacy of their clients, they are notoriously poor at advocating for themselves. Focused more on quality services and consultancy to their clients, lawyers often do not hold marketing to be of high importance and even when they do, they simply do not have the time to sustain their efforts.

This is seen most prominently in smaller firms: only 32% report having marketing budgets and an even smaller 3% host marketing teams. 

The necessity of marketing for law firms and the lack thereof begs the question: while lawyers are busy representing the best interests of their clients, who will propagate for them? By modification of the popular adage, who will advocate for the advocates?

In this environment, it becomes critical for solo lawyers and small firms to find a balance between the necessity for marketing and being budget conscious. Here are a few options the enterprising lawyer may consider to grow their firm.

DIY Marketing

Without necessary marketing bandwidth or skillset, solo lawyers and small firms often default to navigating their marketing and new business development efforts by themselves. The lawyer of the 20th Century may well have been able to survive by learning and implementing traditional marketing methods, but the advent of the digital age has made modern marketing an altogether different and dynamic phenomenon. Effective marketing requires remaining up to date on most recent trends, market requirements and optimization techniques for a mobile- and digital-first world. Lawyers — or, for that matter, any non-marketer — would struggle to remain above surface without expert guidance and assistance. 

Inevitably, any attempt at effectively marketing themselves would require significant time on the part of lawyers to educate themselves, strategize and execute constantly. This would take away crucial time away from what lawyers do best: take care of their clients and their best interests. 

Hire an In-House Specialist

Most businesses looking to market itself without relying on their own bandwidth or expertise would resort to hiring. This may well be a good first step on the journey toward business growth, but can hardly be considered sustainable or effective in the long-term. One-person marketing armies are common within the industry with the lone individual wearing far too many hats at the same time. Shuffling between producing regular content, maintaining an active web presence, managing social channels and scheduling outbound communication can become a mammoth task for one individual. The end result? Cutting corners and spreading your marketing too thin. 

Hire an In-House Team

Either inevitably on their specialist’s recommendation or based on a more nuanced understanding of modern marketing’s many aspects, some law firms (evidently a small amount) recruit a proper team. For firms with sizable revenue streams and cash flows, this may well make sense. An in-house team can build and execute a sustainable marketing infrastructure for the firm, helping it leverage the many benefits of business development. However, for smaller firms and solo lawyers, practical realities seldom allow for such an investment. Bearing the ongoing expense of an in-house team coupled with the overhead of full-time staff can be prohibitive to begin with or at best, a drain on cash flow. 

In some cases, unless the firm has effective recruitment policies and knows what to hire for (spoiler: many do not), it can end up with a team that may not work out in the long run. Most likely do not want to end up in the fix of having a full-time team that isn’t working out for them.

Outsource Marketing

Flexible working models and increasingly easier communication open up the avenue for striking the balance between the benefits of having a team of specialists and the realistic considerations of cost and flexibility. Budget conscious firms or solo lawyers who do not want to commit to hiring a proper in-house team need no longer be deprived of its benefits. Teams across the globe are offering remote services to set up and maintain marketing infrastructure for customers of all manner. This can be on an on-going or on-demand basis with flexible packages to meet the specific needs of the customer. 

This offers small or solo firms an expansive list of options to strategize and execute their marketing plans as best fits for them. It also makes it easier for firms to “test the waters,” explore a full marketplace of options and pilot a few projects before making a long-term investment. Things not working out? It is much easier to switch gears or providers once your project is complete. 

Having the full breadth of an agency’s skill set also allows the law firm to enjoy specialization and expertise in the various areas of digital marketing, which is difficult to capture without an extensive team. All this without committing to long-term employment contracts and overhead costs.

In the 21st Century, the modern lawyer is no longer bound by the rules of yesteryear marketing or hiring. Outsourcing to external marketing specialists allows small and solo firms to deploy effective marketing strategies without burning up their own valuable time or resources. 

Want to learn how to take your first step toward leveraging outsourced marketing to scale up your business development? Contact us today and we will be your guide!