January 20, 2003

In Practice

By Michael M. Bowden Most marketing agencies will gladly work with a law firm to develop a unique "brand" and a distinctive advertising campaign - provided that firm is ready and able to fork over tens of thousands of dollars for the service. Unfortunately, that effectively excludes the thousands of solo and small-firm lawyers who aren't in a financial position to be spending that kind of money on agency-quality marketing materials. Which is exactly where a new company called "Stuff 4 Lawyers" comes in. It's the brainchild of Arnie Malham, who also heads the Nashville-based legal marketing firm, C.J. Advertising (www.cjadvertising.com), founded in 1994. "As the principal of a full-service agency, I've always had several calls a week from lawyers I can't help because they're not big enough yet," Malham explained. Since full-service treatment from law-focused ad agencies starts at about $30,000, Malham saw the need for a more affordable marketing alternative for lawyers who were ready to begin a serious marketing effort, but not able to afford big-league price tags. "Stuff 4 Lawyers is not designed to be the final destination for all your advertising needs," Malham said. "Rather, we provide some very professional-looking tools to allow you to jump out there into the marketplace, and start making something happen. The idea is to help you to eventually grow into the need for a full-service agency." The products offered by Stuff 4 Lawyers are based on the requests Malham has received from small firms: Print and other advertising materials, training tapes (to get your staff ready to handle the larger caseload an ad campaign can bring), and answering services (designed to ensure that you don't lose potential clients who call after hours). The company is also experimenting with pre-designed television ads, an advertising option that was once too expensive for most firms to do with any style and dignity. Most of Stuff 4 Lawyers' materials focus on PI and wrongful death cases - auto accidents, med mal, workers' comp and Social Security, pharmaceuticals litigation, products liability, and nursing home abuse - all of which, Malham explained, are profitable practice areas that the average small-firm or solo GP is likely to encounter frequently. "There's really no such thing as a 'magic bullet' marketing trick that will suddenly transform your practice," Malham said. "For most lawyers, what it takes is a lot of time, hard work and consistent message delivery." And while a custom-designed marketing campaign is often worthwhile for a firm with the means to purchase one, Malham believes it's not the sine qua non of marketing success. "What Stuff 4 Lawyers does is put professional, agency-quality, standout advertisements and information available at your fingertips," he said. "At the very least, it doesn't look like your sister-in-law did it for you on her home computer. And at its best, I would count some of our med-mal and nursing home materials among the finest I've seen in the industry." Print Materials Stuff 4 Lawyers offers hundreds of postcards, brochures and mailing inserts as a way to educate current and future clients on the wide range of practice areas and torts, most of which can be viewed on their website. All share a somewhat similar look - a glossy, stylish black-and-beige theme - so you can mix and match. "You can choose a range of topics, but the style is the style," said Malham. "It's sort of a trade-off of customization versus affordability. And for Stuff 4 Lawyers customers affordability is key, as long as the materials look very good." Lawyers who've used the materials tend to agree.

"Having done direct-mail advertising for over 10 years, I can tell you that the Stuff 4 Lawyers postcards are the best PI advertisements I've ever seen," said Gregory Stokes, half of a two-lawyer firm in Atlanta. "They provide outstanding graphics and professionally written text at a competitive price." Noting that it's too soon to cite definite results, Stokes added, "I believe they will generate a significant stream of cases for us." Postcards. When other media fails, postcards tend to be a reliable way to get your message seen by clients. Stuff 4 Lawyers has large-format, 6x9-inch postcards for maximum visual impact, or 4x6-inch sizes for postage economy. The cost varies depending upon the amount you buy. For instance, 1,000 regular-size postcards cost $860; 2,000 go for $950; 3,000 would be $1,050; 10,000 would be $1,700; and so on. Larger-sized postcards cost only slightly more. The cost drops further the more different designs you order. Brochures. Brochures are a useful way of demonstrating your firm's depth of knowledge in particular practice areas - or even specific drugs, products or injuries, which offer potential clients a cause of action. "It's kind of 'mass-tort marketing made easy,'" Malham said. As for pricing, 1,000 brochures run about $1,700; 2,000 around $1,740; 3,000 would be $1,800; 10,000 would be $2,300; and so on. Again, the cost drops further when you order several different designs. Inserts. For cross-marketing and generating referrals, mail inserts are an economical way to make every letter that leaves your office a marketing opportunity. "Everyone's heard of postcards and brochures, but the insert is something with zero mailing cost," Malham said. "Every day you've got outgoing mail, and the goal of this program is to stuff those letters with something extra - whether the message is 'refer me a case' for letters to other lawyers, or 'nursing home awareness.' That's a product you really can't get anywhere else." Again, larger quantities cost less per item. For example, to order 1,000 inserts runs about $1,400; 2,000 cost around $1,500; 3,000 would be $1,600; and so on. The cost drops further the more different designs you order. Training Products If you're going to improve your marketing then you'd better improve your office's ability to handle the increased caseload that professional advertising brings, according to Malham. "You can't talk about marketing without talking about management," he said. "It's impossible, because - even if I present you with the most incredible marketing plan ever - you will fail miserably if you don't have a management plan to deal with [the extra business]." Stuff 4 Lawyers offers two programs to address this need: Injury law 101. This set of legal training videos targets non-lawyer PI support staff. Since solo and small-firm lawyers often can't afford to hire the most experienced staff, this is a great way to bring new hires up to speed while providing an informative and entertaining refresher course for your existing help. The set of eight, half-hour training sessions costs $1,249 (if you purchase multiple sets, the cost for subsequent copies drops to as little as $299 a set), and includes comprehension tests, certificates of completion, and a 30-day money-back guarantee if it doesn't meet your expectations. The tapes cover everything, starting with the basics - what PI lawyers do; basic legal terms and definitions; different types of PI and wrongful death cases and how to evaluate them; client relations; theories of liability and types of negligence; interrogatories and depositions; medical documents; unauthorized practice of law (how non-lawyer staff should avoid stepping over the line); damages; insurance issues; settlement; contingency fees; and much more. Several lawyers contacted about this set spoke glowingly of it, and a Lawyers Weekly review of several tapes in the series revealed an unusually well produced and entertaining instructional video. "It's the best training investment I have ever made for my firm," noted William Berg, a solo PI lawyer in San Francisco, in a typical comment. "The tapes have saved me thousands of dollars in the time I used to spend teaching the basics to new hires. A receptionist, secretary, paralegal or clerk [can be] taught almost everything they need to know about our practice in less than half a day." Robert Redick, a partner in a five-lawyer general practice in Cleveland, agreed, adding that he uses the tapes as a jumping off point for discussion at staff meetings. "It has given us the opportunity to discuss issues that we as lawyers take for granted," he said. "Our weekly training sessions have never been more lively." Ken Nunn, a small-firm lawyer in Bloomington, Ind., drew attention to the tapes' practicality. "Unlike other training tapes that are idealistic and vague, [Injury Law 101] gets to the point of what we do," Nunn said. "In my office, they rank in importance with my fax, copier and telephone." Power marketing for attorneys. This is a comprehensive audio program that's aimed at bringing attorneys up to speed on marketing and how to make it work. Topics include deciding where and how to advertise; identifying your firm's best marketing assets; the basics of PR; database marketing; whether and how to launch a television campaign; attracting new clients; cultivating relationships with current clients; how to increase your bottom line by 20 percent in the coming year; and more. Also included is a plan for assessing where your firm is now, and specific steps for cultivating its growth. The set costs $425, with significant discounts for multiple-set purchases. Other Marketing Approaches In addition to its print and training materials, Stuff 4 Lawyers offers a range of less common marketing solutions, including exclusively licensed television commercials, "hold" message systems, and promotional items. Television ads. These are professionally produced ads with professional actors. They're sometimes dramatic, sometimes humorous, sometimes straight; but they don't look chintzy. They were a big hit with lawyers at last summer's ATLA conference, according to Malham. "We had a huge monitor set up to play these commercials, and big crowds of lawyers would gather around and laugh," he said. The best response was to an ad starring the motor-mouthed character actor John Moschitta Jr. (probably best known for his FedEx commercials) as a fast-talking insurance adjuster. This and a number of other ads can be viewed online at the firm's website. Once a lawyer purchases a commercial, no other firm will be able to use it in your market area during your one-year license period. Depending on market size, licenses for the ads run between $1,250 to $4,250 a year. Because this product has only been available for a few months, no lawyer comments could be obtained on the ads' effectiveness. Hold messages. According to Malham, studies have shown that 90 percent of callers placed on "silent" hold hang up fast - within 40 seconds. Music buys you another 30 seconds, he noted, but spoken information keeps listeners interested for an average of three minutes longer. Stuff 4 Lawyers' "Message On Hold" offers professionally voiced promotional messages designed to replace drab hold music with persuasive information about your firm. The systems cost between $300 and $1,000, depending on features purchased. "It's personal injury advertising without the advertising," Malham said. "And the results are clear: More callers become clients." Miscellaneous promotional items. If you're looking for promotional items that are slightly more original than calendars and pens, Stuff 4 Lawyers offers some unusual alternatives, including personalized glove-box first-aid kits; ice scrapers; tire gauges; travel mugs and thermal bottles. Sound a bit out in left field? Maybe so, but lawyers say this sort of thing works. "We ordered tire gauges [from Stuff 4 Lawyers] for a promotional event," said Cindy Hoke, a small-firm lawyer in Albuquerque, N.M. "We gave them an almost impossible time frame to work in - but they not only delivered the product on time and to our exact specifications, they were a delight to work with." Stuff4Lawyers, Inc., can be reached at 209 10th Ave South, Suite 500, Nashville, TN 37203. Telephone: (877) 362-6692. Fax: (615) 254-6615. URL: www.stuff4lawyers.com. Reprinted with permission from Lawyers Weekly USA, the national newspaper for small-firm lawyers. 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