At the recent Avvo Lawyernomics Conference in Las Vegas, I had a chance to catch up with personal injury attorney Barry Goldberg, who I met more than ten years ago. Barry has a flourishing practice because in addition to decades of legal experience, he practices malleable marketing, adapting his business development tactics to an ever-changing market. It was instructive to hear how his marketing evolved.
He started out with the opinion that good work and word of mouth were all it took to develop a practice; however, he saw the success that other attorneys were having with business development in general and then with their websites, so he launched his first site. Professionalism is a hallmark of all his marketing. Indeed, prospective clients have commented to him that this quality was the reason they contacted him.
In order to keep his web presence fresh and useful to prospective clients, he has a disciplined habit of regular blogging. He focuses on imparting information of value as opposed to creating the vast amount of content for its own sake that was de rigueur in the early days of web marketing and SEO.
He noted that younger lawyers are quite skilled at generating leads via the Internet, but they often lack the experience to effectively handle the work once it’s in the door. As a result, for the first time in his career, he has started accepting cases from clients who were not satisfied with their initial legal counsel. His experienced eye often makes the difference in what otherwise would have been a poor outcome.
Barry has found Avvo a worthwhile aspect of his marketing program. He pays attention to his profile and sponsors (advertisers) for specific key words and geographic areas.
I give Barry credit for his willingness to revisit and revise his marketing. As another lawyer I spoke with at the conference remarked, the Internet has given many people the false sense that with so much information at their fingertips they can now do everything themselves – even something as highly specialized as law, which actually requires the experience and strategy of a trained professional.
To stay relevant in such a crowded and frequently indifferent marketplace, it is more vital than ever to take a page from those attorneys who continue to adapt, evolve and try new things.
Barry Goldberg is the founding attorney of Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation, a personal injury firm which represents victims of auto and truck accidents. Learn more at www.woodlandhillsaccidentattorney.com.
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