Oklahoma is fortunate that its people have not felt the pressure of the economic hardships as drastically as other states. That said it seems that everyone is holding closer to the dollar by watching their spending habits and cutting back just in case harder times hit. Fortunately the legal field is one business that can flourish during economic hardships. As banks are seeing more and more people with charge off accounts or DDA accounts they have a need to do something about it. Most banks rely on a law firm to assist in their collections at one level or another. Companies who are experiencing slow pay accounts or NO pay accounts are having to use their Law Firm to bring Suite against other companies. Individuals who are having a hard time making their monthly payments are being forced into bankruptcy and need legal advice and direction. Because of the stress couples are now looking for family law attorneys to help settle their disputes. As always when times get rough criminals come out of the woodwork and when they are caught they need representation.
It is during these times that it is important as an attorney to really watch where your marketing dollars are being spent. Do not purchase any type of marketing unless the company you are purchasing from can show you results they have produced for other law firms. Why do you need to see the results for law firms? It is important to see how other businesses like yours are performing with that advertising. For instance there is a big difference in how a website for a restaurant will perform in comparison to a law firm. There is also a big difference in how a Business Firm will compare to a Bankruptcy Firm in today's market.
Be smart about agreements you sign and make sure the results you will get can turn into money. As more and more yellow page books are losing business because more and more people have quick and easy access to the Internet, attorneys are having to look toward the Internet for the new client. Gone are the days of pulling over to a pay phone to get a number or digging through a drawer to find the yellow book. Most people have access of one type or another to the Internet either by computer or by phone. Even those that cannot afford computers are making their way to libraries to get access.
Attorneys across the nation are taking their marketing dollars and concentrating those dollars in marketing areas that are bringing in the business. There has been a huge shift in dollars from yellow books to the Internet. I have seen attorneys who use to spend $130,000 on yellow book cut down to $12,000 and put $30,000 into web marketing and get twice the results they were getting when they spent $130,000. In the Marine Corps they use to have a saying "It is smart to be hard but hard to be smart". Too often lawyers will keep doing what they have been doing for years without taking a look at the changes in society and especially the technology changes that are so fast to advance. Stay on the cutting edge of advertising and you will find that you can reach new more clients with fewer marketing dollars.
