Is Foursquare The New Twitter?

Today, I begin a series looking at three of the less well known/utilised on-line applications. In the coming weeks, I will concentrate on Squidoo and HubPages - tools that can help promote your law firm's visibility on the World Wide Web, but I start with Foursquare - possibly the most intriguing and scaleable social media network to emerge in recent years.

Foursquare is a location based service with a competitive edge that ultimately rewards its users, who "...earn points, win Mayorships and unlock badges for trying new places and revisiting old favourites". Businesses can "...engage [their] increasingly mobile customers with..."Specials", which are discounts and prizes you can offer your loyal customers when they check in...at your venue". Specials come in a variety of forms, including those exclusive to the Mayor (your single most loyal customer), those based on the number of check-ins and wildcards, and are actively promoted by Foursquare. I suppose the service is somewhat similar to Google Places, but the recommendations depend on the user's actual physical location, as opposed to their virtual search area. Furthermore, Foursquare is, of course, interactive as a social network and "game".

So, what has all of this got to do with Solicitors? Well, it is certainly true that most venues appear to be retail based. Domino's Pizza, for example, has a number of listings for each of its franchises, all promoting Specials such as: "Free dessert when you buy a meal deal on your 3rd check-in!". However, a search for "solicitors" found 27 venues. Some even have Mayors and/or positive feedback in the form of "tips", which in one case (Fridays Property Lawyers) alerted users to a free HIP.

Solicitors should get in on the act now before Foursquare really takes off. Solicitors, along with other businesses, were sceptical about the potential of Twitter, but many law firms now regularly use this platform to promote their services, network and win new business. Who would have thought several years ago that Clients would turn to Twitter when seeking legal advice, as opposed to first flicking through Yellow Pages and then, more recently, relying on Google and other search engines, as well as on-line directories and resources? Similarly, as more and more people join Foursquare and become accustomed (and perhaps in some cases seemingly addicted) to its friendly competition, surely it will not be too long before it becomes second nature to use the network to find like minded professionals? Foursquare may just be the next big thing.

Visitors can already leave tips, regardless of whether or not you have claimed your venue, so signing up gives you an element of control and the chance to portray a positive image to potential clients.

Specials could take the form of discounts against certain services, a free Will if you handle the conveyancing, a free review of an existing Will, free storage of Title Deeds etc. etc. The possibilities are endless. Let me know what you think.

If You Build It They Will Come

I have just read Lawyer Locator's white paper entitled "The Future of Small Law Firms".

Some of its findings are, perhaps, rather surprising and somewhat out of kilter with other research and empirical evidence. For example, according to the associated consumer (their word not mine) poll, only 1% of people use search engines to choose a lawyer (75% less than those apparently using a telephone directory!). Compare this to the 26% revealed by a Solicitors Regulation Authority survey in 2008. My own experience suggests that this latter figure is much more accurate and, as the paper readily accepts, is a trend which can only be expected to grow. The other main sources of work are recommendations from family and friends (28% and 24% respectively) and having local offices (22%).

As part of the poll, respondents were also asked to identify the three qualities that are most important when choosing a lawyer. The results are:

60% Specialist knowledge of the legal issues involved
60% Approachable and able to explain the issues involved
49% Cost
29% Ease of getting in touch
28% Proximity to where they live or work
23% Knows my personal history
11% Good local knowledge

I argued in a previous post that legal knowledge is more or less a given. If say you advertise family law services, the vast majority of clients will, rightly or wrongly, assume that both the firm and the individual fee earner are specialists in that particular field. If they were aware of negative comments made by former/existing clients, they probably would not have approached the firm/fee earner in the first place.

Proximity and local knowledge are also matters of fact. The offices are either near the potential client or they are not and it should follow that the firm knows about its surroundings.

Looking at the remaining factors, coupled with where the work actually comes from, the lessons small firms can learn from the paper are (in no particular order, especially given the results):

1. Friends and family will only recommend your services if you at least meet, and hopefully exceed, their expectations. This involves clearly defining at the outset of each case the exact extent of the retainer. In other words, what work you will do and not do. Likewise with your service standards or clients charter. For example, will you return telephone calls the same day, emails the following day and letters within two days? You must then do the job you promised and comply with any self imposed deadlines. Finally, at the end of the matter, you should gather honest feedback on the client's experience. Positive comments can form the basis of testimonials to garner the trust of potential new clients. Negative responses can be used to improve your services and hopefully avoid a repetition.
2. Satisfied clients should be retained. It is obviously much easier and cheaper to generate new business from such clients than prospects. Before, during and/or after the retainer, offer them another, possibly associated, service, at a special discounted price. Would they be interested in an annual "legal policy" (see my previous article on this subject). Tell them in a newsletter about changes in the law, what this means for them, what they need to do and how you can help. Similarly, you may have taken on a new fee earner or opened a new department. A former client may be moving house, but if they do not think you deal with conveyancing, they may not contact you.
3. Service standards/a clients' charter also reassure clients that you will be accessible. Make it as easy as possible by utilising email, text messages, tweets etc. Invest in your website, allowing interaction. Consider an online case tracking system, available 24/7. Stagger staff so that calls are answered outside normal opening hours and do not close for lunch. Visit clients at home or at work. What about working Saturday morning or diverting calls to mobiles when the office is closed?
4. Communicate in plain English and provide a friendly, yet professional, service. Ensure that your reception area is welcoming. For some, visiting a lawyer is feared as much as going to the dentist!
5. Be transparent regarding costs. Fix/cap fees wherever possible or be imaginative, relating costs to the value of a commercial transaction, for example.
6. Use search engine optimisation/search engine marketing to ensure that your website appears on the first page of local internet searches. Google Places is also a free tool to promote your firm, as are social media and blogs and advertorials and articles in local newspapers.
7. Differentiate yourself from other local firms. Why should clients choose your firm over the competition (I have written about this before)? If self serve document sites are an issue, does the client know that they may have no comeback if the standard document lets them down? Such unregulated sites are littered with disclaimers and cannot offer clients the protection afforded by professional indemnity insurance and the Compensation Fund, or even legal professional privilege. Isn't it worth paying that little bit extra to get the job done properly?

Above all, give the client the service that THEY want at a price THEY are willing to pay. If this is achieved, you will be well on the way to becoming that person's "local lawyer", something that 70% of respondents in the poll feel they do not have.

How Can Solicitors Compete?

In a previous post, I suggested that most High Street conveyancing Solicitors simply cannot compete on price and should not even attempt to do so. So, how else can such firms survive in the ever changing legal marketplace? Here are just a few ideas:

1. Identify both your existing and "wish list" Clients and, in each case, determine the type/s of service they (not you) actually want and what they are willing to pay (not how much you want to charge). Unless and until you have performed this exercise, you are simply fumbling around in the dark, unable to reach your target audience with any degree of precision. It is impossible to "be all things to all people". Armed with such information, why not offer different levels of service to different Client types?

2. Differentiate your practice. What is your unique selling proposition? Why should potential Clients choose your firm over its competitors, especially if you are more expensive? How can you justify higher charges? What additional benefits do you provide and why are they important? You could, for example, emphasise that you are:

2.1 Partner led;

2.2 Qualified;

2.3 Experienced;

2.4 Regulated; and/or

2.5 Local.

Furthermore, you offer:

2.6 A personal service; and

2.7 The protection afforded by both professional indemnity insurance and the Solicitors Compensation Fund.

You may also have embraced IT.

Perhaps, you visit Clients at home or in hospital.

3. Now you know your target audience and distinguishing features, promote your own brand, rather than someone else's. Take advantage of the new opportunities created by social media and social networking.

4. Consider offering a truly fixed price, irrespective of whether it is a sale or purchase, freehold or leasehold, with or without a mortgage etc. First, research the types and values of properties in your target area. Next calculate your average fee. Practice/case management systems should help in both respects. Finally, ensure that the average fee remains competitive for the most common type/s of transactions and that the estimated loss of income related to low value transactions will at least be met by the potential increased number of higher value matters.

5. Arrange the Energy Performance Certificate and then refund its cost (about £50) if you deal with the conveyancing. A group of local firms could join together for advertising and marketing purposes and still offer Clients freedom of choice between local, quality firms. Such a proposition could also alert unsuspecting potential Clients to the alternative being advanced by third parties.

6. Offer a free Will or a discount against other legal services, especially those not provided by your competitors. Provided you meet/manage Clients' expectations, this should, over the medium to long term, produce dividends, cultivating brand loyalty. Clients will, in time, regard you as their "family Solicitor" and recommend you to others.

7. Offer Clients a referral fee or other financial incentive for all new instructions introduced by them.

Of course, with the exceptions of 4. and 5., all of these ideas are of general application.