Having a bite to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant, I hesitate before sharing with the owner, Isaac, some bad news: I’ve heard rumblings in town that it takes too long to get food at his place. And even worse, others say this is not the place to go for quick lunch.
Quickly shrugging off the news, Isaac surprises me with his response, “I’ve heard this a million times and I don’t care.” Isaac shares with me something I didn’t know: “Our tacos are made from scratch just as you want them with locally grown, non-GMO sourced ingredients and the tortillas are individually hand-rolled twice a day.” Isaac explains that it takes time to make a meal from scratch and for those who want fast good, “Go to Chipotle.”
Wow. I had no idea about the special preparation and amount of time spent making a perfect taco at my favorite joint…and that’s the problem: no one else knows either. My response takes Isaac by surprise: “If you’re not telling the world about your uniqueness, it means nothing.” To the unknowing customers, he’s just another taco joint, but once he tells potential customers about the amount of time and preparation that is spent making a taco from scratch, Isaac will be instantly unique.
What Is Your Unique Value Proposition?
But Isaac isn’t alone. Lawyers are notoriously bad at telling the world about the unique value that you offer. Every lawyer is unique in some way, but if you don’t share this with the world, no one will know…and you will look like every other “suit” in a crowded sea of lawyers.
A long-time lawyer friend, Joe Lawyer, wants to get truck wreck cases. Joe Lawyer’s website looks like every other lawyer website with his pedigree, accomplishments, contact information…yada, yada, yada. Boring! But here’s one thing that’s buried in the fine print: Joe Lawyer worked as a tractor-trailer driver for 10 years before going to law school.
Joe Lawyer doesn’t just talk a good game, he has real-world experience as a trucker that no lawyer can match. Joe Lawyer should be shouting to the world: “There is no other lawyer in the marketplace who can match my real-world experience as a trucker. If you find another lawyer who can match my experience as a trucker, hire him!” But just like Isaac at the taco joint, Joe Lawyer isn’t sharing his unique value proposition with consumers and predictably, he’s not getting truck wreck cases.
You Can’t Say You’re a “Specialist”, but….
You already know that you’re unique, but this means nothing unless you tell the world. Begin by creating a 90-second video for your home page of your website that features your unique qualities with info-graphics and video testimonials from former clients and referral partners.
For our small plaintiffs’ medical malpractice law firm in Upstate New York, our unique value proposition is simple:
• We only handle medical malpractice for injury victims,
• We are extremely selective and accept very few cases,
• In most cases, your medical records will be reviewed by a board certified surgeon
While we’re not allowed to say we’re “specialists”, the message is clear that we’re not like any other law firm. Does this matter to most consumers? Probably not, but we don’t want everyone to call us. We’re looking for the more sophisticated malpractice victims who spend extra time researching the best lawyer for their case; we want consumers who are looking for a “specialist”.
The Power of a Nurture Campaign
Take this one step further with an irresistible “Call to Action” targeting malpractice or injury victims: “Call our toll-free # for a special pre-recorded message, ‘Discover Why Only 1 Out of 8 Malpractice Victims Ever Recover a Dime’”. When the consumer listens to your content-laden pre-recorded phone message, ask them to go to your website to get your free book, “The 7 Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims”. Once on your website, you collect the consumer’s name and email address and you follow up with them through an automated email drip campaign through a Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
You’re building a database of sophisticated consumers who want more information from you and look forward to your weekly email newsletters. Your fans thank you for the content-laden weekly emails and you stay “top of mind” with hundreds (and with time, thousands) of your fans with each new email newsletter.
With each new email newsletter, you send hundreds of visitors to your website who “share” and “like” your new web articles. The traffic to your website is growing by leaps and bounds and you’re building a database of raving fans who feel as though they know, like and trust you. Even if a potential client doesn’t have a case now, who do you think they’ll call when they get injured or have someone to refer?
Are You Like 98% of Lawyers?
But injury lawyers don’t do this stuff. Injury lawyers are obsessed with striking gold with their next big case and don’t spend any time cultivating and nurturing their fan base of former clients and online friends and followers. This is a HUGE MISTAKE!
If you have a nurture campaign for prospective clients, let me know about it by sending an email to jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com. We’ll celebrate a moment of your success and I’ll show you my appreciation by sending you a signed, hard cover copy of my book, The Power of a System: How to Build the Injury Law Practice of Your Dreams.
photo credit: Don’t blend in via photopin (license)
