Tag: marketing

Business Development Strategies for Law Firms

Maintaining a well-structured business development plan is critical for law firms to remain competitive, and to build a strong client base.

Hiring a law firm can be a long and tedious process, and it can take years to win a new client. However, when the stakes of winning a new client are so high, it is worth the wait, and the efforts into developing and nurturing all avenues that can lead to the generation of new business.

Traditionally law firms relied most heavily on in person networking to bring in new business, however times have changed and even before the pandemic, top law firms have been quick to embrace modern marketing, lead generation, and data collection tools to gain an advantage in this increasingly competitive market.

Below are five steps that law firms must consider when formulating their business development strategies:

1. Strengthen the value and recognition of your firm’s brand

Promote and grow your firm’s and reputation and brand by showcasing your specialties and professionals. What sets your firm apart from the competition, and how can you relay that information to the market?

The production of content and resources to educate current and potential clients on the capabilities and efforts of your firm is more important than ever. It no longer is enough just to operate as a firm, but you must implement a robust marketing strategy into place to remain relevant in this very competitive market.

2. Analyze your client base

Understand the characteristics of the types of clients who contract your services (ie. size, operating sectors, location, type and value of services contracted)

3. Follow the markets

It is important not only to stay up to date on the legal sector, but the unique markets of your clients must also be on your radar. Competition is increasingly fierce, since we have already passed the mark of over 1.3 million lawyers in the USA (Statista) and 1.2 million lawyers in Brazil, according to OAB data. Understanding these movements and crossing them with your client base can help the offices to prepare for trends, as there was in the offering of services related to Compliance and data privacy legislations, and to understand the size of the market to be occupied.

4. Establish a Relationship Management Processes

Maintain frequent contact with your customers to build customer loyalty, to generate trust and appreciation, and to keep them informed of all the ways your firm can service them. It is important to keep a database of the origins of these relationships as well, so that you have better data on what was successful in the past, and what you can continue to do in the future.

It is also advisable to send out recurring satisfaction surveys to your clients check on areas of improvement, and thereby improve service delivery. Clients will appreciate your openness to feedback, and it will allow for your firm to better service them.

5. Participate in Legal Rankings and Awards

It is important to appear in the same places as your competition. If your main competition is appearing in legal rankings and awards, and your firm is not yet actively engaging in those same channels, then it is time to get involved as well. Having a third-party research team endorsement for your firm often holds more weight and credibility in the market than endorsing one’s own firm. Being able to leverage an endorsement from a well-respected media outlet (ie. Chambers and Partners, Legal500, Leaders League) will go a long way.

6. Launch the Business Development Plan into action

Each of the steps described above is important individually, but must be executed in unison to become a strategy. The better that a firm is able to present itself to the wider audience, and to gain the trust and respect of that audience, the better the likelihood that the firm will win new clients. Knowing who your potential customers are is a critical step to begin opening new doors and targeting new leads. Through better understanding the market, we induce the growth formula and see your potential. By establishing relationships, operational and financial stability, along with a more sustainable method of doing business can be maintained.

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Clubhouse for lawyers: How the new social network works

The app has gained worldwide popularity in recent weeks, mainly due to influencers who have joined the social network, such as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Some lawyers are already part of the new network, which still needs to be studied for optimization, as it could potentially become a new channel for exposure and sharing of content with stakeholders.

Clubhouse is an audio-only social network, available only for iPhone devices on the iOS operating system. To create a Clubhouse account, it is necessary to receive an invitation from a contact who already uses the social network, which makes the app more exclusive, since the number of invitations is limited per user.

The network provides a platform to create groups and events to promote discussions on specific topics. In general, it works through rooms, called ‘clubs’, where participants communicate live. Each room has two types of participants – ‘speakers’, users who speak during the conference, and ‘listeners’, who enter as listeners.

For lawyers, the novelty of this app is quite interesting, not only because it represents another gateway for potential clients, but also because of the possibility of getting closer to peers and those interested in their areas of expertise.

In any case, it is necessary to pay attention to the premises of the Code of Ethics and avoid interactions that are characterized as ‘attracting customers’ (which is not allowed in some countries), focusing on the informative display of content.

Outside the professional scope, the app is a new entertainment formula, with rooms of the most varied themes, combining features of a podcast with an interactive social network.

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Content Writing for Tax Professionals: Best Practices

On January 14th, LETS Americas sat down with tax reporter Mattias Cruz to discuss best practices on how to write better and more effective content on tax.

The full conversation can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RhtCidvMBY&feature=youtu.be

We have also summarized a few main questions from the conversation below.

LETS Americas: What would be your one main piece of advice to someone who is looking to produce better content?

Mattias Cruz: It’s going to sound almost unbelievably simple but it is know your audience and what you want to say. Everything else stems from that. You need to figure out exactly who you’re writing for and what you’re trying to tell them.

Writing is a skill, that gets better with experience and exposure. The more you read and write, the better the writing will become. I would recommend looking for other people writing similar things? What are things you like? What could improve?

Alongside is practice and putting your ego aside. You may think what you wrote is brilliant, but at the end of the day the writing is not for you- it is. for your target audience.

 

LETS: Do you suggest writing on more niche or more broad topics?

MC: Balance depending on your aim. Striking that balance is part of the challenge and it very much goes back to who you are writing for

Particularly for legal and tax content, there are trade offs of doing broad concept pieces vs technical pieces, but you can always mix and match a bit of both.

Generally however, for tax content you would want to focus on one tax problem or jurisdiction.

 

LETS: What is the best way to self-promote one’s content? Is publishing personal articles on linkedin/ website effective enough of a platform? 

 MC: The more platforms you are on, the better. Different people use different audiences, but in my experience LinkedIn has become a hub for sharing tax content. It carries well because it is often presented well within the LinkedIn format.

With having your own website, you have to pay more attention to the visual as well as the content. You could have the best content in the world but if its hard to find and hard to read, it’s rubbish. So the choice really depends on what works best for you.

Basic Journalism/Marketing techniques – Clear angle – what does your article say, consistency – publishing around the same time in whatever time period, immediacy – some content has to be published while a topic is hot.

Other simple things, like when is the best time to publish in your timezone?

Use all social medias if you can/different styles of content. In the modern world, professionals simply don’t have time to read thousands of words, so maybe try podcasts, videos, webinars.

 

LETS: Are there any apps or software platforms that people should be aware of, to help them produce better content?

MC: Well I am have been a write so im a bit biased, so I think nothing can replace or supplement a good writer. However, I understand that for many, they may be writing in second languages so something like a grammar checker would help, such as Grammarly or Hemingway. Microsoft word can do its best too, but at the end of the day you need a good editor.

LETS: How do you write in a way that promotes your practice, but also that comes across as technical versus purely for marketing?

MC: Your firm/ yourself cannot be the focus of the piece, the information comes first. Weaving in your expertise or comments from high profile individuals will be what motivates people to come to you, but at the same time avoid writing puff pieces about how great you are!

For firms in particular, bringing a fresh perspective is more valuable. Has anyone written about what you are writing? Are you saying the same thing? Can you frame it in a way that is more interesting or relevant to your audience?

LETS: What are best practices for busy tax professionals to find more time in their day to write? How does one best motivate themselves to write content?

MC: Setting aside that time is hugely important. You have to see content as an opportunity for you to show off your expertise in a certain subject or provide an opinion on a topic.

But for firms, content is a great way to show they are connected to the market. What are the clients facing as obstacles and how are you helping them overcome those issues.

One example is looking at interesting judgments, can you simplify the information while still maintaining the technical strength of the piece.

 

LETS: What is the ideal length of an article? How should one best structure an article to ensure it is read in entirety?

MC: In this day and age the shorter the better. Make sure each word counts but I understand some technical concepts have to be elaborated on. I would say generally a minimum of 400 words and a maximum of 1,500 words. It really depends on your subject matter.

One thing I do want to emphasize is that context is not valuable. Most times you can shorten the context to one paragraph, and ideally including a link to whatever it is referring to. Just get straight to the point

Structure is a journalistic endeavor, but essentially what is the most important information, and any supplementary information comes after. So that means: What is the angle? Who does it affect? And why is it important?

There are different styles of writing and I would encourage people to be creative with how they approach tax content.

 

LETS: What are best practices to create a catchy title/ caption for an article?

MC: Keywords – if people are searching for this, how would they find it? What search terms would they use?

Title: 7-9 words, keep it in the active form, let people know your angle.

Caption: You should be able to read this and know exactly what the article will tell you! about 30 words.

 

LETS: How important are images to go alongside written content?

MC: Depends on audience but generally its good practice! if you can include graphs and charts that supports your points, that’s great for breaking up text. bBt often that may not be available for the legal profession.

I wouldn’t add an image unless it added something. So really, I think a graphic would be best for tax content.

 

LETS: Tax professionals are usually quite technical when they write, how does one adapt their writing style to appeal to a more general audience?

MC: Striking a balance between technical details and general readability. get in the habit of asking yourself what are the key points? Does it need this technical detail right now? Will a non-tax person understand this? That is a big part of the job of a tax reporter!

I would recommend working alongside people who know how to write!

 

LETS: Are there any tips you can share on how to format your writing to reach an international audience?

MC: If you include an acronym, be sure to reference what it stands for. For example IRS could refer to Internal Revenue Service (in the US) or the Indian Revenue Service.

 

LETS: Should firms adopt their own firm wide style guides for writing content?

 MC: Yes, its good to gave the same style, because you’re representing the firm not just you. Also it just looks tidier.

 

LETS: Any tips for how to be a better editor of ones own work?

Take a good break away from it.

And this one trick will save you, READ IT OUT LOUD

 

LETS: Is there a particular non-tax publication whose writing style you most admire?

MC: The Economist

 

LETS: What do you personally find most interesting about tax? What topics have you most enjoyed reporting on this year?

 MC: The taxation of space and environmental taxation to tax risk insurance and cannabis taxation.

 

LETS: Ways to get your name into articles/ publications without paying? What opportunities are there for expanding/ exposure in tax writing without cost?

MC: Work alongside tax journalists, reach out, create that connection

 

LETS: To wrap it up, what are the top tips/ takeaways do you have for anyone looking to best improve their tax content writing?

MC: Know your audience. Work with strong writers. Be Creative – don’t be afraid to do something different

 

The full conversation can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RhtCidvMBY&feature=youtu.be

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7 Common Questions on the Brazilian Legal Market

Doing Business in Brazil

With a population of over 204 million people, and a nominal GDP of $1.9 trillion, Brazil is the most populous country in Latin America. It also has the largest consumer market and economy in the region.

Therefore, Brazil is an attractive market for foreign investors, entrepreneurs, and multinationals, and companies who are looking for international expansion.

However, the Brazilian market is complex. To enter, one must have a strong knowledge of the country, its laws, customs, and its tough regulation of the national bar for legal marketing. To plan effective marketing and business development strategies to target new Brazilian clients, it is important to work with a legal marketing team that is already well positioned in the country.

Below you will find the answers to some common questions law firms have about marketing to  clients in Brazil, and the ways in which LETS Americas can best help these law firms achieve their marketing goals in Brazil.

 1. Brazil has somewhat restrictive legislations regarding how law firms can advertise their services. How can LETS Americas help international firms looking to advertise to Brazilian Clients?

As LETS Marketing has been operating in Brazil since 2018, the firm has a strong understanding of what international firms can and cannot do to attract business in Brazil. The firm’s professionals have worked the main and most respected Brazilian law firms as marketing, business development and corporate communications specialists.

There are many legislations regarding the ways in which law firms are able to advertise, which are strictly governed by the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB, using the official Portuguese acronym) and so it is necessary to work with a team that is familiar with these legislations.

2. Is it necessary for international firms to produce content in Portuguese when targeting the Brazilian market?

For international firms looking to begin working within Brazil, it is very important to be able to produce communications in Portuguese, to be able to engage in the local media of the country and so firms should look to work with marketing teams that can assist with creating and promoting content in Portuguese.

According to a research published by British Council in 2019, only 5 % of Brazilians speak English. While the top law firms in Brazil are all fully bilingual, creating content in Portuguese allows for firms to better connect with the local market, shows respect for the local language, and reaffirms the firm’s dedication to working with Brazilian clients. Additionally, it is important to consider that there are many key decision makers who will be involved in the contracting of your services, and many clients may feel more comfortable navigating important business decisions in their native language.

3. Where in Brazil should my firm work?

 Despite its large territory, economy and population, Brazil’s businesses hubs are concentrated across a few main cities. São Paulo is the financial center of the country and has the largest consumer market, where just about all of the most important companies in the country keep an office. Investment fund or banks in Brazil and the Brazilian stock market most often keep their headquarters in São Paulo . The city is near key-industrial poles (such as Campinas and ABC Paulista) and the largest port in the South hemisphere, which is called Santos.

It’s also common for litigation, tax and public law firms to have offices in Brasília, the national capital which is the seat of the Supreme Court, regulatory and enforcement authorities, and the main politicians.

The country is divided into 5 different regions with distinctive features and 26 federal states. The agribusiness is the main economic activity in the country, specially in the South and Midwest Regions.

The Southeast Region is very important as it where both São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are located. It has the largest economic development through a plural economy in the productive industry, services and financial market.

The North and Northeast regions are key markets for international businesses and investors to watch due to their abundance of natural resources and growth potential.

 4. How will the new Personal Data Protection legislation impact marketing capabilities for foreign entities doing business in Brazil?

The new Personal Data Legislation (LGPD) is already in force in Brazil. The law was inspired by the GDPR law of the EU, and was designed in order to protect people’s data and to fine companies which share or use personal information through a non-consensual way.

Email marketing campaigns, and the ways in which clients can do outbound lead generation campaigns were highly impacted by these new laws. While still a very useful content tool for law firms, it is now recommendable to the firm to establish a partnership with a local marketing specialist and compliance specialists to avoid sanctions.

5. What are the main aspects of the Brazilian legal regime that international clients must know?

Under regulations in Provimento 91/2000, foreign lawyers or law firms can only practice international or their country’s law as ‘foreign legal consultants’, and can only advise Brazilian clients on international legal matters. Foreign firms are not allowed to enter into partnership with or employ Brazilian lawyers. If a lawyer enters into partnership with a foreign lawyer, they will not be able to advise on Brazilian law and will be treated as a foreign legal consultant.

The sharing fees or equity between a foreign firm and a local Brazilian law firms is also banned, as is any joint marketing with local firms. What UK and other international law firms can do is work with Brazilian firms by referring business to each other and seeking each other’s advice on their respective countries’ laws

Paid advertising is also completely forbidden for law firms in Brazil. That’s why inbound marketing, content marketing and public relations are so important to the Brazilian firms’ strategies. Owned media and paid media are really relevant for them.

6. How does LETS Americas and LETS Marketing cover the whole of the Americas from only having two offices, in NYC and Sao Paulo?

By focusing on taking on clients engaged with global business, LETS has been focused on establishing strong relationships with international media and outlets, especially within the sectors of rankings, conferences and events. As the LETS team has worked within the legal marketing and legal media world for a number of years, giving us strong connections and relationships with key players across all of the Americas.

LETS also has a strong internal team of business development consultants who are well equipped and eager to take on any new challenges that our clients may ask of them.

7. What main areas of legal marketing does LETS Americas focus on?

LETS Americas is a completely full-service legal marketing consulting firm. The main areas in which we operate are:

  • Branding
  • Communications
  • Business Development
  • Events and Sponsorships
  • Digital and Inbound Marketing
  • Strategic Marketing Planning
    Research
  • Legal Rankings and Publications
  • Public Relations
  • International Consulting

7. Which are the main Brazilian law firms to work with me as a lawyer or firm in association?

Brazil has a wide range of firms’ profile’s, considering full service and boutique players. An efficient tool to gather information and make a good decision regarding which Brazilian firm should you reach is to access the main Latin American legal rankings. Leaders League, Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and The Who’s Who Legal are examples of institutions researching and publishing information regarding several practice areas, attorneys, and law firms. They publish every year a new ranking in English with the best rated lawyers and firms. Check it out and consult your marketing specialist regarding methodology and specificity on each institution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10 Tips for Networking within the Legal Industry

Networking is essential within the legal industry.

The majority of people who succeed in business, do so because they are accomplished networkers. This is no exception for lawyers/ people in the legal industry. Expanding one’s circle, building trusted relationships with other people, finding new clients, and embracing conversation as an opportunity to learn more about the world, are all key takeaways from networking. Even the shortest conversation with the right person can become the smartest business development strategy for your law practice. Attorneys are often tasked with being their own marketers, and so being able to develop strategic relationships is of utmost importance. While it takes practice to become a strong networker, it is a skill set that anyone can master.

In this day in age, legal networking may look a bit different than it did in the past, with the majority of events and even one on one coffee meet ups being held virtually. However the keys to succeed in both in person and virtual network environments are quite similar, and you can find them here:

1. Have confidence in yourself

  • Even the most seasoned and seemingly outgoing networkers still get nervous in new situations. It it no easy task to put oneself out when networking, and while you can practice your elevator pitch for hours, the most important attribute a networker can have is confidence. Everyone has someone valuable to offer. Being well prepared for the event, and wearing an outfit that makes you feel like the best version of yourself, will also help you gain confidence.

2. Set your purpose

  • Networking with a purpose is much more effective than showing up to an event, or meeting without at least one item you plan to accomplish. Your purpose can be to speak with one particular person, or to engage in a conversation about a specific topic, or it can just be as simple as speaking to one new person you have never met before.

3. Own your story

  • Everyone has an interesting story to tell. Practice your elevator pitch before speaking with a new person so that you can showcase it with enthusiasm and confidence. People are genuinely interested in learning about other people’s work and interests, the more passion you can put into your story, the more engaged your audience will be.

4. Practice your elevator pitch

  • Similar to tip number 3, practice, practice, practice your elevator pitch. Find a friend, mentor, coworker- anyone you trust, to listen to your pitch, and to help you perfect it. The target pitch is between 30 and 60 seconds, which can either sound like a lifetime, or way too short for chatty people, but is the perfect amount of time to introduce yourself and your story to a new person. From there, questions and comments should arise, and normal dialogue should be able to flow.

5. Pre-plan ice breakers

  • Introducing yourself to a stranger opening with your name and firm, and asking the same is repetitive and not memorable, and does not open the door to a strong conversation. Before arriving at the event, try to come up with a list of hot topics in the news/ industry/ general points of interest that a person attending this sort of event might be interested in speaking about. However, it is important to keep the topics light, and to avoid controversial topics.

6. Do research in advanced on the people who will be attending the event

  • When networking at an event, if the attendee list is open, try to do a quick search of the people who will be attending so that you can make a list of the people you are most looking to connect with. It is also helpful to study their picture in advance to more easily pick them out. If there is anyone you very much want to meet, consider sending them an email or LinkedIn message in advance letting them know you will be attending the same event and want to connect. This will allow for the other person to make sure to find the chance to speak with you then, or to suggest a one on one conversation at another point in time

7. Bring more people into the conversations

  • If while attending an event you find yourself engaged in a conversation and see someone who is on the sidelines not speaking with anyone, reach out and try to bring them into the conversation. They might end up being the exact person you needed to speak with, and also in the future you might be thankful when someone does the same for you

8. Be an active listener

  • Keep your phone out of sight, and make eye contact. Try to keep the dialogue equal – if you feel yourself taking over the conversation and speaking more than the other people, take a step back. If there is a lull in the conversation, use this opportunity to ask a question for other people to answer.

9. Take notes

  • Taking notes during/ directly after the conversations is an important way to ensure you can follow up properly with new connections. The next day or so after meeting, send an email or LinkedIn message to the new people you have met including memorable information from the conversation to make yourself more memorable, and to better your chance of continuing the conversation with that person.

10. Create your own opportunities

  • Many formal events are held which allow for networking to take place, but the best networking opportunities are the ones that you create for yourself. Go above formal events and ask someone you met at an event to meet for coffee (in real life or virtually), ak people you know to introduce you to people within their network, or find someone on LinkedIn who is in a relevant industry and ask for a phone call.
  • Attend industry events that are not tailored to attract lawyers, but are within an industry in which you do business, which may allow for you to stand out more among the crowd.
  • Any conversation can be a networking opportunity. Take a moment to strike up a conversation with someone you may not have normally spoken with. You never know where your next business referral might come from.
  • Host your own event. Create a group of people with similar interests and get them together for breakfast, or a zoom call (depending on the state of the world). Any way in which you can foster connections with new people will allow for you to stand out, become memorable, and become a more confident and competent networker.
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