Effective Injury Practice Advertising Strategy

great advertising doesn't have to cost a fortune

Advertising is the nuclear fuel of the business world. Like uranium as an energy source, advertising can be an inexpensive and efficient means of powering profitable growth; or used incorrectly, it can melt-down, burning cash with it at a startling pace. Or even worse, it can blow up in your face, taking not only cash but your firm's image and reputation with it.

Developing the skills that allow you to harness the power of advertising is one of the most important things any small firm owner can do. Early in my career I developed an ad that appeared for three months in a prestigious legal journal touting my services. It was a full-page, four color, professionally done ad that I was convinced would deliver an immediate torrent of new business inquiries and ultimately big sales. Why did I think that? Because it was expensive ($2000 per ad), it was full color, it was full page (you couldn't possibly miss it), and it talked about all the things my firm could do for the prospect; surely the reader would find something he needed in the detailed bullet points of services. I thought the sheer size and boldness of the ad would get everyone to read it. And when they saw all things we could do - well the phone would start ringing.

You've probably already figured out that the ad wasn't effective. But how ineffective was truly awe inspiring. My company received two - yes, two - phone calls from the ad. And, zero sales!

It's hard to describe my emotions during and after that time, but befuddled, depressed and embarrassed would certainly be in the ballpark. I had invested six months of my advertising budget into a three month campaign and gotten zero dollars back. It's a sure sign your advertising is bad is when it doesn't produce more dollars than you invest, but when you invest $6000 and get back $0, that's a colossal failure.

But I persevered, I read a few books, talked to some experts, attended a seminar, and gradually my ads got better. I began to understand what good advertising was, and more importantly, what a good advertising strategy was. So, let me help you avoid some of my painful learning experiences and pass along a few tips and secrets that can make a big difference in your advertising success. These are not just from my own experiences; they're also strategies and tactics that big-time advertising gurus and super-successful companies have proven effective over time.

So here goes:

Smaller ads deployed over a longer span of time will be more effective than the reverse. Example: above, I would have been better off doing a year's worth of 1/4 page ads in black and white than the big, color ad for just three months.

The ads must come from as many different directions as possible. Example: from newspapers, direct mail, door hangers, hand delivered flyers, radio, cable TV, networking, publicity, email, business cards, newsletters, magazines, web site, direct sales, phone messages, telemarketing etc. Not every business can use all of these avenues, but you should find a way to use at least six. The more the better. For advertising, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Make sure you're advertising in the right places, targeting the right people for your practice area. Example: running a workers comp ad in a magazine that caters to corporate executives will dramatically reduce potential response.

Your message should be clear and easy to understand, not a laundry list of products or services. Example: rather than trying to mention or list all the things you do, pick just one or one overall benefit and build the piece around that. It will have a greater impact.

The message should convey a strong, obvious benefit. See my previous article on Create a Marketing Message That Brings In Clients.

The ad must be persuasive. That is, it should convince the reader that they can believe you can be trusted to deliver on your promised benefit. Again see Create a Marketing Message That Brings In Clients.

You must use a visual technique to draw the reader into the ad and its copy. Example: ads that feature a person's face expressing a strong emotion are an old standby in the ad biz. They work every single time.

Budget at least 8 to 12% of annual revenues to marketing efforts. Are you spending enough? Most small firms don't.

These concepts represent a framework you'll need to master in order to implement an ad strategy that really works. There's a wealth of additional information out there that can make real, incremental improvements in your advertising results. Read up, ask an expert or attend a seminar.

Conclusion

Educating yourself on the principles and tactics of successful advertising strategy is an absolute necessity if you run your own practice. Don't be lulled into thinking you already know enough. Human beings are very forgetful creatures; you've probably forgotten half that you knew. (And you probably didn't know enough to begin with.) And, don't believe that hard work and long hours will make up for what you don't know; you can't saw down a Sequoia with a butter knife no matter how hard you try. You've heard it before -- knowledge is power. Get educated and increase your power!

Shawn Davis