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Question of the Month: December 99 

Gloria Walters, Altheimer & Gray       

Answer

Do they want a brochure site, or do they want a magnet site?

Brochure sites focus on the law firm: "Here we are and this is what we do." Brochure sites may help in marketing (if well done), but don't expect them, no matter how well done, to bring in many new clients, in and of themselves. 

Magnet sites are those that actively attract new clients to a firm. They usually try to accomplish this by 

Magnet sites can include brochure-type elements, BUT the focus with them is on the client--things that are of interest to potential clients (and I'm not talking about lawyer resumes here). Magnet sites can be also be cheap or expensive in out of pocket costs, but they nearly always have high indirect costs--the time of the lawyers to plan for the site and provide quality content.

If your lawyers want a magnet site (or think they might want one), the most important thing you need to find out is:

What does the law firm have, or know, that would be attractive to potential clients that can be be used as "bait"? 

This question can't be answered without getting into a related issue that is also critical: exactly WHO is (are) your target market(s)? You must decide this if you want to try a magnet site.

A close runner-up question is:

What will we do to publicize the web site after it is completed? 

Of course, the site should be promoted off the Internet as well as on the Internet. What we are looking for now is: "How?" How will it be promoted, both on and off the Internet.

A subsidiary question -- one I believe is a favorite of master law firm web site designer Mark Pruner of Web Counsel -- is:

What could we do with our web site that would attract favorable news media attention, particularly in the publications that our target market tends to read?

Jerry Lawson

 

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