Your Firm's Bottom Line: Increasing Advertising ROI

Happy Labor Day! - the one day most of us will take off from figuring out how to increase productivity and related earnings. But come tomorrow...

This week's topic is all about your firm's bottom line.

We're increasingly approached about the legal marketing services we offer here at BNI and, an often cited question is - how does our primary line of work relate to marketing? At first glance, an odd combination - investigative work and marketing. Pondering it further, an investigator is trained to think analytically and to also be quite creative. We never have 100% foreknowledge of the result of any phone call, info inquiry or face to face situation. So why are some investigators more successful in their field than others? Curiosity is certainly a reason but the main factor for success is that we instinctively understand our audience. We have to. It is that simple. We often have less than a few seconds to give an impression and gain a person's confidence.

So, who better to have on your marketing team than someone who has the ability to quickly assess a successful strategy?

Today, I'd like to offer some tips in selecting a good marketing strategy: (There are 3 ground rules)

1. If you see a wildly successful advertising campaign in a field different from yours, observe it closely. The ideas that can really boost your bottom line ALWAYS come from outside the box.

2. There is only one reason to spend money on marketing - revenue. (Creating a good public image comes from the quality representation your firm gives its clients.)

3. Look at your competitors' marketing and advertising activity - and do the opposite. You have to stand out or you will pump in an endless stream of money into the tried but usually not necessarily true. (If your competitor has a big ad campaign - he/she a- started out with a smaller, unusual strategy and grew to that point or b- they are simply throwing away a lot of money very quickly or c- are unknowningly spending too much for what appears to be a great return.)

For an example of what not to do, (a real tv ad from March, 2008), view below. I'm sure this firm's lawyers are sincere and deliver quality services to their clients, but the oral message and visual delivery do not match. If this ad is working for them, great - but it can be even more successul with a few of the above mentioned tweaks (and some technical ones - i.e., make sure the firm's name is legible against the backdrop, scroll - as opposed to fix - your message continuously along the bottom, and, if you are going to show sample case clips - repeat only one or two scenes; four or five scenarios do not allow the viewer to internalize the critical message point.)




And on a final note, join LinkedIn, the world's largest and growing social/business network. Feel welcome to request the previous Bulletin we ran on LinkedIn, as they have partnered in with LexNex to become the highest-rated online networking tool for lawyers in the world.

BNI Operatives: Street smart; Web savvy.

As always, stay safe,

Lina

Witness Statement Checklist (for MVAs)

Witness Statement Checklist (Updated each winter)

Witness statements; seem simple enough. The attorney needs the incident/accident details; recorded in an accurate and concise manner. Often, however, it is the experience of both the seasoned accident investigator and the harried trial lawyer to have obtained a witness statement (usually out in the field) only to realize later that it is not as comprehensive as he or she would have liked. Especially in multi-vehicle accidents with serious/fatal injuries (as in the above vid), the investigator needs to be extremely thorough.

BNI's founders sought to alleviate this concern for attorneys and conducted an in-depth review of witness statements obtained over the course of its decade in the private investigation field. After a careful study, we've created incident-appropriate Witness Statement Checklists for the investigative and trial law professional. This week, we've attached a Witness Statement Checklist relating to motor vehicle accidents.

WITNESS STATEMENT CHECKLIST (MVA)
This checklist contains items that must be addressed for a witness statement to be considered complete. One checklist per involved vehicle.

1. WITNESS PEDIGREE (to include name, address, phone # (home, cell, work,) DOB, SSN,employment/scholastic and licensed driver info, and email addresses.

2. WEATHER CONDITIONS (including possible glare)

3. LIGHTING CONDITIONS

4. SURFACE CONDITIONS (roadways, shoulders...)

5. DEBRIS/CONSTRUCTION PRESENT

6. DESCRIPTION OF ROADWAY (# of lanes, travel direction, divider present...)

7. SIGN DEVICES/PRESENCE OF TRAFFIC AGENT

8. DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF PARTICIPANTS (drivers/pedestrians...)

9. DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT (detailed)

10. ALCOHOL/DRUG INVOLVEMENT

11. WHERE WAS THE DRIVER GOING?

12. RATE OF SPEED

13. FORCE OF IMPACT

14. DAMAGE TO VEHICLE (detailed)

15. POSITION OF OCCUPANTS

16. OBSERVABLE INJURIES SUSTAINED (detailed)

17. MEDICAL ATTENTION RECEIVED AT SCENE

18. EMERGENCY/OFFICIAL VEHICLE AND PERSONNEL RESPONSE

19. POSITION OF VEHICLE AFTER IMPACT

20. SUMMONSES ISSUED

21. STATEMENT(S) MADE AT SCENE

22. ADDITIONAL WITNESSES

23. WAS THE VEHICLE TOWED?

BNI Operatives: Street smart: Net savvy.

To all who have, and those that continue to, serve, our thoughts are with you this Veteran's Day,

Stay Safe,

Lina

French Maids Make Photo Sharing Simple

One thing every experienced investigator and seasoned trial lawyer recognizes is the truth in the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words." (And in many cases, tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars...)

But, as many of you know, we've been swamped the past few weeks tweaking our new product line for release (this Wednesday!). So for this week's Bulletin topic - photo sharing - we've asked for help from our delightful, insightful and totally knowledgeable friends over at French Maid TV.

They explain it all in their above clip so we won't go over it again but as we cautioned in our July 2, 2007 Bulletin, be sure to remove all metadata (hidden data such as reversible authoring notes, embedded dates...) from your files - including photos and vids - before sharing them with others for whatever necessary reasons. (You can retrieve the 7/2/07 Metadata Bulletin in the right column on this page our just drop us a line at bulletin@beaconbulletin.com. Note "Metadata" in the subject line.)

Please enjoy the French Maids as they, in their inimitable style, explain the ins and outs of sharing that most powerful of negotiating tools - photographs. (Pillow fight notwithstanding...)

BNI Investigators: Street smart; Web savvy.

Be safe,

Lina

He Said; She Said; We Should: Interview Intake Form

As we are all well aware, federal and state laws prohibit prospective employers from asking certain questions that are not related to the job they are hiring for. Questions should not be used to find out personal information. In a nutshell, employers should not be asking about your race, gender, religion, marital status, age, disabilities, ethnic background, country of origin, sexual preferences or age.

During the witness statement interview, however, investigators are not looking to hire the witness but rather to find out just as much personal information as possible. As we mentioned in a recent Bulletin, witnesses can make, break or mitigate a trial lawyer's case. It can take several years for a case to reach the point of serious negotiation or trial. The issue may then be finding a relocated witness. For that reason, the investigative specialist needs to gather as much personal information from the witness as possible during the initial interview. (We do caution the interviewer to employ a bit of tact as most of the fields on the Interview Intake Form can be filled in without direct questioning of the witness.)


BNI Investigators: Street smart; Web savvy.

Finders Keepers: Securing Witness Contact Information

From an investigator's perspective, few things can be as frustrating as trying to locate a witness a year or more post-accident.

Having conducted innumerable first contact/initial intake surveys, it is our experience that it is critical to obtain as much information on potential witnesses as early on as possible. And. to then immediately reach out to those witnesses and obtain additional contact information. Often, the starting point of any file (once the retainer is secured) is the police accident report - PAR. (For the purpose of maintaining a tight focus, and as the information is applicable to other agencies and incident types as well, we will concentrate on police department PARs) A PAR's witness information content varies from agency to agency, county to county and even intra-department. An NYPD officer may be thorough and include the witness' name and address in the PAR's witness information section. A Yonkers cop may simply jot down the witness' name and address or phone number in the body of the accident description. Outside of the occasional NYPD officer or State Trooper, there is usually no witness identification verification conducted on scene.

In any case, your firm initially has only the PAR or any info that your client may provide regarding the witness(es). A simple phone call or contact letter within a week or so of accepting a case may not only secure contact information, it begins to establish an association between the witness and your client and can facilitate cooperation down the line.

Understandably, until the issues of accident/incident circumstances, injuries, liability and potential defendants are developed, a law firm may not wish to expend additional energy or monies on non-critical activity. Our experience, however, leans us towards an ounce of prevention when it comes to securing witness information. In an increasingly mobile/transient world, more information is not only better, but necessary. A phone call or contact letter requesting additional info (such as an emergency contact, email, employer info...) can often make the difference later on in obtaining a witness statement... or not. Done correctly, this witness outreach may a) induce the witness to become a more cooperative part of the process, b) begin to imprint a more solid recall of events should testimony become necessary and c) provide additional future contact avenues.

#2/67 When A Slippery Slope is a Good Thing!

In conducting on-location site surveys, the investigative professional should be aware of four baseline potential causal factors: (The first three are fairly straightforward; the fourth, ground slope, is the focus of this week's Bulletin.)

1. Broken/Damaged/In Disrepair conditions

2. Construction in the area/Construction debris

3. Lighting Factors

4. Ground slope in regard to the related defect, condition or structure.

By way of example and explanation: Without delving too deeply into calculus (it's spring...):

The relational depth of a 3-inch deep defect, radiated outwardly 6 feet therefrom, with a 30% slope within that rise, can dynamically equate to a more than 6-inch profundity at the defect core. With the additional slope factor, it is not as if the injured party was walking on level ground and simply encountered a 3" defect. A very normal and acceptable declination range of the surrounding 6 feet of the defect, with a sharp gradient, will offset body physics and can be equal to the person encountering a 6" defect.