Who’s Your Competition

Who’s Your Competition?

Who’s your competition if you own a solo or small law firm in Florida?

Your competition is not a super law firm.

A competitor is similar in size, revenue, and resources, not simply one offering similar services.

Super firms will do everything available to market and edge out other super firms.

You may think of them as competitors; super firms don’t think of small or solo firms at all.

Marketing Budgets

Super law firms spend eight to 10-figure marketing budgets to reach the top of Google, dominate search results, social media, websites (yes, plural), TV, radio, print, podcasts, outdoor, events, consumer relationship marketing, and all other platforms.

A solo or small law firm’s ad spend may be up to five figures annually.

Will it be spent on what works for your firm, or, what you think will make you competitive against large firms?

Ad Spend

A super firm’s ad spend allows local, state, regional, and national coverage to achieve goals planned in concise marketing plans.

The Super Firm Strategy

The super firm strategy may include targeting clients with cases worth a minimum of $250,000+.

Call screening and intake teams select cases from phone calls, emails, texts, chats, online, referrals, walk ins driven by all purchased media.

Prime cases for the super firm are identified and assigned to a team of attorneys, associate attorneys, and paralegals.

A small law firm may be targeting all cases that come through the door, or, clients with cases worth a minimum of $100,000.

One attorney, associate, and paralegal may handle cases, adding an intake specialist if possible.

A solo firm may target any case above $5,000. It’s all hands on deck, 24-7 representing, responding, resolving everything.

What is a Competitor?

A business competitor is an entity on the same level in ad spend, strategy, years in business, location, target audience, and billings.

A competitor is a business against which there’s a realistic chance of signing the same client.

In the words of Jack Welch, 20-year General Electric Chairman and CEO: “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.

The Definition of a Competitor

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a competitor as “a person, product, company, etc. that is trying to compete with others, for example, by trying to make bigger sales in a particular market.”

If you’re a solo firm in a smaller city after leaving a big firm, you won’t have the same resources, budgets, staff, marketing, and referrals.

You may be able to source clients in a new, better, different manner. But the industry Goliath will outperform you.

The Definition of Competition

The Cambridge Dictionary defines competition as “a situation in which someone is trying to win something or be more successful than someone else.”

It’s aspirational to want to perform at the same level as super firms, solo firms, however, cannot win or be more successful than wealthier, older, larger businesses.

Instead, focus on a market share you can realistically expect to capture based on what you can offer clients.

Taking All Your Clients?

Is a super firm taking all your clients? Or, is a super firm getting clients you could not take on without a bigger staff and line of credit?

Same Services, Different Level

A super law firm is not competition because while you offer the same services, you provide them at a different level.

Different Firms, Different Reasons

People hire different firms for different reasons.

A person who wants to hire a super firm may think that the biggest is best for handling a case.

A person who wants to hire a solo firm to represent them may think they’ll receive personal 24-7 case attention.

These statements are assumptions.

Research and Development

Research and development is a line item in marketing for super firms to determine the exact reasons a person hires a super firm over a solo firm.

It’s irresponsible to guess or to rely on AI to find out why a person hires a particular law firm.

Small and solo firms can also perform research to discover why a solo law firm would be hired over a super firm.

Shouldn’t you know why your small law firm is preferable to a super firm?

What Are Your Chances On Google?

It’s true, there’s a race to the top of Google. But what are your chances on Google against the marketing spend of a super firm?

Google is full of super firms battling to bump all other law firms out of the way.

New Firm, No Audience

So how do you launch and market a new firm with no audience and a small budget?

Windows of Opportunity

Find the windows of opportunity your solo firm can capitalize on to get the clients, cases, and contracts you want.

How to Become a Competitor

Identify where and how your firm can compete against other firms that are like yours in billings, location, strategy, target audiences, ad spend, and size.

Pay for research and use the results to build a marketing plan with the same passion you use to represent your clients.

You’ll become a competitor among firms your size in your practice area when you accept that only another super firm can compete with a super firm.