The best time to advertise: opportunities in a down economy.

• Author: Semmes, Elonide C.

The economy's in the tank. Budgets are being slashed. Marketing plans are being scrutinized like never before. And marketing professionals are asking themselves, with some trepidation, "When the executive committee interrogates me about our advertising program, what do I say?" Not that lawyers were all that comfortable with advertising to begin with. Their traditional distaste aside, return on investment has always been a sticking point. Since money spent on advertising has no direct connection to incoming revenue, ROI is notoriously difficult to demonstrate. So now, with revenue becoming a big issue across the board, your lawyers may very well be tempted to walk away from advertising altogether. That would be a mistake.

Why? First of all, if you've been advertising consistently in recent years, the last thing you want to do is stop cold turkey. Cut back, maybe, but a complete halt can trigger potentially embarrassing questions from a fickle marketplace. Is the firm in trouble? Is its direction uncertain? Is it trading market presence for per-partner profits? These are questions best left unasked.

But the overriding reason to advertise in a downturn is simple: firm visibility. With the credit markets frozen, business at a virtual standstill and everything in a state of flux, many existing relationships are being re-evaluated, making this is the ideal time to get your firm on the radar screen of new prospects. As more and more law firms find themselves competing for fewer and fewer legal matters, the firms with the most top-of-mind presence will have the best chance at landing new business. Now more than ever, it's essential to keep your name front and center.

And with less competition for advertising real estate, you'll also be likely to negotiate great deals on rates.

Small Investment, Big Results

And you don't have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make an impact. If you have a clear idea of who your best prospects are, it's neither difficult nor expensive to launch an advertising campaign that is limited in scope but highly focused in manner. There are new channels you may not have yet explored, such as online advertising, vertical publications, and--especially--online advertising offered by vertical publications. Choosing the right industry trade journal--one that's a good fit with your practice areas--can be a huge help in reaching your most likely prospects. Many, if not most, of these verticals have online versions, and...