As law firms continue to struggle under the weight of the economic downturn, online positioning and advertising opportunities have emerged as an inexpensive way to elevate their brand and raise name awareness. Increasing your online visibility can draw more visitors to your website, position you as a thought leader and attract new customers.

If you’re not looking ahead you’re falling behind. To help you stay on the leading edge in 2010, here’s a list of top trends you should consider when developing your marketing plan for 2010.

Lebron James and even Roy Hobbs (“The Natural”) have each been labeled as the chosen one, are you? As part of your client service program, are you calling prospects that did not choose you for an interview or as the winning agency or firm? If not, this is an important step in uncovering what your firm has done well and potential areas for improvement.

Successful marketing is all about the ability to tell good stories.

Both law and accounting firms work to get their name and capabilities into the marketplace by connecting with their audience. Your storytelling abilities are a very important skill set to reach your audiences in ways that can influence the way they think about you or your firm.

This past week Katie, my eight-year-old daughter, accidently opened a package that had a Christmas present enclosed from Santa Claus. I thought it was her annual Christmas ornament. (D’oh! on my part).

It’s that time of year again. Your desk and inbox are flooded with holiday cards. I know there are folks who have very strong feelings about whether or not print or digital is the best medium to send thanks and best wishes at holiday time. Personally, I feel like both can be done well. The problem is few ARE actually done well. The majority of cards I see—be they paper or pixil—are utterly generic and impersonal. And what does that say about how you view your relationship with the recipient?

When it comes to branding, why do professional service firms like the Home Depots of the world? From large management companies to PR firms, they all say they can handle your brand. Even though it's not their specialty. So is it really all about size and the guarantee on a box?

What is a guarantee? Or better yet, why do people like it "on the box?" Simple, because it makes a man feel good. As Chris Farley was quoted movie Tommy Boy (1995):

Do you describe your firm as “trusted advisors” but fail to incorporate client teams to better serve them?  

In a recent informal poll conducted by Moiré Marketing Partners on LinkedIn, we found that marketing professionals understand the importance of client teams. 57% of respondents indicated that communication amongst team members and the client was most important and 42% indicated that creating a team culture was most important in building client teams, when compared to commitment to the firm brand, mutual respect and capitalizing on cross-market opportunities. 

A friend of mine recently launched a new business and invited me to the grand opening. Knowing that I probably wouldn’t know anyone there, I decided to take along my 5 year old daughter, Emma. I’ve learned that next to a puppy, nothing is better than a small child to get conversations with strangers going. Even though the room was filled with adults, Emma confidently walked the room and started chatting up folks. I stood back and took notes as she showed me some of the basics of networking.

1.    Stay positive

Lately, open source CMS software like Drupal, Joomla! and Wordpress are giving proprietary CMS software a run for its money. And for good reason. It is easy to use—You don’t need programming skills to make updates or changes. Here are some of the other benefits of an open source CMS: