Global IP Matrix - Issue 5

Every IP attorney also needs to be a marketer.
An IP attorney’s job is first and foremost to practice IP law, yet, probably the second most
important task is client acquisition.
Nowadays, it is hard to find any company, which is not applying data-driven decision making to
pursue their business objectives.
So, why are many IP firms not yet tapping into the power of Big Data?
With the rapid development of the digitalisation of the IP profession, more and more law firms are
focusing their client acquisition efforts on online channels. Compared to traditional marketing,
only digital marketing allows sophisticated performance tracking, constant optimisation, and
ultimately an effective ROI management.
Nearly all marketers use quantifiable and scientific methods. A scientist solves a question or
problem by making observations and doing experiments and calculations. The goal is to be able
to predict and repeat experiments with desired outcomes. By applying the same approach to IP
legal marketing, attorneys can make improvements to their strategies and achieve their desired
business objectives more effectively.
Based on 2018 data1, email marketing is still ranked as the most effective digital marketing
channel, surpassing SEO, social media, and paid advertisement. A major advantage of email
marketing is reaching target clients exactly where most of their attention is directed to – namely
in their email inbox.
How should IP attorneys use email marketing to offer their services?
Delivering the right message to the right client, and especially at the right time, is known to lead
to higher conversion rates than non-targeted marketing.
This ‘Next Best Offer’ approach essentially reverses the traditional marketing equation, by placing
the client at the center and trying to meet the individual needs.
WeCrest’s email marketing tool, the ‘Madrid Notifier,’ skillfully implements the Next Best Offer
strategy to drive client acquisition for IP firms. With this tool, attorneys can send to provisional
refusal recipients a notification email along with an individualised response offer. As the refusal
case needs an immediate response by a local law firm to the local IP office, the next best offer will
likely be accepted.
Table 3
1 - A firm can have an enticing offer, but it
is useless if the client never opens the email.
Getting the client to open the email is half
the battle. Therefore, it all comes down to the
subject line.
2 - When setting a sender name, being as
human as possible is the key. Olivia@lawfirm.
com is both inviting and unintimidating to
people when they open their inboxes. The best
impression an IP attorney can make on his or
her client is to show they are dealing with a
person – not an organisation.
3 - Opens, i.e., the number of emails that
are actually opened by the recipient, is an
important KPI (key performance indicator),
and considering and spending time on not
only the subject line but also the preview text,
will help to drive opens and engagement with
the clients.
4 - Personalisation is essential to marketing
as it increases engagement because people
want to be seen as individuals. Thus, it is
recommended to send the email to a personal
email address and to address the recipient
using their first name.
5 – Less is more. It might seem as though
more Calls-to-Action (CTAs) give clients more
options, and hence increase engagement with a
law firm, but that is not always, how it works.
Using a CTA in IP legal marketing requires a
balance between options and simplicity. The
best practice is to include only one CTA at the
bottom of the email, which allows the recipient
to reply with a simple ‘yes.’
Conclusion –
Entering the new era
of IP legal marketing
The digitalisation of the IP profession
has arrived. Now, new clients can be
acquired online with a few clicks.
Therefore, more and more IP attorneys
are increasing their revenue by using
digital marketing tools and the latest
refusal data intelligently.
To get started with digital clientacquisition,
please visit www.wecrest.
com and open a Free Account. For more
information, you can send an email to
Pascal.Moungouango@wecrest.com
Footnotes:
WeCrest’s email marketing solution: Sending response offers with the Madrid Notifier.
Furthermore, a response offer email adds value to the potential client as the offer addresses their
current needs.
Email marketing checklist for IP attorneys
There are five main success factors, which will further drive client-acquisition through email.
1 https://www.smartinsights.com/emailmarketing/email-communications-strategy/
email-marketing-still-worth-takingseriously-2018/
1 - Subject line
2 - Sender name and email
3 - Email preview text
4 - Personalisation
5 - Call-to-Action (CTA)
30 www.gipmatrix.com