Treating the Internet Like the Yellow Pages
When was the last time you looked at a phone book? The way you answer this will show how long it has been since you embraced technology. For most of your potential clients, the answer will either be, “It’s been years!” or “What’s a phone book?”
In the days of the phone book, the majority of the yellow pages ads were for attorneys. The back cover, inside both covers, and the pages and pages of full color ads in the listings themselves were all for attorneys. The reason it grew and grew was pretty simple: It worked! People in a hurry tended to look at the ones in the covers. People who preferred to do “research” would go through the ones in the listings until they got tired of it and pick the one that they most connected with on an emotional level. Usually that meant they liked a particular attorney based on the picture and text in his or her ad.
The internet doesn’t work the same way as the yellow pages, and if you allow someone to design your website to look like a yellow pages ad, you won’t get the results you are looking for.
Just like your clients shouldn’t attempt to take on a legal challenge without you, you need an advocate who knows how the internet works to make sure your site is not unsightly. You need a professional that will make your website the first step into your office.
