Quote of the Week

“Fix the holes in the bucket first, and then worry about how to add more water!”  — Howard Kaplan

This quote comes from the author of one of my favorite blogs, A Day in the Life of a Persuasion Architect.  The quote comes from this post talking about a ClickZ article that collected common complaints Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firms have about their clients.  Howard’s take:

It's pure lunacy to change your site to accommodate the recommendations of a firm whose stated goals are to provide more qualified traffic, when you've previously displayed an utter inability to close on the qualified traffic you currently enjoy. 

The lesson for lawyers?  How much “qualified traffic” visits your web site, calls your office, or comes in for an initial appointment yet doesn’t retain your firm?  Until you know the reason(s) why, don’t spend any additional marketing dollars.  Instead, take your marketing budget (you have one, right?), divide it by your hourly rate and spend at least that amount of time fixing the problems.  Once you get your act together, spend the dough to tell other people what a great lawyer you are.

P.S. It seems like the rethink(ip) guys like this quote too.