This Weblog addresses topics related to the legal industry--marketing, sales, management, mergers, advertising, various electronic media (Web sites, proposal centers, intranets, CDs, etc.)--anything that's in the news, or should be in the news. I've worked in legal marketing since 1984--the very early days--and have served as an in-house marketing director (for 11 years) and consulted to some of the finest law firms and legal industry companies in America.
Visit my Web Site >> |
>> RSS 2.0
|
| Cookie cutter Web sites--a/k/a/ "Web-KEA" |
Tom Alleman, a shareholder at Winstead whose tongue is always firmly in his cheek, wrote an Opinion piece for the March 27, 2006 TEXAS LAWYER. The article, called "Designing the Firm Site with Web-KEA," is predictable--and of course, that's the point. He writes about the cookie-cutter law firm Web sites that look and read as though they were designed and launched with the same formulaic approach as IKEA would launch your living room.
Funny. And sad. Especially considering that, for a law firm, the Web site is typically the largest single marketing/communications expenditure in any given budget year.
Each law firm is different, but they try so hard to sound and look the same. Even when they want to appear different, the default is to select language from the "NOISE" list and images from the "ACCEPTABLE LAWYER ICON LIST." The noise list is the ubiquitous range of words that never say much but that law firms use freely: cost-effective, partnering, client-focused, global, creative and innovative, caring, efficient... And we all know the icon list: columns, gavels, law books, shaking hands, puzzle pieces, chess pieces, globes and maps.
If you are at the cusp of a redesign of your Web site--break out of the Web-KEA mold. Dig deeper to distinguish what you do, who you are and whom you serve. Then communicate it well.
Be original.
(Thanks to Peter Feldman for sending this article to me.) Comments
Currently there are not any comments for this blog. |
|
|