Why Every IP Lawyer Should Have A Strategy Product In Their Web Marketing Strategies

Let me start this article by stating an obvious fact - no IP legal services professional wants to spend money on a web marketing strategy if it does not result in more high-quality clients. Yet, day after day, this is exactly what many actually do because their web marketing strategies are not thought out properly.

Now, this does not mean there was no marketing plan in the first place. It just means that, more often than not, the components of the web marketing strategy do not support what should be the ultimate goal - which is building trust with prospects and focusing on providing free information at the start of the relationship via blogs, newsletters or free reports.

However, any prospects that opt-in to receive communications from you (which is crucial for lawyers) still have to be convinced to want to work with you. A key objection they might have would be the cost of purchasing your IP legal services, simply because it appears to be such a huge leap from simply talking to you to actually paying you. This gap needs to be bridged to make it easier for prospects to do business with you.

Any web marketing strategy worth its salt should incorporate campaigns that point prospects towards low-priced resources, products, webinars or seminars that prospects feel happier to purchase. These should also help them make their minds up as to what they ultimately need to buy. As prospects then get to know the value of what you provide, you need to think about strategy products that effectively form the penultimate step before they choose to purchase your high-priced legal services.

What is a Strategy Product? Any resource (e.g. book, report or CD set) or event (e.g. webinar or seminar) that gives prospects a specific roadmap showing them how to achieve their desired outcome, and which they would be happy to pay for. The price for the strategy product is lower than that for comprehensive IP legal services, and allows you to provide guidelines that clarify issues prospects may have, or at least educates them on what they need to do, as an interim step to prospects asking you for your high-priced services.

A basic roadmap would be as follows:

Create a marketing campaign that advertises a free report with information you know IP legal services prospects are actively searching for. Capture the details of those that want the information (making sure you provide the option for them to unsubscribe if they don't want to be contacted further), and repeat the campaigns to point prospects to other information you have available. Use the feedback gathered from subscribers to create a seminar in which you provide specific, actionable guidelines that prospects can follow to address key issues they face related to IP legal services. This seminar would, in this case, be your strategy product. The key thing to take away is that you can charge people to attend the seminar if you have done the groundwork well, have a hot topic and invited those that are willing to pay to attend the seminar if it gives them the results they are looking for. There are other alternatives to seminars when thinking about a strategy product people are willing to pay for. This includes a special in-depth report, CD set with a series of presentations and templates that let prospects work through a programme themselves, or a webinar series with the opportunity to get limited time from you to deal with specific queries. The option selected has to suit you and your target niche.

The strategy products essentially allow you to engage with prospects at a deep enough level for them to overcome any reservations they may have about working with you. More importantly, they also give you the chance to demonstrate the value you provide so that price becomes less of an issue in subsequent discussions when they decide to work with you above all other options available. That is why they are increasingly essential in today's business environment.

At a basic level, running seminars should be an option that all IP legal services professionals consider. The seminars should, ideally, be targeted at prospects that are already following what you do. Your web marketing strategy should, therefore, be designed to create a continuous stream of followers that look forward to the information you provide.

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Every Innovative Irish Idea Deserves to Be Protected Correctly in Law

The development of Ireland as a major smart economy, which has a thriving innovation-focused enterprise sector and high-quality employment, is a major focus of the government as one of the principal ways in which Ireland can provide economic growth, create jobs and emerge from recession.

The history of Ireland's "smart" revolution shows lots of examples of entrepreneurship coming from our universities and other higher educational institutions. IT companies like Iona Technologies, born in Trinity College Dublin, are a wonderful illustration of how ground breaking technology can emerge from collaborative work and commercialisation between universities and industry. Newer examples include Beemune and Blue Box Sensors, both the result of the commercialisation of intellectual property and technology developed at NUI Maynooth.

Invention is not restricted to higher educational institutions: a lot of companies within the private sector are also focused on research and development (R&D) with a view to making innovative products and services that can be sold. Any company involved with innovation will wish to ensure that it is protected from unjust exploitation by other people. A company's intellectual property may include both registered and unregistered rights.

Registered rights are rights awarded on application to an official body, like the Irish Patents Office. Unregistered rights occur automatically on creation and aren't subject to any registration regime. The main examples of registered rights are patents and trade marks. The main instances of unregistered rights are copyright and confidential information. Patents protect innovations that, among other things, are novel, involve an inventive step and are also susceptible to industrial application. Examples include patents for brand new drugs or even for a new form of tea bag. In 1952, for example, Lipton patented a novel four-sided tea bag. Trade marks are designed primarily to protect a company's brand names or logos. Examples include Vodafone and the slogan Intel Inside.

To protect its innovations, a company should look into contractual protections or "assignments" with its employees, contractors and third parties who are active in the company's business and may therefore need access to, or be involved with creating, its intellectual property. On a practical basis, a business can split its confidential info between employees and contractors so that no single employee or contractor has complete information about all of the trade secrets required to create the company's products and solutions.

By developing a coherent strategy to handle its intellectual property, an Irish company is much better placed to safeguard its innovations.

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