If you are running a law firm, at times, it can feel a lot like a roller coaster ride.  At times, business can be going well — and you can literally feel like you are flying high.  At other times, business can be down.  It can seem like you were doing everything the same, but all of a sudden the roller coaster can feel like it has come to a screeching halt.

When business is down and money is low, may law firms can have a tendency to advertise less.  They think it’s wise to tighten the belt in these times.  The thought is that money needs to be conserved to pay for salaries and expenses.  On a lot of levels, that makes sense on a cursory level.  And, certainly, law firms should rack up debt to advertise or miss important financial obligations to advertise.

It is also important when business is down to analyze what is taking place within your law firm.  Are things being run differently?  Are employees following the policies and procedures in place you have for client intake and retentions?  Are you and your employees networking effectively?  Oftentimes, taking a critical assessment of what is taking place can go a long way toward finding the source of the problem.  In some instances, it might even be a personnel problem that needs to be addressed.

But to the extent possible, if business is down, advertise more.  Yes, you want to do is responsibly.  Yes, you cannot spend what you don’t have.  Yes, you don’t want to rack up lots of debt.  Yes, you also want to spend smartly by having a cohesive and smart advertising plan.

But if business is down, spending less on advertising usually compounds the problem.  If you do this, you will continue the nose dive down the roller coaster ride.  If you spend less on advertising, for example, the calls will likely decrease.  If the calls decrease, your new cases will decrease.  If your new cases decrease, you’ll be tempted to downsize your office space, let employees go and, ultimately, some law firms end up closing up shop.

At the end of the day, if business is down, you have to beat yourself out of the funk.  You have to stimulate your law firm’s economic growth.  You do so by spending more advertising dollars in a shrewd and well thought-out manner.  So, when business is down, consider looking for ways to advertise more.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to share them below.