Meet Marc Heighway, Online Marketing Consultant

Marc Heighway is an online marketing consultant who lives and works on the south coast of the United Kingdom. He has worked in the industry for over 15 years and specializes in helping law firms generate more business online. He was worked abroad and for some large companies and in this interview offers his insights into the world of online marketing, strategies, and some of his own personal experiences.

1. Could you please give a brief introduction to who you are and what you do?

Thanks for giving me the opportunity! I am English and have worked in the online sector since the year 2000. I currently run a business that provides online marketing services and lead generation to the legal industry. This involves quite a few different disciplines including search engine optimization and in-bound marketing strategies.

2. I know that you worked abroad for a few years--what's your insight into that experience, and do you have any advice you can give to other people thinking about doing the same?

Sure. Before I ran my own business, I was the European online marketing manager for an American company called Garmin. They moved me over to Switzerland to manage all their online marketing, and I ended up living in the north of the country.

It was a fantastic experience for my wife and me. We would wake up and see the Swiss Alps from our bedroom window each morning, traveled extensively, and tasted a very different way of life. If any of your readers are given a similar opportunity, then I hope they grasp it with both hands.

3. Could you tell me a little more about your own business and what exactly it is that you do?

For the last few years, I have run SEO agencies serving a wide range of clients. Many of our clients have been personal injury lawyers and personal injury solicitors. It made sense to start specializing in that field, because I think that you can bring a lot more value as a specialist marketing agency to companies in a particular field.

So with that in mind, recently the parent company of my SEO agencies that I own, FIMA Digital, has started to exclusively work with personal injury firms, in particular the field of online lead generation. On the FIMA Digital website there's a lot more information about how this works.

We provide specialist solutions to them, and help generate millions of pounds of business into the industry each and every year.

This also involves aspects such as an affiliate program which you can read more about on our corporate website. That lets other suppliers jump on board with us and start monetizing their content to visitors which can then go into use the services of the UK solicitors and accident claims companies that we partner with.

4. What does a typical day involve in your offices?

Currently, it seems to involve a lot of phone calls from our clients. My role is really to be the main point of contact for the firms using our services, providing the specialist knowledge to them, whilst the employees of FIMA then action the strategies that I have helped to develop.

No one day is the same.

5. How it the world of online marketing changing, if at all?

Good question. I think that search engine optimization in particular is changing, and has undoubtedly become more difficult over the last two years. This has meant that a lot of the old agencies who didn't really understand it have started to drop off.

Consequently, there is a demand for more specialist support, which is how I view FIMA Digital and how our proposition fits with the aspirations of our clients.

6. One more question! Do you have any tips for aspiring online marketers and have any advice on what they could do?

I started out with SEO, building my own websites which I then ran through affiliate marketing channels. This is a great way to start if you want to dip your toes into the industry. I also think that it's very worthwhile now looking into paid search, because ultimately you don't want to have all your eggs in one basket as can often be the case when relying just on organic search traffic.

Thanks, Marc!

Meet Kate Morris of Personal Injury Solicitors of Bolton

Kate Morris is a marketing manager for a UK firm of personal injury lawyers. She is based in Bolton, which is near the larger city of Manchester, and has been involved in legal marketing for over a decade. In this interview, she tells us about how she got involved in working with lawyers, and what her aspirations are for the future.

1. Could you give us a quick introduction to your current role and what you typical day looks like?

Sure! I am currently the marketing manager for Personal Injury Solicitors of Bolton. For your American readers, a solicitor is the English term for a lawyer. In simple terms, the company and law firm offer legal advice to people who have been involved in accidents where they need legal representation.

We are a team of no win no fee solicitors in Bolton. You can find out more about the mechanics of the company on our corporate website. No win no fee essentially means that we work on a client's behalf for free until successful completion of a personal injury claim, at which point we take a fee from their final compensation payment.

As the marketing manager, it's my responsibility to implement and grow strategies that bring more clients to our door. The no win no fee and personal injury market in the UK is very competitive, kind of like the US market as far as I am aware, and as such you need to be on top of your game to stand out.

2. So how exactly do you differentiate yourselves from the competition? If the accident claims industry is so competitive, this must be quite a challenge.

You are absolutely right. But we try really hard to be different. From the moment we get a call from someone who has requested accident claims advice, we try to put them at ease, listen to them, and treat them like a person, not a number with a financial figure placed on it.

So many accident claims companies, not just in Bolton but around the UK, are all about the bottom line. In other words, profit and revenues. I like to think that we are a little bit different in our approach to our clients, and our no win no fee solicitors are all selected on their personality as well as their expertise.

The reviews that we frequently get online should bear that up to scrutiny, so I hope that we continue to grow our business based on our reputation. It certainly seems to be working in the Bolton area at the moment, so I hope to grow that further.

3. What is the process when someone in Bolton calls you for accident claims advice? I see from your website that you are open 24 hours a day.

That's right. An accident can happen anytime and anyplace, so we think it's imperative that we are always available on call, so to speak. I believe, and as far as I know, we are the only no win no fee personal injury lawyers open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week in Bolton.

In terms of the process, when a person calls us, they will at first talk to one of our phone operators, rather than an actual personal injury lawyer. One of our team take some details about their accident and the circumstances and can quickly ascertain whether or not there is a case for a personal injury claim for compensation.

If there is, we will then arrange an appointment with a local Bolton personal injury solicitor. It's worth pointing out that this whole process is free, and the consultation over the phone is absolutely no obligation and no strings attached. That's how we like to work, and all cases are run through the no win no fee agreements in this manner.

4. It sounds like you're having lots of success. What are your plans for the future with the company and marketing strategies?

For me, I still have so much in mind that I want to achieve in Bolton. I think I am a year off completing our initial targets. After those are hit, it would be nice to see if we can roll our services out to the rest of the UK. But that's going to take a huge amount of work. But, if you don't aim high....

In terms of marketing, I know we still have a lot to do with our social media marketing. We want to get more active on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus as so many people now look for personal services in this way. We might have to recruit soon for a social media manager, so watch this space!

Thanks, Kate!