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Smart attorney
marketing based on in depth research can generate leads, build brand awareness,
and grow your law
practice. But attorney
marketing that is based on luck or raw instincts will only waste money,
opportunities, or both. Your law
practice can not afford to squander limited attorney
marketing resources
on campaigns that are hit or miss. Instead, you need to plan, and track marketing
efforts so you can learn what works and then jettison what does not. That way,
you concentrate your efforts on tactics that generate real results.
Here are five steps to getting the maximum return on your
attorney
marketing dollars.
First, define the target clients you will benefit from reaching. Remember that
target markets are not your core market. Targets shift depending on strategy
and goals while the core client typically remains stable.
There is little mileage in launching attorney
marketing efforts until you know
the characteristics of your target clients. Find out what they think about your
service, why they would need it, and how and when they would use your services.
You especially want to know what your clients want to hear from you – via
direct mail, e-mail, phone, on online Websites – as well as how often.
Don’t overlook research into how you can meet their needs better.
Quantify the Success of your Attorney
Marketing Efforts
Make sure you define the results you want and set expectations that are appropriate
for the attorney
marketing you choose. You might set the mark at certain sales revenue or
a specified number of generated leads per month. Your goal could be a total
number of acquired clients within a year or one new client per month. Success
could also mean a shift in client perceptions or deeper customer satisfaction.
Whichever, you need to articulate the desired set of outcomes beforehand or
you will not know whether or not the attorney
marketing worked.
Take the time to compare the cost of proposed attorney
marketing against the
profit you expect from it – not sales, but actual profit. Monitor the
range of client response throughout the process so you clearly understand what
brought clients through your door or to your Web site. Once you acquired the
lead, analyze how much it cost in time and money to sign the client up. Can
you make that process more cost effective? Did these clients return for additional
services, or did they move on? What would help to make them more loyal?
By setting up a table or grid that captures information about the attorney
marketing campaign you can create a tool that lets you evaluate results.
You want to know:
- The per piece cost of your attorney marketing material and
distribution
- A score for the action the respondent takes, such as high
(client signs up), medium (client promises to call when your services are
needed), or low (client just seems disinterested)
- And some tracking code to categorize customer response to
attorney marketing
via phone, direct mail, e-mail, Web-based, or in person.
Track Results of Your Attorney
Marketing and Adjust Efforts Accordingly
By capturing data, updating results, and tracking the progress of your attorney
marketing, you create increasingly integrated sales reports, financial analysis,
and customer databases. That will tell you what is working and what isn’t.
Do not test once and stop. Keep refining your attorney
marketing tactics and messages. Build up to larger, more expensive and more
proven marketing with low-cost, low-effort experiments. Some examples:
- Use different codes for various messages or offers allowing
you to know what attracts business or response.
- Get in touch with repeat clients. Find out what makes them
come back.
- Send a postcard mailing to clients who have not purchased
your services for a while.
- Print your e-mail and legal
website address on every direct mail offer you send out and see if that
pulls.
Besides the fine-tuning of research and analysis there is a very simple rule
about whether or not your attorney
marketing is effective. If you are spending more on marketing than the business
it generates, stop doing it and create a new campaign.
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