Market your firm without breaking a sweat
When it comes to growing your practice, the best marketing advice is to do a great job on the case you’re handling right now.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s large or small, or whether the client is a big shot or not. If you bring your A-game, you will be rewarded with happy clients, repeat business and lots of referrals.
The best part: it doesn’t cost a dime and doesn’t require an ounce of extra effort.
Simple advice, sure. But too often attorneys pour money into ad campaigns, social media blitzes and website makeovers – all of which create the illusion of active marketing – while ignoring the most basic strategy of all, which is to take care of your current clients before going out to find new ones.
12 Tips for Effortless Marketing
It’s a trap to think that if you’re not spending money, you’re not really marketing.
Here’s some ways to do it without breaking a sweat – or breaking the bank:
- Ask for referrals. It is amazing how often lawyers lose business by not asking for it. Make a habit of requesting referrals from at least one person every day.
- Follow up on referrals. If the lawyer across town sends you a new client, pick up the phone and say thanks. Return the favor when the opportunity arises.
- Carry business cards. In this online age, business cards may seem like a quaint artifact. They’re not. They’re an easy, effective and cheap way to get your name and contact information out there.
- Start a blog. Write about whatever turns you on – whether or not it has anything to do with your practice. If it interests you, it will interest others too.
- Keep your web content fresh. Having stale content is just as bad (and sometimes worse) than having no site at all.
- Draw up a marketing plan. It doesn’t have to be fancy. One page is a good start. Brainstorm ways to generate new business. Establish goals and deadlines.
- Drill down into your niche. “Really defining your target market makes it so much easier to focus your efforts, especially when you’ve identified the decision makers within that market,” advises this expert. “Build trust with clients, not only by taking care of them when they need you, but also by letting them know when they really don’t.”
- Analyze your marketing data. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Is anybody actually reading your email newsletter? Are you getting website clicks? What blog topics generate the most comments?
- Get out of the office. Attend your local bar meeting. Join a leads group. Go to the gym at lunch. You’ll appreciate the time away from your desk – and you might even make some new friends.
- Teach a class. Volunteer to speak at a CLE course. Contact your local community college and see if they need an instructor – or even a guest speaker – in their criminal justice or paralegal departments.
- Know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. Sometimes the best marketing is to tell a prospect to forget about it, go home and do nothing. Other times you have to educate the prospect on why they need counsel and why you’re the right person for the job. Either way, you will build credibility and goodwill.
- Make it easy for clients to find you. Put your office directions on your website. Make sure your signage directs foot traffic your way.
What marketing ideas would you add to this list? Send us a comment. We’d like to hear from you.
Sources:
- Laura Lee Sparks Law Marketing http://lawmarketing.com/kick-gear-new-year-15-ways-market-your-law-firm/?utm_source=LawMarketing%20Master%20List&utm_campaign=88a62a30f0-Jan%2022%2F14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ac886e1c3f-88a62a30f0-61734797
- ABA Journal http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/50_simple_ways_you_can_market_your_practice
