Measuring Your Marketing ROI: Part III

By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler

www.MarketYourLawPractice.com

Email: TWheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com

My last post examined ways to measure marketing return on investment under the second pillar of marketing– Attracting New Clients and Developing New Business. This post will explore measuring marketing ROI under the third pillar, Increasing Name Recognition and Awareness. This is an area of marketing where it is very easy to spend lots of money (buying advertising, hiring public relations firms, or attending tradeshows), so carefully measuring your return is particularly important. Below are listed Pillar III marketing strategies and their corresponding ROI measurement techniques.

Advertising (Print and Web-based)

Considering the generally high costs associated with advertising, it is important to make sure that your advertising dollars are truly well spent. While you may like to think that your advertising helped you to land that new client, you can’t be sure unless you ask. Check in with new clients and ask why they hired your firm. If they cite specific advertising as one of the reasons they hired the firm, your advertising has resulted in measurable ROI!

Another simple way to determine whether your advertising works is to include a call to action in your ad (such as registering for a seminar). You can also determine if your advertising works by seeing if there is higher name recognition of your firm in the marketplace based on independent market

research. Finally, if you are using web-based advertising, monitor your search engine rankings to see if they improve.

 

Branding and Identity

Developing professional, cohesive identity and branding materials for your firm is a smart investment. Your materials should include a logo,

letterhead, brochures, and website that, when viewed together, are consistent and have the sa

me strong visual identity. Done correctly, your materials will result in a higher level of professionalism conveyed through your firm’s brand and resulting identity materials that will generate complimentsfrom clients, contacts and referral sources. You will know your branding and consistency has paid off when your firm “becomes known” in the marketplace for some element of its branding or identity.

Public Relations

We all know that, generally speaking, publicity for your firm is a good thing. But how can you measure the ROI of such an intangible marketing function? If you have an article written about your firm in a local or national publication, or if you appear on the radio or television, check the media outlet’s advertising rates. Multiply the cost of placing an ad of similar length by 3 or 4 to arrive at the approximate dollar value that the public relations “advertising” has been worth to your firm. Next, count the number of media impressions your firm made – how many people had the opportunity to see the article or hear the interview.

In a more general way, you can measure your public relations ROI by looking at how often the firm gets substantive content placed inpublicationswhich are read by A-level clients. Look at the number of news releases the firm proactively distributes each month and the number of bylined articles published per year by you or other professionals in your firm.

You can also measure your public relations  ROI by examining the relationship between your firm and reporters. How many times in the last year have firm professionals been quoted in the press? How many reporters does each professional know and have a relationship with?

To learn more about effective public relations, see Tip #10 in my blog post, “Marketing Your Law Practice in a Tight Economy—Part III.”

Trade Shows

Participating in key trade shows in your area of expertise and within your community can be a great way to reach a focused group of potential clients. However, with your limited time and resources, it is important to only commit to those trade shows that generate the most ROI.

To measure the ROI of a participation in a trade show, look at the number of new client or referral source leads generated as a direct result of the firm’s participation in a trade show. Also, count the visitors who leave their card or ask for additional information and the number of your own firm professionals who participate in the event. If you or someone from your firm is a speaker at a trade show, it is likely that you were able to reach more potential clients. Finally, look honestly at your level of proactive follow up after the event. Are you truly reaching out to and connecting with the trade show participants?

Community Involvement

Volunteering in your community is the right thing to do. It can also be an opportunity to build your skills and your network. Is your firm taking advantage of this great professional and marketing opportunity?

To measure how well your firm is doing in its community involvement efforts, look at the number of professionals in your firm serving on non-profit boards and delivering pro bono work (hours per year).

Does your firm create an environment and culture where volunteerism is encouraged and rewarded? If your firm encourages its professionals to volunteer for organizations they are committed to and passionate about, your firm can become a community leader with a reputation for excellent and ethical work. While not every volunteer or board position will directly lead to new clients, it is important to stay consistently involved. Positive results may take time but community involvement is always rewarding!

To learn more about the importance of community involvement in your marketing efforts, read my blog post “Giving Back: Why Lawyers Need to Spend More Time Volunteering.”

Social Networking

Considering how recently online networking has developed, it’s astounding how pervasive it has become in such a short time.  And it’s only growing!  As you consider ways to market yourself and your practice, keep in mind that social networking allows you to communicate your key messages and make connections with people that you would likely never find using traditional methods.

 

Although social networking can seem amorphous, social networking can and does lead to the development of new relationship and clients. Tomaximize your social networking activities, participate actively in groups on several social networking sites. Be willing to share expertise and NOT use social networking to directly sell. Finally, spend time on each site at least once a week to update your profile or status, to contribute to conversation, or to post an informative article.

To learn more about the social networking for lawyers, see my blog post “A Lawyer’s Guide to Social Networking.”

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Measuring Your Marketing ROI: Part I

Lawyers are results-oriented and often have questions about how to quantitatively measure marketing success. Determining return on investment of marketing initiatives can be challenging because not every marketing initiative will directly result in a new client. However, in addition to attracting new clients, marketing success can be measured in a number of ways. This blog post will address ways in which to measure marketing ROI under the first pillar of marketing—Retaining and Growing Relationships With Existing Clients. Below are listed a number of Pillar I marketing strategies and some corresponding ROI measurement techniques.

Client Satisfaction and Retention

How can you tell if your clients are truly satisfied, and how can you tell if your marketing related efforts to increase client satisfaction are working? One key measure of marketing success is to look at the duration of your client relationships. Long-term relationships with clients are a strong indication of client satisfaction.

In addition, clients who have increased the amount of work with your firm, either through working with other practice groups or increased workflow specific to you, are expressing their satisfaction with your client service. Clients also show that they enjoy working with you by referring you and your firm to others. Maintaining strong relationships with clients is the best return on investment you can get for your marketing efforts!

See my blog post on Low Cost, High Impact Strategies to Market Your Law Practice: Part II to learn more about keeping your clients satisfied.

Client Service

Measuring your return on investment in your client service efforts can be tricky because most clients only let you know if something is wrong—not if you’re doing everything right. Because of this, one easy way to measure your client service is to measure the number of client complaints you receive. Very few client complaints likely means clients are satisfied with your service.

Clients also demonstrate their satisfaction with your services by paying their bills on time and by referring you to others. You can also gauge how well you are serving clients by honestly evaluating your responsiveness to client phone calls and emails. A great way to increase and ensure client satisfaction is to develop client service guidelines that are followed by everyone in your firm.

Read my post on Client Service Reminders: What Lawyers Can Learn from Toyota.

Cross Marketing

The best way to measure your ROI on your cross-marketing efforts is to track how many of your clients utilize more than one service of your firm. Clients who are satisfied with your work and are aware of you and/or your firm’s depth and breadth of expertise are likely to increase their work with your firm.

To ensure that you have a strong ROI on cross-marketing efforts, create a firm culture that supports cross-marketing. Consider implementing a compensation system that rewards growing existing relationships. Host firm events where clients can meet other attorneys at your firm, and work to actively introduce your clients to others at the firm.

Referral Source Development

Finally, it is important to measure your ROI on your referral source development efforts. Taking time to build relationships with referral sources can seem like a frustrating waste of time when you consider that your time could be spent developing new clients. However, developing your referral sources pays off and it’s important to remember that by tracking your marketing success in this area.

To measure your ROI, keep track of how your new clients found you. A strong base of people who regularly refer business to you is a great ROI for your efforts. Look at who your best referral sources are and determine what they have in common—are they from a particular industry or profession, do they have common personality traits? Knowing who your best referral sources are makes it easier to spot and develop relationships with other potential referral sources. Make it easy for your referral sources to refer business to you by providing them with concise marketing materials and messages that they can pass along to their contacts. Maintain strong relationships with your referral sources by scheduling coffees or lunches with them to stay in touch and by providing them with referrals where appropriate.

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Myths and Realities of Marketing Your Law Practice

By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler

www.MarketYourLawPractice.com

Email: TWheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com

Sometimes the biggest challenge in marketing your law practice is overcoming a preconceived notion of what marketing your law practice really means. Many lawyers have developed an aversion to marketing because they still believe in the following myths. Understanding the realities of marketing a legal practice can help you get out of your marketing rut, help you develop your practice, and yes—even learn to enjoy marketing!

Myth #1: Marketing is really selling and I didn’t go to law school to be a sales person

Reality: You don’t have to be a natural-born salesperson to market your practice! You do, however, have to overcome the idea that lawyers don’t have to do anything to attract clients. To be a successful lawyer with a booming book of business, you must integrate marketing and networking into your approach to serving clients. :  While marketing is sometimes about selling, it is mostly about developing relationships with others and helping others succeed. Don’t think of it as “selling” your services. Instead, focus on building relationships with existing clients, meeting new people that you would like to work with, and understanding and sharing with others how you can add value to their life or business.

Myth #2: Effective marketing takes too much time – – and I am just too busy

Reality: Effective marketing does take time. However, think about the fact that you will continue to have clients only if you continue to market. If you don’t make time for marketing, you may come to realize you have too much time on your hands because you no longer have enough clients! Marketing doesn’t have to be time consuming. If you schedule time into your calendar every week to market you won’t have to spend large blocks of time later, scrambling to catch up on your marketing activities. Here are 5 simple marketing activities you can do in ten minutes or less: 

1. Call one of your top contacts and schedule a coffee or lunch.
2. Develop an elevator speech.
3. Update your professional biography
4. Create or edit your LinkedIn profile
5. Send a copy of an article to a contact that you think might interest or affect them

 Also, see my blog post on creating your marketing plan in just 10 minutes per day!

Myth #3: Clients will find me because of my exceptional reputation – why market?

Reality: The legal industry is more competitive today than ever before. There are literally thousands of lawyers out there practicing in the same area of law as you. Gone are the days when law firms had “legacy” clients and partners could pass down these client relationships along with the firm name. In today’s competitive marketplace, you cannot just sit in your office and expect clients to come to you, no matter how excellent or well-deserved your reputation may be. You must go out and market!

Myth #4: Contacts will see right through me asking them to lunch or coffee as a ploy to get business from them

Reality:  Contacts will see through you if you are only trying to sell them. But effective networking is all about helping the other person. When networking, ask yourself: “How can I help this person in their life and business? Whom do I know in my network that I can introduce to this person? Is there anything I can do to help this person achieve a personal or professional goal?” Follow-through on commitments you make. If you tell a prospective client that you will introduce them to a great accountant you know—do it. If you say you’d like to volunteer in an organization they are involved in—do it. The point is, if you network and build genuine relationships with people you actually enjoy, trust, and respect, they will feel the same way about you.

Myth #5: I am an introvert and do not feel comfortable networking

Reality:  If you feel uncomfortable in large group settings, have no fear—effective networking can be done one-on-one! In fact, since effective networking is all about building relationships, one-on-one networking is particularly effective. Set up one-on-one meetings, lunches, or coffees. If you are going to an event where you know there will be a lot of people and you are feeling overwhelmed, set a goal for yourself of talking to one or two people. Prepare some questions ahead of time to help you feel more comfortable. You may want to ask questions like, “How long have you been a member of this association? What do you do? How did you decide to go into your profession? Tell me about your company—who are your clients/patients/members/customers?”

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