iEvery attorney knows that referrals and returning clients are some of their strongest sources of business. So, how do you stay connected? How do you stay on their radar?
I will begin with a well-known marketing principle – the Law of 7 Touches. Under this proven theory, it takes seven meaningful touches to make a lasting impression on someone. However, in today’s world of over-access to everything, we may need more than seven touches. In fact, the marketing world has accepted that this number is now somewhere around 12.
Defining Meaningful
So what differentiates a meaningful touch from a normal, entirely unremarkable touch? Running through a networking event and talking at everyone for a moment is not sufficient. You need to make a lasting positive impression at least 12 times to remain relevant in the eyes of your prospective client or referral source.
Here are a few meaningful ways to keep in touch that you can delegate to your admin that won’t take any of your time:
Use your press releases. Each time you write and submit a press release, send them a copy. It’s easier if you use a distribution service like eReleases.com or PRWeb because you can automatically convert the release into a PDF file, which you can then email, or print and mail.
Send them a copy of your published articles. When you publish an article anywhere, create a PDF and email it with a quick note to your contacts.
Set-up a Google alert for a topic of interest to your referral sources. For example, “tax law changes” for CPAs or “Los Angeles commercial real estate market update” for a commercial real estate broker. (www.google.com/alerts) When something pops up, send it on.
Invite them to connect with you on social media. Find your contacts on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and invite them to connect with you. They will receive any updates you make to your profiles and pages — an automatic way to connect with no more effort on your part.
What’s Old is New Again: e-Newsletters
One of the easiest, and most overlooked, tools in your arsenal is the monthly newsletter. This is an easy way for you to reach out to your entire network at the same time and to keep your name and your firm top of mind.
When I say newsletter, I mean an electronic newsletter. Like all contact today, newsletters have gone digital. Newsletters are great for solos and small law firms because they:
Are cheap and easy. Using an email marketing service like Constant Contact to create and send your monthly e-newsletters costs only $35 per month if you have fewer than 2,500 people on your list. They have scads of free templates from which to choose, and you can customize those to feature your name and logo, your photos and even video.
Foster relationships and loyalty. How many times have you chastised yourself for not keeping in touch with referral sources on a regular basis? Sending out a monthly newsletter does that job for you. It helps keep you top-of-mind with your referral sources and past clients, many of which may not have thought of you otherwise when a legal issue arose.
Allow you to track engagement. Email marketing services have tools that let you know exactly who opened and read your newsletter, and if they clicked on any links within the content. This helps you figure out what people find the most interesting so you can refine your efforts every month.
Help you project a professional image. Newsletters help you project a professional, high quality image for your marketing efforts. You can even create templates that match your website to help solidify your branding in prospects’ minds.
Educate your clients – If you handled my divorce, then I may not think of you when it comes time to hire an estate planning attorney. That isn’t my fault though, it’s yours. I didn’t know that you are also an estate planning attorney. When I think about you, I think divorce. Make sure that this doesn’t happen to you. Your past, current and future clients and referral sources need to know about all your practice areas. A newsletter is a good way for them to learn that you are knowledgeable on more than one topic. Don’t let them put you in a box.
If you have not launched a monthly e-newsletter yet for your law firm, you are really missing out on a fabulous, low-cost way to stay engaged with your current clients, past clients and potential clients.
