Marketing JMARTIN, PC

1. Marketing JMARTIN, PC Words from The Wench

2. Agenda Items • About Marketing in General • Education Based Marketing; An Overview • Available tools • What next? • Supplemental material on individual marketing pieces

3. About Marketing in General • To be effective, it takes 5-10% of your time on a consistent basis • YOU own and control it • YOU guide it in a direction • An area of the business you want to grow? • Upgrading your clientele? • Increase referrals? • Make yourself more visible? • Provide even better service? • Payoff is very SLOW; be patient

4. Education-Based Marketing: The Concept • Position yourself as a dignified, low-keyed consultant – not a salesperson • Provide free, useful information • Create targeted, meaningful & effective communications designed to: • Increase name recognition & awareness • Generate new business • Better serve potential and existing clients

5. The Bottom Line • It is NOT about creating ‘things’ • It’s about developing trust and furthering relationships with clients or referral sources • Every ‘marketing piece’ is an opening gesture; giving something useful for free • In a subtle way, each ‘says’: • We know what we’re doing • You can trust us to help

6. Marketing Pieces • The Phone • Traditional Advertising – Yellow Pages, etc. • The Website • Tiny Topical Videos • Handouts and (E-) Mailings • Other Downloadable materials (checklists) • Targeted ‘Talks’ or Seminars • Articles in Publications • Social Networking - Facebook • EACH ‘PIECE’ POINTS TO AND WORKS WITH THE OTHERS

7. How New ‘Pieces’ Help Clients • Reduce fear of dealing with the issue and with lawyers • Offer useful info and food for thought • Demystify how the system works and what to expect • Save time and money by helping them prepare for the consultation

8. How New ‘Pieces’ Support Staff • Keep ‘Talking’ to potential clients while they consider coming in • Remind clients what you said or didn’t get a chance to say • May reduce the number of personal interactions needed to schedule consultation • Bring clients into the office better educated and better prepared

9. A closer look • A discussion of individual marketing pieces follows • Click to fast forward

10. Cornerstone: The Website • Clients ‘surf’ to find services as often as they look at the Yellow Pages • The website provides: • A shop window to peek in without being seen • A way to start a dialog before the client comes in • A source of help and information that’s open 24/7

11. Goals for the Website • Let potential clients know who you are • Establish credibility and encourage trust • Contents genuinely useful to clients • Help the staff in daily phone work • Deliver a unified message: Quality personal legal services delivered by caring professionals at a reasonable price

12. Items of Interest Page • Sits on the website and contains: • Unusual cases and stories from your practice • i.e. Third party takes custody from Unfit Grandfather • General interest – child goes from unfit parent > grandfather > third party; microcosm of social problems • Story for other lawyers on how you prepared for this? • Stories about your extracurricular activities • Promise and other worthwhile things at church • Your adventures as a missionary construction worker • Articles that can be used as handouts cited earlier

13. Handouts/Downloadables • Cover topics in printed pieces or in downloadable files, i.e.: • 7 Ways to Reduce Pain and Expense in a Divorce/Dissolution • How Probate Works • Common misconceptions about ‘X’ (Mediation, Restraint Orders) • Checklist for Estate Planning; for Probate; for Wills, etc. • Offer on phone & (e)mail; identify places to distribute them (i.e. ‘Guardianship’ at Care Facilities) • Each references other materials and offers more, including a list of other handouts and the option to have you send copies to others

14. Targeted ‘Talks’ • Establish yourself as a ‘local expert’ on hot topic (elders, new business start up?) • Encourage ‘word-of-mouth’ advertising • Develop local contacts (other professionals; groups) • Provide CHEAP marketing/advertisement

15. Articles • Identify a publication or website potential clients are likely to read • Offer editor to write a ‘How-to” or ‘How it works’ or ‘what it means’ article or info on a popular topic • Get a by-line & a short blurb about your practice • In article, offer to send more information if they call or write • Reprint the article with publication reference and convert to ‘handouts’

16. Networking Pieces • Groups & Professional Associations • Use your contacts to distribute info, provide an audience or a free hall for a talk • Social Media - Facebook • As friends ‘like’ the Practice’s Page, FB will cascade your material to friends of friends • Use as if it were a Newsletter to: • Link to articles on other websites or mention written publications and books • Post news about the practice or community service activities, etc. • Highlight items of interest on your website and provide a link

17. Using The Pieces Together Didyouseeour checklist? Or article? Can I sendyou a link? Canbe via f acebook

18. Creating a Continual Improvement Loop How didyouhearaboutus? Didyoufindthat information useful? f

19. The Program Only Works if YOU: • THINK TO LINK • Find a ‘piece’ to show every client: a specific part of the website, a checklist, a handout • Ask for addresses – Can I send you a link? Can I mail a copy of this to anyone else for you? • KEEP IT UP • Remain a visible and valuable resource by adding new pieces whenever possible • KNOW WHAT WORKS • Pay attention to how people heard about you • Ask if things are useful

20. What next? • Get to know what is in the website • Navigation • Side links go to subsections of the current page • Links at page bottom go to major subsections of web • Areas of Practice lists legal topics • Sitemap lists everything • Help identify “WHAT’S MISSING?” • Why is your firm the better choice in certain types of cases? Where should we mention it? • What additional material would be useful for clients with a particular concern? How can we provide it?

21. What next? • Complete website pages ‘under construction’ • Business section • FAQ page • Grandparents’ rights • Contempt of court • Review or create checklists/questionnaires • Make them useful or throw them away • See list of potential checklists and Questionnaires under “Areas of Practice” • Questionnaires can be food for thought to help determine if reader is ready for a lawyer (See ‘Domestic Violence”) • Write an article or create a handout

22. What next? • Find out where you get the most bang for your marketing buck • Track: • How callers find you • How many appointments come from each source • How many actual clients from each source (How many Yellow book callers actually became clients?)

23. What next? • THINK and talk together about how to incorporate ‘pieces’ into your daily phone work • Provide updates and feedback to The Wench

24. Summary • Lovely materials are meaningless if you don’t THINK TO USE THEM • (e)Mailing lists and Facebook Friends lists will help keep the conversation going with prospective clients to encourage them to come in • Make the ‘pieces’ high quality and you offer something of value that clients will be glad to get