How to Deliver a Full Marketing Experience to Your Client

Whether you are a small law firm with no marketing staff or a mid-size to large firm with lots of support, you don’t need vast resources to create a “buzz-worthy” experience for your clients. The key to developing long-lasting and engaging relationships that convert to revenue is treating your clients as individuals and learning as much as you can about each person. Creating consistent procedures to collect this valuable information will help you to develop a marketing strategy with the appropriate marketing mix for your target enabling you build and maintain those relationships. This includes not only the information they share with you, but also the preferences and interests they express based on their actions. Regularly collecting client data can result in a powerful information database. When you incorporate this knowledge into your marketing efforts the resulting revenue can be impressive.

For example, your new client is an attorney who works in the legal department for a large corporation that distributes organic foods.

•   In addition to compiling the company’s “vital statistics” (i.e., number of employees, office locations, CEO, etc.), you glean from their website that the company’s vision reaches beyond food distribution. Their core values of supporting the health and healing of both their customers and clients guide every business decision they make.
•   Through conversations with your new client, you learn bits of personal information -- she has a teen age daughter, she is a runner, and she loves independent films, etc.
•   Through your client’s behavior, spotty email responses, stressed demeanor, references to her understaffed department, you surmise she is over- burdened at her job.

How do you utilize this information to create a loyal, long-lasting client relationship?

•   Use the company’s buzz words or jargon from their mission statement, core values, and philosophy when appropriate in your work product and communications with them. This will show them that you are part of their team because you understand their business and the importance of their core values.
•   Set up Google Alerts on the company and key players you interact with to automatically receive email updates with news on your client. Leverage this information to reach out with relevant communications or propose additional business for your firm.
•   Send your client the book “Born to Run” or tickets to her local independent film festival or other small personal gift. These should be small meaningful gestures, not grand gifts that may overwhelm.
•   Keep in mind her small window of time to focus on interactions with you and be the solution to her problem.
•   Keep all communication with her short, concise and relevant.
•   Anticipate her legal needs and be the answer.

Relationship marketing should never replace your firm’s broader marketing strategy. As a law firm, your marketing mix still needs to include regular touches to your prospects, clients and referral sources. To mention a few:

•   Emails with relevant content reflecting changes to any law that might impact your clients;
•   Presenting webinars and seminars;
•   Client meetings and lunches;
•   Regular updates to your website;
•   Sourcing speaking opportunities to your target audience;
•   Generating PR opportunities;
•   Social Media;
•   Blogging;
•   Membership organizations and board positions; and
•   Seasonal gifts and cards.

Remember, the client experience needs to be about more than just the transaction. Crafting a fully engaging marketing experience builds personal relationships, creates loyalty and generates repeat business and revenue growth over the long term.

- by Claudia Lechtman of Claudia Lechtman Consulting

Data Governance, Risk, Compliance, and Cybersecurity as Business Decisions

A recent poll of individual attorneys and practices with ten or fewer lawyers shows a common misperception about the role that partners perform as decision-makers and executive stewards of their organization in the business category of Information Technology. By remaining neutral and implicitly trusting internal IT staff or external IT service providers, attorneys display their fear of looking foolish as the “Emperor Who Wears No Clothes”. Even more concerning are those partners who relegate Information Technology to the lower rungs of their mindshare. Therefore, the hidden concerns most attorneys face have to do with not wanting to write blank checks for their IT Department, or worse – misinterpreting what their Department needs and then underfunding such support.

Can you answer these simplest of questions without receiving a sigh from your current IT Manager or Service Provider?
•   What is the very first thing we must do in the event of a cyber attack?
•   Who should we call first in case of a cyber attack or a data breach?
•   How do we define our risk appetite?
•   When did we last successfully test our Business Continuity Plan?
•   When did we last run an independent audit of our IT ecosystems?

The answers should be simple to obtain, but change is difficult: If you and your practice find yourselves entangled with your current IT staff or service – and feel less educated and involved than you should – then start investigating a relationship with experts that partner with you to treat Information Technology as a true Business Decision. There is an old adage, “If you can’t change your people, then change (out) your people.” It just makes good business sense to outsource your Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Governance, Risk, and Compliance needs to a firm that provides transparency and hits your bullet-point requirements unique to your firm.

The good news is that there are solid organizations near you that are ready and able to provide superior services and value compared to your current experience. Call them to meet quietly as you vet their acumen, qualifications, and abilities. Once you find a quoted price per month from an organization that meets your expectations, they should be able to help make your switchover from internal staff or your other third-party provider quick and painless. Here are some basics to look for:
•   Make sure the Service Provider is well staffed with experts and is completely self-contained with internal labor and expertise in the category of services you will secure.
•   The Help Desk should have the highest rates of “First Call Resolution,” and Time To Respond, as well as similar metrics. Have them prove this to you.
•   Transparency is essential. Make certain your Service Provider knows that you own your firm – not them. As such, you should always have access to all data, all of the time. Leaving that Service Provider for a different company or staff in any given case should be simple and painless.

There are many ways to evaluate what a truly partnering IT Managed Service Provider can bring to your firm, but running a better business is not only more secure and more cost effective – it’s priceless.

- by Scott Kuperman of TeamLogicIT

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SOME LAME JOKES TO KILL TIME WITH DURING THE ELECTION APOCALYPSE

When asked by a young patrol officer, "Do you know you were speeding?" The 83-year-old woman talked herself out of a ticket by stating, "Yes, but I had to get there before I forgot where I was going."

A little old Irishman gets pulled over by a policeman, who says,
"Sir? Do you realize your wife fell out of the car about a mile back?"
The old fella replied, "Oh, thank Christ. I thought I'd gone deaf!"

A policeman stopped a guy for driving erratically. He peered intently into the driver's eyes and said, "Your eyes look bloodshot, have your been drinking?"
The guy peers into the policeman's eyes and says, "Your eyes look glazed, have you been eating donuts?"

A teenage boy tells his father, "Dad, there's trouble with the car, it has water in the carburetor." The father looks confused and says, "Water in the carburetor, that's ridiculous!" But the son insists. "I tell you, the car has water in the carburetor."
His father, starting to get a little nervous, says "You don't even know what a carburetor is.... but I will check it out. Where is the car?"
"In the pool," replies the son.

A college student drove his ratty, raggedy old car into the mechanic's shop, needing some repair advice for his jalopy.
The mechanic looked at it for a couple of minutes and said, "What you really need is the radiator cap solution."
"Oh," said the student, trying not to sound too confused, "Do you mean the radiator cap isn't holding enough pressure?"
"That's part of the problem," the mechanic said. "You need to lift the radiator cap and drive another car under it. Then you can replace the radiator cap, and it should solve your problem."

Two doctors and an HMO manager are killed in a train wreck and line up at the Pearly Gates for admission to heaven.
Saint Peter asks them to identify themselves.
One doctor steps forward and says, "I was a pediatric spine surgeon. I helped hundreds of kids overcome their deformities."
Saint Peter says, "Enter."
The other doctor says, "I was a psychiatrist. I helped rehabilitate thousands of people."
Saint Peter nods and invites him into heaven.
The third applicant steps forward and says, "I was an HMO manager. I helped countless people get cost-effective health care."
Saint Peter tells him, "You can come in, too."
As the HMO manager walks by, Saint Peter adds, "But you can only stay for 3 days."

A lawyer calls home to talk to his wife, and the maid answers the phone.
"Where's my wife?"
"She's upstairs in bed with another man."
"I'll pay you $100,000 and get you safely out of the country if you find my gun and kill them both. I'll stay on the line while you do it."
"Si, Senor."
He hears two shots, then thump, thump, thump,thump,splash, thump, thump, thump, thump, splash.
The maid comes back to the phone, "I did it."
"What did you do?"
"I killed them both, and dumped their bodies in the pool."
"What pool? Is this 555-3624?"

A man had some medical tests, and went to his doctor on a follow-up visit.The doctor said, "Well sir, I have some good news, and some bad news. Which do you want first?"
The man says, "Give me the good news."
The doctor says, "You have 3 days to live."
The man cries, "Oh my God! That's the GOOD news? What's the bad news?"
The doctor says, "Well... I got the test results two days ago!"

A very successful lawyer parked his brand-new Lexus in front of his office, ready to show it off to his colleagues.
As he got out, a truck passed too close and tore off the door on the driver's side.
The lawyer immediately grabbed his cell phone, dialed 911, and within minutes a policeman pulled up.
Before the officer had a chance to ask any questions, the lawyer started screaming hysterically. His Lexus, which he had just picked up the day before, was now completely ruined no matter what the body shop did to it.
When the lawyer finally wound down from his ranting and raving, the officer shook his head in disgust and disbelief.
"I cannot believe how materialistic you lawyers are," the cop said. "You are so focused on your possessions that you don't notice anything else."
"How can you say such a thing?" asked the lawyer.
The cop replied, "Don't you know that your left arm is missing from the elbow down? It must have been torn off when the truck hit you."
"My God!" screamed the lawyer. "My Rolex!"

A guy was helping his blonde girlfriend outwith a computer problem she had.
As she logged in he saw her enter herpassword as follows:
"MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento"
"Why are you using such a long password?" he sked.
"You told me to!" she replied.
"What! I did?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied. "You said my password hould be at least 8 characters long and nclude a capital?

Eleven people were hanging on a rope under a helicopter.
Ten men and one woman.
The rope was not strong enough to carry them all, so they decided that one had to let go, otherwise they would all fall.
They weren't able to choose that person until the woman gave a very touching speech.
She said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope because, as a woman, she was used to giving up everything for her husband and kids, or for men in general, and was always making sacrifices with little in return.
As soon as she finished her speech, all the men started clapping.

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