Bookkeepers aren’t usually known for their prowess in marketing legal services, but if you put them in charge of marketing for your firm, they’d probably advise you to do something like the following:
STEP ONE
Make a list of your “best” clients over the last two years. These are the ones who pay you the biggest fees, give you the most business, and other factors (e.g., provide the most referrals, most enjoyable to work with).
STEP TWO
Write down a few details about each client. For business clients, record their industry, size (revenue, employees, units), etc.; for consumers, record their occupation, age group, and other demographic factors. Also note the client’s “presenting problem,” i.e., legal issue or objective they first approached you about.
STEP THREE
For each client, note how they found you (or you found them):
- Referrals: From whom? Client? Professional? How did I meet that person? What prompted the referral?
- Internet search: What keywords? What landing page? (Note, start tracking this going forward)
- Internet other: What article, site, or page did they come to your site from? (Start tracking this, too)
- Social media: Which platform? Which post/tweet, etc? Who re-posted/tweeted/recommended?
- Networking: Which group? Who introduced you? What did you say, do, offer? What did they ask you?
- Ad: Which publication? Which ad? Was it the first time they had seen it?
- Other: Speaking, articles, etc.
If you don’t know the answers, ask the client, and update your systems to start tracking this data in the future.
STEP FOUR
Based on this information, think about what you can do to get more clients like your best clients. If most of them are coming from referrals from other professionals, think about how you can strengthen your relationship with those professionals and how you can reciprocate. If you’re getting a lot of referrals from certain clients, reach out to them to thank them and look for other ways you can help them outside of your legal services.
How much business are you getting from ads, speaking, or social media? If not much, cut down on or eliminate time and money in those areas. If you do get good clients from these efforts, do more of these.
Now that you’ve identified your “best” clients, speak to them and find out more about them. What groups do they belong to and network at? What publications do they regularly read? Where are they active in their industry or community? The more you know about them, the more you can focus on activities that may help you identify and attract clients who are similar to them.
Ask your best clients to identify other professionals they work with and ask them to introduce you. Contact those professionals, let them know you have a mutual client, invite them to coffee.
Your bookkeeper would tell you to identify things that have worked best for you in the past so you can do more of them. She would also tell you to reduce or eliminate those things that have not worked well for you in the past.
The numbers tell the story.
Please say hello to your bookkeeper for me, and ask her if she would like to write a guest post for my blog.
Do you know The Formula? Go here now
