Measuring Your Marketing ROI: Part IV
By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler
Email: TWheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com
This is the fourth and final post on Measuring Your Marketing ROI. This post will focus on the fourth pillar of marketing–Creating Targeted and Effective Communications. Below are listed Pillar IV marketing strategies, along with suggested techniques for measuring ROI.
Strategic Communications
Does your practice have the ability to send out truly strategic communications? Targeted and effective communications are not broad-based “firm newsletters” but instead are communications that are sent to various segments of your client base with targeted messages relevant to them.
If you invest your time and energy to create this level of targeted messaging, you can measure you ROI by tracking the number of direct responses from clients and referral sources because of your various communications. In addition, over time, you should see an increase in the level of client retention and flow of referrals into the firm.
Marketing Database
A marketing database is only valuable to you if you keep it updated. A strong marketing database should be easy to update, allow segmenting of client type for targeted communications, and interact with other firm data (like client revenue numbers).
Your ROI for creating your marketing database can be measured in saved time and increased client communications. In return for investing in your marketing database, you will save billable time by not needing to send individual lists to professionals for updating. Additionally, as a result of the database, you will find it easy to communicate with various groups of clients, contacts, and referral sources because you will have email addresses and other contact information for each person on your list.
Website
A website is a must-have for every law firm. When used correctly, a website can be a powerful marketing tool with the ability to attract new clients and retain current clients. The content on your website should be regularly updated and should reflect the overall branding and identity of the firm. You should also ensure that your website is search engine optimized, which will result in higher rankings on Google and other search engines.
Website ROI can be measured tangibly by tracking search engine rankings and by using Web-trends, Google Analytics or other programs to track and measure website visitors and activity on your website. You can also track your website’s strength by monitoring direct client inquiries from the website, seminar registrations using web-based registration options, and client comments on the website.
Learn more about maximizing your website. Read my blog post on “Online Marketing Strategies for Lawyers: Make the Most of Your Website.”
Client Events
Hosting a client event can be a time consuming challenge for any firm. Lawyers often wonder if the event is worth the hassle. How can you tell if your client event is a success?
Start by tracking the number of clients who attend the event—the more clients there, the better! Next, be sure to provide an evaluation form and ask clients what they thought of the event. In the evaluation, ask clients if they would attend the event again next year. Repeat attendees demonstrate that clients appreciate your event and see it as a valuable service. Track how many professionals from the firm attend the event and ask them if they were able to actively build relationships. Ideally, the event will lead to new clients or new matters generated from the event.
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Measuring Your Marketing ROI: Part III
By ESQCoach, Terrie S. Wheeler
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 II
By Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC
www.MarketYourLawPractice.com
TWheeler@marketyourlawpractice.com
Our last blog post focused on ways to measure marketing return on investment under the first pillar of marketing—Retaining and Growing Relationships With Existing Clients. This week’s blog focuses on measuring marketing ROI under the second pillar of marketing, Attracting New Clients and Developing New Business. Below are listed Pillar II marketing strategies and their corresponding ROI measurement techniques.
Networking
While it would be nice if all of your networking efforts resulted in a new client, networking doesn’t always work that way. However, if you are networking successfully, you should begin to notice other benefits, including having a loyal base of friends and contacts who will always return your calls and who begin sending you more referrals for A-level clients.
Successful networking means that you have two to three networking meetings each week, you always make time to meet with someone who was referred to you, and you look for ways to open doors for others on a regular basis. As you increase your networking activities, you will notice that you actually start to enjoy staying connected to great people. Remember, effective networking is more about looking for ways to help others (versus what’s in it for you)!
To learn more about successful networking, see my blog post on Effective Networking Strategies for Solo Practitioners Part I and Part II.
Targeted Business Development
How can you tell if your time spent on targeted business development has been successful? First, do you have a written list of your top ten prospective clients, with a plan for each prospective client on what your next steps are to land their business? A written plan is an important investment in your marketing success that will
lead to results as you put your plan in place.
Look at the number of proposals you have submitted to A-level clients each year, as well as the number of new clients you actually attract to help you determine if your targeted business development efforts have been successful. You can also measure your success by looking at the amount of revenue generated by the new clients you have attracted. Make sure you remain focused on business development by developing a strong sales pipeline with dates, action items, and next steps.
Proposal Development
Proposal development is an important place to spend some time focusing your marketing efforts because of the direct correlation it has with securing new clients. One way to measure your ROI is to look at the number of proposals you submit to A-level clients each year. Strong proposals that lead to a client selecting you and your firm over the competition during a competitive bidding/RFP process are a great way to measure your marketing ROI.
Another important measure of your ROI is the existence of a proposal archive at your firm, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time. A strong proposal will contain current examples of representative experience for everyone in the firm and should begin with a summary of the client’s situation and your approach to meeting the client’s needs (not with firm history and bios).
Market Research
Market research is an important tool that lawyers can use to understand more about their clients and prospects. Time spent conducting market research prior to meeting with a contact can lead to increased business, a new client, or a new referral source. Your contacts will be impressed by the time and effort you take in understanding their company or industry.
To ensure your market research yields positive results, make a point of taking the time to research a new client or prospect before your first meeting. Keep an electronic file or “dossier” on your top prospective clients and review and update the files periodically. Track the activities of key clients or prospective clients using Google Alerts or other web-based research tools.
Trade and Professional Association Involvement
Involvement in trade and professional associations is a great way to network, build name recognition, and generate new clients. The most important way to ensure a strong ROI in is to measure your actual involvement with the association. Look at the number of years you or your firm has been involved with the association. Trade association involvement requires a long-term investment to the association and its members. Make sure you regularly attend meetings—belonging to the association without participating will not build trust with other members.
You can also measure your ROI by looking at the strength of your network of contacts within the industry. Does a member of your firm serve in a high profile position within the organization? Do you or your firm have regular speaking engagements for the group or regularly contribute articles to the association’s publication? Do you have clients who have who hired the firm because of its perceived industry expertise?
While attending association events, speaking to association members, and writing for association publications can be time consuming, measuring your ROI can make you feel more secure in knowing that your time is well spent.
Learn more about maximizing trade association involvement by reading my blog post, Be Where your Clients Are: Tips for Maximizing Trade Association Involvement.
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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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About MYLP
Unique Web-Based Tool to Help Lawyers Develop New Business
ESQCoach, Terrie Wheeler has been helping lawyers attract new clients for more than 24 years. In 1996, she founded Professional Services Marketing, Inc. (PSM), helping professionals develop Targeted Strategies for Business Growth. In January 2011 Terrie merged PSM with Ingenuity Marketing Group in Saint Paul, MN.
Launched in 2007, www.MarketYourLawPractice.com (MYLP), is an innovative web-based marketing coaching tool for lawyers which replicates ESQCoach Terrie Wheeler’s individual marketing coaching process. Today, MYLP is helping lawyers across the US and in the UK develop new business, retain and grow current client relationships, increase their name recognition and more effectively communicate with clients.
Numerous bar associations across the country, including New York, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and others, have recognized MYLP as a cost-effective marketing coaching and training tool for lawyers and have partnered with MYLP to offer the tool as a valuable member benefit.
MYLP was recently launched internationally in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Visit www.MarketYourLawPractice.co.uk, developed with our UK business partner, James Dunning of Geotrupes Consulting.
Join our Linkedin Group: The Legal Network - created just for lawyers and in-house marketing professionals to compare best marketing practices.
We have also launched a sister product for financial advisors, www.MarketYourFinancialPractice.com, and are marketing the site nationally to financial advisory firms.
For more information, contact Terrie: ESQCoach@MarketYourLawPractice.com
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