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What Every Attorney Should Know About Their Client Database

Do you, as a lawyer, have a client database? Do you have a program (any program) that keeps their names, addresses, and phone numbers on file?
If you do, fantastic!

If not, you should.

Creating (and constantly updating) a database is integral to retaining clients. For every person that you meet with, or even contacts you, you should be getting their information and create a database for mailings.

Why aren’t you sending them out a monthly newsletter to let them know what has been happening in the firm? You may be thinking that people don’t care, right? Well, it’s not entirely untrue. I won’t tell you that people are going to read your newsletters religiously (they might!) but if you keep them in the loop, there is no other lawyer in their minds when they start thinking about signing a contract.

Tell them about a few cases you’ve won, talk about a new employee, or how you’re redecorating your office. Keep everyone in your database (or your “herd”) in the loop.

By taking the time and putting in this effort, you’re becoming more trusted and beloved by members of your herd. Not only do they know what’s happening in your firm, but you are making a constant effort to reach out to them and contact them. It really does make a difference. What other attorney in your area is doing that?

If you think of any at all, it’s probably a very short list. Now think of how many attorneys their actually are in your area. The difference is staggering.

These simple things will make you stand out. You will be different and therefore you will come to mind much more quickly.

Those people will also become excellent marketing that you don’t have to pay for. Word of mouth is one of the best tools to have in your arsonal. Being referred by a client to their friends or family creates another level of marketing that you can’t buy.

Even for other ventures, your herd can be of great benefit to you!

Say you decide to put money into an ad that will run in a newspaper or magazine. Those are great marketing opportunities, I won’t lie, but before you hit the green button, maybe include the ad you want to run in a newsletter to your herd. Make an effort to constantly remind those who already love you what it is you do. Even ask for their opinions! They see your ad from another viewpoint and could even be able to give you some genuine feedback! Show your herd that they are still a priority and you want to keep them around.

This is only possible if you have a database.

Article by:

Ben Glass

Of:

Great Legal Marketing, Inc.

Bedside Manner: The Key to Landing and Retaining Clients

Practicing law is very much a client-centric business and providing exceptional service is pivotal to a successful practice. Are you providing the service that your clients expect?

Survey after survey will tell you that the #1 reason why clients fire attorneys is “lack of responsiveness” or in general an overall lack of customer service. Correspondingly, the top reason clients hire lawyers is empathy and responsiveness. Keeping clients and potential clients happy is the key to not only maintaining, but growing your practice. The following are a few tips for ensuring that your bedside manner doesn’t impede your ability to attract and retain new clients.

client retention bedside manner law office management

Return Calls Promptly

The legal industry and in particular personal injury law is highly competitive. Speedy response time to new leads is the key to higher conversions (See our recent article about response time:http://www.rwlynchblog.com/the-key-to-converting-more-leads/). But your bedside manner doesn’t end there: lack of responsiveness is the most cited reason for firing a lawyer. Return client calls as soon as possible, even if it’s an email (or a call from a secretary or paralegal) that lets them know that their call is important to you and that you will respond as soon as possible.

Listen

Our most successful attorneys can attest to this advice: listen to everything a potential client has to say about his/her potential case. Yes, some potential clients can run off on tangents that are seemingly unrelated to a case. However, some of the best cases our clients say they’ve landed are cases that other attorneys turned away; simply because they didn’t take the time to listen and ask the right questions. Don’t lose potential clients because “you don’t have the time” to sort through all of the “riff-raff”. Giving your full attention and asking questions will allow you to uncover the important nuggets of information you may miss otherwise.

Don’t Use Legalese

Take the time to explain legal issues in a way your clients can easily understand them. These are complicated issues and clients are often scared and confused. Explaining issues in a clear and concise manner devoid of legal jargon will put your clients at ease.

Above All Empathize

Taking the time to care, explain the process and reassure clients will not only help you retain clients but will create a lasting impression that will ensure those clients will continue to refer new business your way.

Article by:

Brian Lynch

Of:

RW Lynch Company, Inc.

What's Ahead for Legal Marketing in 2014?

WebDAM, a web-based digital asset management company, took the time to gather data from industry experts and leading sources on digital marketing to create the infographic below, which illustrates the trends and statistics they believe will drive marketing in 2014.

Of primary interest to attorneys looking to strengthen their marketing program next year:

78% of marketing executives think custom content is the future of marketing(Google agrees!)
B2B companies say blogs generate 67% more leads than those that don’t blog
Marketers are finding actual, money-paying clients on LinkedIn and Facebook
Customer testimonials have the highest effectiveness rating for content marketing (89%)
Inbound marketing delivers 54% more leads than traditional outbound marketing

Article by:

Stephen Fairley

Of:

The Rainmaker Institute

How Lawyers Can Leverage LinkedIn to Build Their Practice, Part 1 of 2

I think we can all agree that building long-term, meaningful and influential relationships is foundational to a successful legal practice. People don’t hire law firms; they hire an attorney. The more people you connect with, the more opportunities you have to build meaningful relationships, and the more potential clients you can generate.

With over 225 million members in over 200 countries, LinkedIn has quickly become THE ‘go to’ business-to-business directory and the most popular social networking platform dedicated to professional business development.

Here are some of the top tips from attorneys who have used LinkedIn to their advantage and know they have gained new clients from its smart use:

1. Complete Your Profile! You must commit to do this. You can’t ever hope to get the benefits without this. Put in as much information about yourself as you can. Use the same keywords and phrases prospects would use to search for an attorney in your practice area on Google.

Sometimes just where you went to college or law school can drive business or referrals to your firm. I know plenty of attorneys who have generated referrals because they went to the same school as someone else on LinkedIn, or grew up in the same hometown. Creating a shared reality with a prospect can be a powerful step toward acquiring their business. Also, certain applications with LinkedIn require that your profile be at least 50 – 75% complete in order to benefit from them.

2. Upload A Photo. Don’t be shy here. Don’t think about whether it’s right or wrong, just do it. A profile with no picture is a bad thing. LinkedIn is a social network for business professionals so your photo should convey that. Stay away from the photo of you on the golf course or holding a glass of wine. If you don’t have a professional headshot, they are available from any photography business for a nominal fee.

3. Use The Headline Below Your Profile To Make People Want to Know More.

When you set up your profile, LinkedIn uses your name, title or position as your headline, but you can edit this to make it more powerful. Try to think of your headline as your professional tagline. You have the opportunity to describe the type of attorney you are and the type of work you are currently doing. Do not make the mistake of listing more than two areas of law here, as you want to appear as a specialist. Specialists generate more referrals than generalists. Remember the phrase, “jack of all trades, master of none!”

4. Use The “Sharebox” Often. If you want to see the social power of LinkedIn, this is where you will find it. This area of LinkedIn allows you to add a brief update of what you are doing, any new professional certifications you have received, interesting cases or any other information you feel comfortable sharing. This is not a ‘chat’ site; it is for information that is professionally relevant.

In tomorrow’s post, I will share 5 more tips for leveraging LinkedIn to build your client and referral base.

Article by:

Stephen Fairley

Of:

The Rainmaker Institute

The Proactive Approach to Client Service

R. Robert Popeo, of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. talks about the importance of serving clients proactively, not reactively.

Tag: law firm

What Every Attorney Should Know About Their Client Database

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