Higher Profitability in 2016

And yes, marketing touches even more still. Your firm is in the subscription business, not because you charge a $29 monthly fee for access to some software or information but because your clients make the choice to work with you (or not) every time they need legal services. Retaining them as clients increases their client lifetime value, makes them more profitable, and ultimately can reduce the (significantly higher) resources you invest toward new client acquisition.

Marketing has become accountable for the entire customer journey because in the end, the marketing department's mission is to delight the clients so they buy from you again.

Ideas for the New Year

Below are areas within your firm that you can work on in 2016 to give you the best likelihood of creating those end-to-end delightful experiences. But first, keep this phrase in mind as you read through the rest of this article: Sell the hole, not the drill. Or, put another way: You sell your clients a better version of themselves.

Now, let's get started with our 2016 to-do list:

Buyer Personas. Hopefully you are very familiar with this term. If not, create a buyer persona using feedback from multiple departments within your firm. Learn exactly why your clients choose to retain your lawyers, why they left, what demographic tendencies they have (gender, company role, age, etc.). Remember to keep your personas up to date, instead of stashed in a network drive as PDFs.

Account-Based Marketing. Look into account-based marketing to identify what is influencing larger clients to engage you across multiple practice areas, and what those engagements look like. Can you spot any opportunities or trends?

Conclusion

Our list is far from complete. Next month, we continue our look at account-based marketing, and also explore value nurturing, conversion optimization, and more.

Stephan Hovnanian is founder and owner of Shovi Websites, an e-mail and web marketing company outside Boston. He may be reached at www.shovi.com or 781-538-5901.

Depending on who you ask, your prospective clients are between 50%-90% through their buying process before even contacting you. Consider that for a minute, especially focusing on how powerful recommendations are in the legal profession.

They've searched on Google for the type of law you practice, and/or maybe even the answer to a specific situation. They've asked their friends and colleagues for references. They've read industry content online to become more educated about the problem they are facing. They've narrowed down the list of potential firms/lawyers to contact based on a variety of factors, such as: 1) Personal recommendations; 2) Online reviews (both positive and negative); 3) Earned media; 4) How closely those firms are associated with the educational information they read; and 5) Which firm websites were easiest to navigate and felt the most reassuring

Oh, and there's more. Let's assume that, for your target client profile, research shows that they are typically 65% of the way through the decision-making process by the time they contact you. Your marketing still has to account for the remaining 35% as the leads are nurtured and ultimately closed. That burden falls on the shoulders of your firm's staff, who need to be up to speed on what type of experience and trust you created for the first 65%, or the client will receive mixed signals and decide to look at the next name on their short list.

And yes, marketing touches even more still. Your firm is in the subscription business, not because you charge a $29 monthly fee for access to some software or information but because your clients make the choice to work with you (or not) every time they need legal services. Retaining them as clients increases their client lifetime value, makes them more profitable, and ultimately can reduce the (significantly higher) resources you invest toward new client acquisition.

Marketing has become accountable for the entire customer journey because in the end, the marketing department's mission is to delight the clients so they buy from you again.

Ideas for the New Year

Below are areas within your firm that you can work on in 2016 to give you the best likelihood of creating those end-to-end delightful experiences. But first, keep this phrase in mind as you read through the rest of this article: Sell the hole, not the drill. Or, put another way: You sell your clients a better version of themselves.

Now, let's get started with our 2016 to-do list:

Buyer Personas. Hopefully you are very familiar with this term. If not, create a buyer persona using feedback from multiple departments within your firm. Learn exactly why your clients choose to retain your lawyers, why they left, what demographic tendencies they have (gender, company role, age, etc.). Remember to keep your personas up to date, instead of stashed in a network drive as PDFs.

Account-Based Marketing. Look into account-based marketing to identify what is influencing larger clients to engage you across multiple practice areas, and what those engagements look like. Can you spot any opportunities or trends?

Conclusion

Our list is far from complete. Next month, we continue our look at account-based marketing, and also explore value nurturing, conversion optimization, and more.

Stephan Hovnanian is founder and owner of Shovi Websites, an e-mail and web marketing company outside Boston. He may be reached at www.shovi.com or 781-538-5901.