The Facts...Did you know?
The average adult spends up to 3 hours a day more on the Internet than they spend watching television.
About 70% of the U.S. population regularly use the Internet.
Over 1 billion people in the world are online.
So, do you have a website that DRAWS them in?
I'd be willing to bet you already have a website up and running – which is terrific! But, it is like I have always said: “having a website that does not draw people is like having an ad in the “Z” section of the yellow pages – and your firm is named, ABC Law Firm”.
So, consider taking your website to the next level. Here are a few starting tips:
Display interesting facts and statistics – especially information that is easily understandable to your potential clients – not you (get into their perspective)
Include high interest stories (celebrity or newsworthy stories will quickly draw readers to your site). If you have been featured on the radio, TV or in print publications – clearly list them. This is often MUCH more of an endorsement then any professional organization you may belong to as potential clients can relate to it.
Include client testimonials and/or case studies that different people can relate to
Produce a blog, forum, or community
Statistics show that most people today expect to see what they want in the first 5-10 seconds of visiting your home page. If you have interesting content and graphics, they’ll stay a bit longer. If you haven’t maximized your site to capture and retain their attention, you will likely lose your potential clients.
The web can be a huge referral source with a one time monetary investment and minimal upkeep. If you are not using it OR if your existing site is not producing referrals – you need to revisit this marketing medium!
~all the best, Serena :-)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Chick Tip: Limited Time for Motivation
A limited time offer can often move the skeptic and procrastinator from prospect to customer. You may want to consider marketing with “fear of loss” because by putting a drop dead date on an offer frequently will move that hesitant person to action. If there is only a short time to take advantage of a special opportunity – whether it be a workshop, complimentary consultation or annual update – the perceived fear of missing out on an opportunity is often enough to motivate those to take the next steps.
Here is an example:
Did you know that the tax laws have changed? Do you know how this may affect you and your family? Start the year of in the right direction. 60 minutes of your time to attend a complimentary workshop on How to Protect your assets and hard earned money. Register by January 24th. Etc....
Are you a Veteran trying to make ends meet? Are you concerned about your changing healthcare needs? Afraid of being a burden to your loved ones? You may qualify for a special monthly benefit that will cover your in home care or supplement your healthcare needs. Find out before you pay out of pocket any longer. Attend our workshop... Or call our office.... Etc. Applications in before February could mean extra money for you before Spring.
In essence, a limited time offer will entice your prospect into action for fear of loosing this unique opportunity. You have to give them a reason to look at your firm and see the value in your services, and a time constraint could just be the little extra motivator you might need to get your prospects over that decision-making hump.
All the best,
Serena
Here is an example:
Did you know that the tax laws have changed? Do you know how this may affect you and your family? Start the year of in the right direction. 60 minutes of your time to attend a complimentary workshop on How to Protect your assets and hard earned money. Register by January 24th. Etc....
Are you a Veteran trying to make ends meet? Are you concerned about your changing healthcare needs? Afraid of being a burden to your loved ones? You may qualify for a special monthly benefit that will cover your in home care or supplement your healthcare needs. Find out before you pay out of pocket any longer. Attend our workshop... Or call our office.... Etc. Applications in before February could mean extra money for you before Spring.
In essence, a limited time offer will entice your prospect into action for fear of loosing this unique opportunity. You have to give them a reason to look at your firm and see the value in your services, and a time constraint could just be the little extra motivator you might need to get your prospects over that decision-making hump.
All the best,
Serena
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Social Network Marketing
Facebook is simply another source of marketing mediums used on line today. Referred to as social marketing or social network marketing, portals such as Facebook provide you with an opportunity to create additional exposure for you and your firm. The key words such as your name are then found when someone searches your name through one of the major search engines, i.e. Google, Yahoo! The more places connected to you and your name or associated key words, helps to build your ranking on line, moving you “organically” up the rankings. You can, in fact, create a business oriented page on Facebook but it is mostly used for personal connections. If you would like to see examples of some, you can search my name “serena brock” for a personal example, VitaShape MD or Avenue HomeCare for a business page example. With Facebook, you will have to request to be my friend then you have permission to view the pages.
In simple terms, on line marketing is a lot like traditional marketing, the more pieces and exposure you have, the more opportunity to reinforce your brand and build your reputation.
~Serena
In simple terms, on line marketing is a lot like traditional marketing, the more pieces and exposure you have, the more opportunity to reinforce your brand and build your reputation.
~Serena
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Chick Tip: Battle or Game Plan?
A solid plan is not just for sports and if you watched the Panther’s game this weekend, it is clear proof that not all “strategic plans,” work!
In a perfect world, business owners would have plenty of time and energy to regularly review their balance sheets and analyze expenses, cutting unnecessary spending as they spot it. In reality, we often zero in on expenses only in a scramble to get back to sustainable profitability when the economy stagnates and growth stalls. But panic can lead to costly mistakes, and I must caution that while paring down may be necessary in the current climate, business owners should be careful not to cut so deep that they poorly position their firms for an eventual rebound.
A good marketing plan is like a battle plan or a game plan; it should serve as a guide and a blueprint for the actions you need to take to grow your business. It should also have some flexibility because as you start testing and measuring tactics, you'll need to shift strategies from time to time, to capture or gain share in a particular market.
That said, a good plan doesn't need to be complicated. Remember, the best marketing is a synergistic combination of good strategy and tactics, and you can't do either one effectively without the other. Don't be tempted to stray from these fundamentals. Enticing yet highly subjective ideas like "image," "branding" and "creativity" are important marketing tools, but they're not as vital as getting a firm footing in the basics--which ironically start on the accounting end of things. On a few of our initial marketing calls with MPS member attorneys last week, there were questions as to why we would want to know your goals for 2009. Here are some reasons:
A marketing plan should avoid the following:
1. "Fluff" - fluff is anything not specifically related to a number, strategy or tactic. Generalities also qualify. Saying your target market is "everybody" or "adults 50-plus" isn't specific enough and will lead to problems down the road. Start to think in terms of a niche. Instead of "everybody," scale down and be more specific, "adults 50-plus" turns into "adult women at least 50 years of age who make the decisions for their families. She may shop on line and is likely involved in her church or community”.
Remember, marketing is all about buying customers. Imagine going into a grocery store and buying everything. You may want to, but in reality, your resources would never allow it. In marketing terms, this means buying your ideal customer with the resources you already have. So figure out who your ideal customer is and how much you can budget to buy that customer. Then come up with a plan and stick to it. Know that most of your competition won't have the discipline to do the same thing--or will follow a plan that has been filled with too much fluff.
2. Not doing the numbers: Marketing is all about math, and math is all about numbers. Taken a step further--business is all about numbers. If you don't know your numbers, you won't succeed in business. Creating any marketing plan without knowing how much it'll cost to acquire your customer, what your average sale needs to be, what your profit margins need to be and how many times your average customer needs to buy over a lifetime will set you up for failure. If you're going to run a $3,000 advertisement, how many leads and sales will you have to make to cover the cost of the ad, let alone make a profit?
3. Relying too heavily on creativity: Creativity is fine, and in my opinion, there's nothing more creatively fulfilling than succeeding in business. But focusing too much on creativity at the expense of tactics and outcomes can hurt your business.
4. Thinking marketing is only advertising: While advertising is part of any marketing plan, marketing is much more than strictly advertising. Marketing is not only how you sell your products or services, but also the way your receptionist answers the phone and how you set up your internal company culture. In addition, it's the strategic and tactical aspects of identifying and segmenting your ideal customer base, discovering your competitive edge and USP (unique selling proposition), setting your pricing strategy, sales strategy and promotional strategy, creating and tracking a system for repeat business, and testing and measuring all of these to leverage effort and maximize ROI.
Note that if your advertising doesn't yield an ROI, you've fallen into the "creative" trap, and that's both expensive and wasteful. You'll know you're in it when your vendors tell you, "Half of your advertising works, and half doesn't--you'll never know which half," or the even more famous, "it takes 17 weeks for people to get name recognition and then they'll start buying from you." Don’t be “sold” by advertising tactics...radio, TV, newspapers, trade publications...everyone is hurting right now – make their pitch and offer to “help you” work first in YOUR favor... If their publication is as good as they say, they will gain you as a loyal customer.
5. Forgetting to market to existing customers and prospects. Generally, it costs up to six times more to get a new customer than to sell something to an existing customer. So if your plan doesn't include initiatives to tap into your current customers, you're missing out on a huge untapped resource.
A large part of your success in 2009 will depend on the actions and decisions you make now in the form of your marketing plan--and avoiding the costly mistakes that cause most businesses to abandon their efforts early and often. If you are not working with a marketing agency, take the appropriate steps to solidify your plan and execute it carefully! Track, measure and follow your successes and failures and adjust as needed. All the best!
Wishing you success!
~Serena
In a perfect world, business owners would have plenty of time and energy to regularly review their balance sheets and analyze expenses, cutting unnecessary spending as they spot it. In reality, we often zero in on expenses only in a scramble to get back to sustainable profitability when the economy stagnates and growth stalls. But panic can lead to costly mistakes, and I must caution that while paring down may be necessary in the current climate, business owners should be careful not to cut so deep that they poorly position their firms for an eventual rebound.
A good marketing plan is like a battle plan or a game plan; it should serve as a guide and a blueprint for the actions you need to take to grow your business. It should also have some flexibility because as you start testing and measuring tactics, you'll need to shift strategies from time to time, to capture or gain share in a particular market.
That said, a good plan doesn't need to be complicated. Remember, the best marketing is a synergistic combination of good strategy and tactics, and you can't do either one effectively without the other. Don't be tempted to stray from these fundamentals. Enticing yet highly subjective ideas like "image," "branding" and "creativity" are important marketing tools, but they're not as vital as getting a firm footing in the basics--which ironically start on the accounting end of things. On a few of our initial marketing calls with MPS member attorneys last week, there were questions as to why we would want to know your goals for 2009. Here are some reasons:
A marketing plan should avoid the following:
1. "Fluff" - fluff is anything not specifically related to a number, strategy or tactic. Generalities also qualify. Saying your target market is "everybody" or "adults 50-plus" isn't specific enough and will lead to problems down the road. Start to think in terms of a niche. Instead of "everybody," scale down and be more specific, "adults 50-plus" turns into "adult women at least 50 years of age who make the decisions for their families. She may shop on line and is likely involved in her church or community”.
Remember, marketing is all about buying customers. Imagine going into a grocery store and buying everything. You may want to, but in reality, your resources would never allow it. In marketing terms, this means buying your ideal customer with the resources you already have. So figure out who your ideal customer is and how much you can budget to buy that customer. Then come up with a plan and stick to it. Know that most of your competition won't have the discipline to do the same thing--or will follow a plan that has been filled with too much fluff.
2. Not doing the numbers: Marketing is all about math, and math is all about numbers. Taken a step further--business is all about numbers. If you don't know your numbers, you won't succeed in business. Creating any marketing plan without knowing how much it'll cost to acquire your customer, what your average sale needs to be, what your profit margins need to be and how many times your average customer needs to buy over a lifetime will set you up for failure. If you're going to run a $3,000 advertisement, how many leads and sales will you have to make to cover the cost of the ad, let alone make a profit?
3. Relying too heavily on creativity: Creativity is fine, and in my opinion, there's nothing more creatively fulfilling than succeeding in business. But focusing too much on creativity at the expense of tactics and outcomes can hurt your business.
4. Thinking marketing is only advertising: While advertising is part of any marketing plan, marketing is much more than strictly advertising. Marketing is not only how you sell your products or services, but also the way your receptionist answers the phone and how you set up your internal company culture. In addition, it's the strategic and tactical aspects of identifying and segmenting your ideal customer base, discovering your competitive edge and USP (unique selling proposition), setting your pricing strategy, sales strategy and promotional strategy, creating and tracking a system for repeat business, and testing and measuring all of these to leverage effort and maximize ROI.
Note that if your advertising doesn't yield an ROI, you've fallen into the "creative" trap, and that's both expensive and wasteful. You'll know you're in it when your vendors tell you, "Half of your advertising works, and half doesn't--you'll never know which half," or the even more famous, "it takes 17 weeks for people to get name recognition and then they'll start buying from you." Don’t be “sold” by advertising tactics...radio, TV, newspapers, trade publications...everyone is hurting right now – make their pitch and offer to “help you” work first in YOUR favor... If their publication is as good as they say, they will gain you as a loyal customer.
5. Forgetting to market to existing customers and prospects. Generally, it costs up to six times more to get a new customer than to sell something to an existing customer. So if your plan doesn't include initiatives to tap into your current customers, you're missing out on a huge untapped resource.
A large part of your success in 2009 will depend on the actions and decisions you make now in the form of your marketing plan--and avoiding the costly mistakes that cause most businesses to abandon their efforts early and often. If you are not working with a marketing agency, take the appropriate steps to solidify your plan and execute it carefully! Track, measure and follow your successes and failures and adjust as needed. All the best!
Wishing you success!
~Serena
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