Firms generally still do too little to educate and inform current clients and contacts by using a variety of tools to provide material that is truly relevant and helpful to their lives and businesses...
Whether this is a result of too much focus on trying to get new clients, or whether it is just a case of not knowing how to go about it correctly, depends on the circumstances of each firm...
I'm of course observing a rapidly increasing focus on the Internet to generate enquiry in some areas of law, but in many cases the enquirers arriving at firm's websites do not get sufficient helpful information relevant to their area of enquiry to cause them to go that one step further and actually contact the firm...
Firms are paying for Search Engine Optimisation to get improved shares of the Internet browsers (and this process is never-ending because an ever-increasing number of other firms are doing the same thing) but in many cases conversions from search listings to site visits to actual enquiries is not particularly good. In many cases this can be improved by improving your site content in conjunction with your SEO investments...
The same applies to the likes of GoogleAdWords...you are paying in competition with other firms, so getting your share of "clicks" to your site for your investment is just the starting point...you won't ever convert them all, but you need to have good enough site content in each area of law you are promoting to make it unnecessary for so many of your visitors to move on, looking for better information relevant to their needs...
The free tool Google Analytics allows you to get very useful information about what visitors do when they reach your site. For example, if a good proportion of visitors leave while they're on a particular page, consider what's missing there that could be fixed to improve their experience, and perhaps cause them to stay, visit other informative parts of your site and even make a formal enquiry...
The free tool Google Analytics allows you to get very useful information about what visitors do when they reach your site. For example, if a good proportion of visitors leave while they're on a particular page, consider what's missing there that could be fixed to improve their experience, and perhaps cause them to stay, visit other informative parts of your site and even make a formal enquiry...
Of course once you have new clients sourced via the Internet they too become part of that client base that needs to be kept informed, and they will bring repeat business and be referrers...those fundamental principles haven't changed just because we now have much wider reach and rapid response via the Net...
Newsletters, seminars, client visits, phone calls and emails can be utilised in a mix best suited to how you've rated each client and contact...the more important the more personal the contact channel...
Whatever your Business Development mix, be careful not to chop and change without careful testing of results, monitoring your return on investment...
As just one example, the number of firms dumping hard copy Yellow Pages advertising without doing a proper ROI analysis is high. By all means switch some or all of your investment to emerging areas, such as the Net, but do it after careful analysis...don't throw the baby out with the bathwater...
In some areas of law Yellow Pages hard copy is still a very lucrative area for firms with well-drafted, well-placed ads...providing a great ROI...
Agree whole-heartedly though that some firms get a shocking ROI...probably always have...and when the size of their ad and quality of the ad copy is examined it's not surprising...
The last words...for now...
Looking after the clients and contacts you have is still the name of the game...but if you can get the right balance in your efforts, and add desirable clients to the mix at a reasonable cost, there is a twin benefit...extra insurance against natural attrition in your client base, and increased revenues...revenues above your break-even point and thus major contributors to improved profitability...
For those who have registered for one of the upcoming Future Forums...many thanks...I trust this has been of interest and value and look forward to working with you there in all relevant areas, including the changing face of business development and the new challenges facing us all...
For everyone who has not yet registered, I trust this has been of interest and value, and hope to see you at one of the forums if you are able to make it...
No comments:
Post a Comment