Integrity Marketing

Marketing Performance Report: Essential

Results-Based Legal Marketing. That's our mission -- to deliver the goods for estate planning and elder law attorneys! Part of that mission includes tracking and reporting key vital statistics that show us how well every Essential Solution® marketing program performs out in the real world. It's one thing to read theory and discuss what ought to work (or not work) ... and a whole other thing to track, report and analyze results every month.

We do it because we are committed to your success!

Essential Marketing Performance Reports are getting a facelift this month, with more emphasis on tracking the trends and patterns that drive your law firm's marketing performance. We have centralized our reporting mechanism, pulling in statistics from your website, blog, YouTube, email and social media marketing to one, easy-to-read document. We've included an Executive Summary (for those of you who want to cut to the chase), and lots of charts and tables making your key data easy to review and understand.

Remember, too, that we don't just passively aggregate your data. Our marketing team reviews each report. If we spot a negative trend or other challenge, we troubleshoot to find answers. We also look at ALL of the reports as a whole so we have ongoing feedback about how the whole program is working for you -- the Essential Attorney.

I've pulled one sample report for you to review (note: I have redacted all of the identifying client information to maintain confidentiality).

Download SampleReport

Legal Marketing Costs Too Much (if it doesn't work!)

Attorneys tell us that cost is one of your biggest marketing frustrations. You tell us that you have spent money on marketing that simply did not give you a good return.

We know that marketing is all about results. So, we track every vital aspect of your Essential Solution®, from unique website visits to Google rank for your key search terms, most popular website pages, how often you blog, and even which sources drive the most traffic to your website. We pull these “vitals” into one at-a-glance table with the supporting documents attached. Then, we review your stats with our marketing support team, write an Executive Summary and make any recommendations for improvements. Essential Attorneys™ receive this Marketing Performance Report every month because we believe in results-based marketing.

We have some great news for Essential Attorneys™ -- your IMS monthly performance report is getting a huge facelift! Your new reports have a heavier emphasis on Google Analytics to help interpret your site's traffic patterns. Some of the key improvements you will notice in your next report:

• More Extensive Keyword Research
• Content Engagement and Page View coverage
• More Extensive Information About Referring Sites
• Guidance on Which Social Media Platforms Are Best for You

Find out more about The Essential Solution® with a free DVD.

 

 

Profitable Practice. Quality of Life. Can You Have Both?

After one particularly busy high-revenue month, Kyle and I sat down together in his conference room to review vital statistics about his law firm. Yes, we had just logged our highest-revenue month on record. But we had some questions and needed answers.

• Was this a month we would, or could, replicate?
• Was Kyle happy with the type and quality of clients he was serving?
• And, most importantly, was he happy with the lifestyle we were building for him and his family?

We reviewed the financial performance of each of his workshops -- to include the promotional and other hard costs, as well as the manhours invested. We looked at his appointment book and added up the hours he'd spent with each new client, both in consultation and while working "behind the scenes" in meeting and document preparation. We tried to capture and allocate all of his costs, including his time. We then determined his actual client acquisition costs and his effective hourly rate.

The numbers were sobering. Yes, our workshop marketing strategy was bringing in revenue. But that revenue came at a high cost ... and not just in dollars. The grueling schedule was taking a toll on Kyle's family, and his health.

We needed to make a change. We needed marketing that was both more efficient, and more effective. We needed to find ways to lower client acquisition costs, raise closing ratios, increase fees, and shorten the time spent in initial and follow-up consultations. We needed to reduce or eliminate no-shows and think-about-its.

That was 15 years ago.

If you've found yourself on this grueling treadmill and wondered how to get off, you've come to the right place. You won't find the answer by purchasing another document system, attending another CLE, or even hiring another staff person.

These are fundamental marketing challenges. Learn more about your Marketing Imperative in this short video.

 

Don't Confuse SEO with Branding

Did you hear the news that Yellow Book is re-branding themselves as "Hibu"? 

That's right, the giant yellow pages directory compamy is abandoning their Yellow brand, which they themselves called "archaic" in favor of a new, fresh name that has no meaning (their words, not mine). 

While they may be trying to steal from Google's playbook, I think there's a good lesson here for those of us concerned about branding -- brand equity, brand recognition, brand image, etc. Especially durng this era of high technology and rapid change.

What do consumers think of when they see your brand? 

In the case of Yellow Book, people would naturally think of a telephone directory printed on yellow paper. Not necessarily about business service, media, marketing, or other small business support services. Just a big yellow book. At one time, that is exactly what they wanted.

Today?  Not so much. 

Think about your brand image, especially as you migrate toward more online advertising. There is a difference between search engine optimization and branding. For example, if you practice elder law, you likely want your website to be optimized for keywords like Medicaid, to ensure that those searching for such services will find you. But you do not necessarily want to brand yourself as a Medicaid Attorney, because someday when the government changes the name of Medicaid, or stops funding it, you may be perceived as "archaic."

Instead, while you can (and should) use Medicaid in your optimization strategies, take care to establish your brand as a trusted family advisor. There for your clients, with sound advice and counsel to help them navigate some of life's more difficult legal challenges.

If you stick with that branding, you will never have to reinvent yourself with a silly name. 

What Gets Measured Gets Done!

It's 3:30 in the afternoon and I have only logged a measly 2,542 steps.Which means I have 7,458 to go to reach my daily goal of 10,000. Which means I'm going to have to get a "move on" to make it.

By this time yesterday, I had already logged nearly 12,000 steps.

Of course, yesterday looked a LOT different. Yesterday started out with a 2-mile run, followed by a 20-minute walk. 7,000 steps before 10 a.m.

Today, on the other hand, is a Monday. I stumbled out of bed, poured some coffee, showered and dressed then hopped in the car and drove into the office ... where I fired up my computer and sat down ... and have been sitting ever since.

Not much different than the 100 Monday work days before.

Except ...

Except today I am wearing a little gadget called a fitbit, which tracks my steps. Think of it as a pedometer on steroids. Because of fitbit, I now KNOW that I am sedentary (as in, not "stepping") for more than 8 hours most days; that I typically fall woefully short of the recommended 10,000 daily steps for good health; and that I can change all of this with approximately an hour's worth of exercise daily.

As a result, I took 72,459 steps last week, exceeding my weekly goal by four percent. I climbed 88 flights of stairs and traveled a self-propelled 31.27 miles!

Sadly, however, when I stepped on the scale this morning, I still had not achieved my goal weight.

Now -- you may be snickering at that comment, since we all know that one week of good behavior does not undo the damage of years of a sedentary lifestyle. No one REALLY expects to lose a pound a day, or 25 lbs in a week (unless you're on reality TV). Intellectually, we all know that it takes TIME to lose weight, lower your blood pressure, and reap the other good health benefits of a healthy lifestyle. The most important thing is that I am now tracking my diet and exercise in real, measurable ways that impact my behavior.

So it is with The Essential Solution®. We track every aspect of your Essential marketing system and deliver a monthly performance report, full of valuable feedback. We track things like number of blog postings, your website's rank on Google, unique visitors, and email distribution. We know that by watching these (and more) statistics, we can accurately predict results, even before they materialize.

Just as I know that increasing my activity level while decreasing my caloric intake WILL result in weight loss ... even when the scale refuses to budge.

The trick is to focus on the behaviors that lead to success. Measuring those behaviors is proven to be one of the most effective ways of changing them; as the adage goes: "What gets measured gets done."

Don't let yourself fall into a panic if your results are not as rapid or astounding as you had hoped. Watch the numbers, keep doing the right things right and you will achieve success.

As for me, I'm going to shut down my computer, lace up my running shoes, and get started on those 7,458 steps!

Think Greyhound

Posted by Kyle Krull, Esq.
President, Integrity Marketing Solutions

I am a "Baby Boomer," born in 1959. I remember rotary dial telephones, black & white television with "rabbit ears," and wondering every week whether this might be the week Gilligan and his friends made it off the soundstage... er, island. I find myself starting to sound like my grandparents, more all the time.

You see, not only is time moving faster and faster, but technology is changing right along with it. In fact, when I sit back and think about it, we had Royale manual typewriters in my Reporting I class at the University of Kansas! Those babies required considerable finger strength to operate and had no "backspace" key to eliminate my (many) mistakes.

So, where is this blog post going? I am techology weary.

Between my estate planning practice and my responsibilities at Integrity Marketing Solutions, I simply do not have time to keep up with all of the latest and greatest gizmos. Fortunately, I don't have to and neither do you.

For example, we all know an optimized website is no longer an option. While you may have a website, if it is not "optimized," then it is just an internet brochure. Prospective clients will not find you because your website will not show up on an "organic search." Not good.

Another example is video. Did you know Google owns YouTube? Guess what, Google really "likes" YouTube videos... but they have to be done "right" and optimized according to Google's protocol. With a text only optimized website, it usually takes months to claim a spot on page one of Google. However, with optimized YouTube video, it can take mere days.

Bottom line: The good news is neither you nor I have to understand, maintain, or stay ahead of the ever emerging technology. Our team at Integrity Marketing Solutions is here to do that for you. Back in 1957, the Greyhound bus line tagline was born - Go Greyhound and leave the driving to us. In 2012, you could as easily (and accurately) say Go IMS and leave the marketing - and technology - to us.

When you are ready to have an ever more profitable and enjoyable estate planning and/or elder law practice, we are here to help.