Integrity Marketing

Branding – Why It Matters

Remember when the word branding meant cattle and hot iron?

Today the word branding is recognized as standing for the visual identity, customer experience, and quality of service relating to a company or professional practice.

Today’s legal services consumer expects a high level of branding, in the same way they expect to walk into a retail store and find that the company’s logo is on their signage, shopping bags and in-store promotional materials.

And, if there is a breakdown in your branding, consumers may not say anything directly to you, they may not even be conscious of it, but they will experience a sense of cognitive dissonance that will make them uneasy and likely to select another law firm to help them.

How can you overcome this?

Be consistent. If you use promotional materials like pens, mugs, etc., make sure that there are visual cues in addition to your logo. Pick a color scheme and stick with it.

Don’t use one font or typeface on the coffee mug you give away to clients and then use a completely different font on the reusable shopping bags that you use for big community events.

You are part of your law firm’s brand. By that we mean your external appearance. If you get really busy and you don’t get your hair cut as often as needed, that disheveled “mad scientist” look could completely undercut the best marketing materials in the world.

Your staff is part of your law firm’s brand too. If they are not dressing or behaving appropriately, that needs to be corrected. A small, family-friendly office is great but a professional atmosphere must always be in place. You would not want to buy a $2,500 piece of jewelry from a person wearing sloppy clothing.

How you and your staff speak to clients in person, on the phone and through emails is also part of your brand. If too many people have to ask your receptionist to repeat herself, she needs to slow down and enunciate. Proper grammar matters in conversation as well as in written materials.

If you don’t have a “no cursing” culture, please add it right away. Cursing, racist or sexist comments have no place in a professional services office. You could be sued for a hostile workplace, and it’s just plain rude.

Your brand should include kindness and compassion. An estate planning and elder law practice should be all about protecting clients and helping them during the most difficult parts of their lives. Your brand must include kindness and compassion. Did we say that twice? That’s because it really really matters.

Finally, printed materials like stationery, envelopes, note pads and business cards must all work together to reinforce your brand. If your website and business cards look like they come from two different offices, you may create brand confusion. Did you know that IMS provides a complete line of graphic services?

If you’ve got questions about branding, we’ve got answers. Just give us a call and we’ll be happy to walk you through the process. 

Are You Wearing Too Many Hats?

By James Campbell

Watch The Video 

I'm a hat guy. I love my New Era 59/50 Royals caps. My 2014 Post-season Royals cap is by far my favorite, even though it's gotten pretty dingy as of late. My brother, Michael, is constantly giving me tips on how to clean the cap. His not so subtle nudge to wash that thing does not go unnoticed but if I wash it I'm afraid the Royals will lose. They need my dingy cap. I rarely switch it up, opting to wear my favorite one most of the time.

At the office however, it's imperative that I wear multiple hats. I'm constantly switching hats from marketing consultant, salesperson, creative director, account manager and so on. Most of these hats fit me pretty well and I'm able to manage. Things don't get uncomfortable until I'm asked to wear a hat that really doesn't fit me. Like the Google Analytics hat, or the Search Engine Optimization hat or especially the dreaded accounting hat. It's better I let other team members wear those hats ... because they fit them perfectly.

Do you find this to be true in your law practice?

How many hats are you wearing these days?

I find that, if given their druthers, most attorneys would opt to wear their attorney hat the majority of the time. When that hat is on they are typically happier, more efficient and way more profitable. However, many estate and elder law attorneys are not only wearing their attorney hat, but also their marketing director hat. It doesn't stop there either - many other hats are being worn as well. As you can imagine this not only looks ridiculous but it becomes very hard to balance all those hats at once!

So, are you wearing too many hats?

The Behavioral Science of Emails – What’s In Your CRM?

We read a very interesting article in The Wall Street Journal about a study on email response patterns conducted by Yahoo Labs and the University of Southern California. They looked at 16 billion emails – yes, that was billion – exchanged among 2 million Yahoo users, measuring the time it took to reply, the length of replies and the number of emails answers, all placed in categories for age and gender. The study was presented at the International World Wide Web Conference in Italy.

The biggest difference in behavior came not from gender, but from age. Since your estate planning practice likely works mostly with people in the two oldest categories, 36-50 years of age and 51 and older, we think this is information that may be helpful as you prepare to deploy the E2-Dashboard CRM (Client Relationship Management system).

Part of the beauty of the E2-Dashboard CRM is the system’s ability to send out emails that are designed to respond to specific triggers, calendar items, and other actions by your firm. You may use it to send out birthday greetings, holiday cards, follow up from workshops or community events, changes in the law that impact your clients, etc. But whatever you use the E2-Dashboard CRM for, you’ll wonder – what happens next? When should you expect to hear back from your audience?

You might need to shift your expectations, according to this study. Young people and teens respond almost immediately. But as you move into the older demographics, response times change. People in the 20–35 year bracket respond in around 16 minutes. Ages 36-50 respond in 24 minutes. Then it gets way longer – for people 51 and older, the median response time is 47 minutes –an eternity in online time.

What the study did not measure, and we would have found this helpful, is whether the email correspondence was taking place during working hours and if these were emails regarding work or personal matters. However, there are still insights that can be gleaned from the study.

Don’t expect a rapid response to your emails from everyone. Based on our own experience, we would say if you receive a response to an email within a day or two from a non-client, that’s pretty good. Clients who receive reminders may be more likely to respond faster, particularly if they are comfortable managing their emails on a smart phone.

Understand that not all who are in the 51 and older category are early adapters. Some are Luddites, even when their grandchildren ask them to become active on social media. So you may find that some prospects don’t respond at all to emails. With the E2-Dashboard CRM, you will easily see who doesn’t open your emails. Then you’ll know that they need a phone call if you want to reach them with a particular message, if that is appropriate. And you will also have the option of sending a printed, direct-mail piece. Did you know - your E2-Dashboard CRM helps you accomplish that with an integrated print-on-demand application so you can choose and send your direct mail marketing right from within your E2 Dashboard CRM!

This is another example of how data presents a wealth of useful information that can be used to make your practice better at reaching out to prospects, managing your client relationships and making your firm more efficient and more profitable.

Integrity Marketing Solutions: Why I Work Here

By Anneliese Krull

Many of my most treasured childhood memories include my father—playing games, hearing him tell stories or listening to oldies on the way to school. I’m not saying I don’t love my memories and time with my mother. On the contrary, I believe I have the best mom in the world. What I am saying is rarity increases value.

Why was my time with my father infrequent? He was doing everything he could to provide for us. He would drive home for dinner and promptly return to the office, fitting in as much family time as possible while ensuring we were fed and clothed.

Why the ceaseless hours? Like many of IMS’s clients, my dad was a small business owner and the sole attorney in his own practice. He was doing both the work of marketing himself and preparing wills and trusts—two full time jobs.

Since my dad and Jennifer Campbell-Goddard opened Integrity Marketing Solutions in 1995, they’ve been dedicated to using their knowledge and experience to make IMS clients achieve great results.

Through providing direction for my father’s marketing, IMS made my dad’s marketing efforts productive, allowing for more frequent time with family and more memories for me. As a member of the IMS team, my goal is to provide the same for other attorneys.

Our Blog Post on Your Blog Posts

IMS Essential Solutions clients know that every Friday, a carefully curated set of five blog posts concerning estate planning topics will be delivered to your email inbox. 

Many of you are believers in these blogs, using them regularly and even including them in your own blog digest newsletters. Some of you are still wondering why you need to blog, even though you use them here and again. Others are not convinced and ignore them on a regular basis.

Why do we devote so much time and brain power of English Majors (a nod to Garrison Keillor, of a Prairie Home Companion) to crafting, editing and emailing these blogs?

1 – A blog is critical for an estate planning law practice to maintain its visibility online. Estate planning law firms are in a highly competitive market and your visibility to search engines requires continually updated content on your website. A blog accomplishes this task by adding relevant and quality content on a regular basis. By that we mean two or three times a week. That’s why we provide five blogs.

2 – Blogs are read by people searching for answers to specific problems. If I have a question about how to avoid paying state estate taxes, I would type the phrase “state estate taxes” into a search engine. You might not have this phrase in your website, or it may appear only once. But if you occasionally touch on this topic in your blog, I am more likely to find it.

3 – People also like to read your posts. You may find this material old hat, or feel that it has been covered over and over again. But remember, your clients are not elder lawyers or estate planning attorneys. They don’t attend conferences that you do, or read the professional journals that pile up on the corner of your desk. This is new, compelling and interesting information to them.

4 – People who are considering retaining you and your firm to handle their estate planning matters want to know who you really are. They expect to see your accomplishments and credentials on your profile page. But if you are posting blogs, they are hearing your “voice,” and learning more about you than someone who does not blog.

5 – Today’s legal services consumers expect to be able to go to a law firm website and have an experience that is as interactive as if they were on any other website. They are looking for blogs, videos, news and updates. Imagine if you went to your newspaper’s website and the news was a week old. You would think they were out of business. Even a local retailer or restaurant website today is expected to be updated on a regular basis with news about sales, events and promotions.  A static website that never changes tells them that you are not paying attention to the details of your law practice.

6 –Yes, we know that the celebrity blog posts may not be your big favorites. But guess what? Your readers love to hear about the missteps and mistakes made by famous people. Why do you think celebrity magazines and talk shows are so prevalent? It’s okay to have a few posts here and there that talk about celebrities that your clients can relate to. Elvis, the Royal Family and Glen Campbell posts continue to drive traffic to your website because we are all curious about the rich and famous. No one will think any less of you if you use these posts. And if you really don’t like them, there are always other posts available for you.

Have you posted a blog today?

Four Fast Law Firm Marketing Facts for Friday

Your staff is an integral part of your practice. Yes, you know that – but do you know how important they are to your law firm when it comes to marketing? You can have the best website in the world, show up on every first page of search engines and still have an empty appointment calendar. Your staff’s relationship with clients is important!

Here are a few weak spots to keep an eye on:

1 - Play “secret-shopper” and call your office at least once every three weeks. If your voice is easily recognized, have someone else call. Make sure the person answering the phone reflects the warm, welcoming and professional brand you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

2 - How are your clients greeted? Are they met by a warm and friendly person, shown immediately to a comfortable meeting room and offered a beverage? Or are they left sitting in a cramped and drafty reception area? Your staff should treat your clients like valued guests.

3 - How well organized is your office? If your brand is all about caring and concern for clients while handling highly personal and sensitive matters, but your staff misses a deadline, you have a marketing problem.

4 –Fundamentals matter. This includes such basics as remembering to say please and thank you during client interactions inside and out of the office. When you attend community events, is your staff smiling? If they are busy checking their phones and not making warm and friendly eye contact with potential clients, consider whether or not they represent you and your firm correctly.

Three Ways to Accumulate Online Reviews

It’s no secret that online reviews can make or break your business. However, despite the significance of online reviews, many businesses struggle to receive feedback from consumers.

Reviews are a new era of marketing and tend to be influential to potential clients. A majority of consumers rely on or are impacted by online reviews when purchasing a product or service. The more reviews your firm has, the more trustworthy you'll appear to consumers. They’ll be impressed that your business is established enough to receive multiple reviews and will want to know more about your firm.

An added bonus of online reviews is the benefit to Search Engine Optimization. Your SEO will thrive the more your business is talked about online. Let’s look at a few ways to get those online reviews!

First and most important, deliver an exceptional customer experience. Your clients are coming to you, and paying you for your assistance and expertise. The help you’re providing deals with sensitive topics. Be kind to your clients and show them you care, especially when they’re in difficult situations. If you go beyond their expectations to not only help them with their needs, but do so in a caring way, your clients will recognize that and will want others to recognize it too.

Second, simply ask your clients to leave you a review. Next time you receive a compliment in person, on the phone or in an email, politely ask that they share that feedback on Avvo, Facebook or another review site of their choice. Be sure to ask promptly after receiving praise because consumers are more likely to provide feedback right away. Even when you aren’t receiving a compliment, asking a client to leave a review is encouraged. When asking for a client to leave a review, respectfully ask for honest feedback. They’ll feel less pressured and appreciate that you aren’t forcing them to write a good review, which will establish credibility with your clients.

Third, increase your chances of getting client reviews by using our E2 CRM. The E2 CRM lets you automate the work flow so that an email is sent out in a timely manner after documents are signed, asking for the review and giving the client a link to find your online profiles where they can write the review. Set this up once in your CRM and you'll never have to worry about someone forgetting to send out a thank you and a request for an online review.

Of course, with the good reviews come the bad reviews. Bad reviews will happen and it’s best to address those situations. Clients generally want to be respected and listened to. If you address issues in a non-defensive and apologetic manner, more likely than not, you’ll form a stronger relationship with that consumer than before. If your commitment to make the circumstances better are genuine, that client will appreciate your efforts and might provide another online review that portrays your firm positively.

The bottom line is, online reviews are necessary. Don’t be shy about asking for reviews and facing the negative reviews head on, your business will thank you.

Best Practices for Law Firm Practices: Networking

Networking. A few short months ago, this word made me shudder. Maybe it does for you as well. I imagined self-centered people who saw others only as rungs on the ladder to the “top,” and I wanted no part in such greedy scheming.

For years, my dad —an honest lawyer and prudent marketer—assured me that I was misguided and encouraged me to build connections. In my pride, I refused to believe him until recently.

Forced to choose between following through on a commitment and quitting to save myself from asking for help, I chose to network.

Throughout the process, I grew personally and learned a few networking facts.

1. You cannot do everything on your own. If you or your business existed in a bubble, you would have no business. Relationships are essential to success.
2. Plan with the end in mind. Evaluate exactly what you need before you ask, and you will clearly communicate your vision.
3. You never know until you ask. Don’t assume people won’t want to help you succeed. If others know you, your character and your vision, they will gladly assist you themselves or introduce you to someone who can do what they themselves cannot.
4. Don’t give up. You will hear “no.” Don’t take it personally and don’t burn that bridge. Be gracious, understanding that others—like you—are limited by time and space. A courteous response to rejection speaks volumes and will be recalled favorably. A dismissal is not the end of the world. There are plenty more individuals to seek out.
5. Help someone else. If a professional contact, client or family friend needs support in reaching a goal and you can provide that support—whether writing a review or connecting them to a better contact—do it.

As you build your network, you will witness the excitement of watching others succeed as well as yourself.

Still Skittish About Leaning on the Data?

If you are still skittish about using the remarkable data that is now available to you via the simple fact of having a website and a blog, take some comfort in knowing that you are not alone. That doesn’t mean you should be complacent.

Consider this comment from Dr. Alexandra Samuel, a technology researcher and author, in The Wall Street Journal:  “Companies are sitting on a treasure trove – if only they knew how to use it.”

The article expresses what you’ve been reading here for many months now – every behavior that occurs on your website, or if you are using our E2 CRM system, is actionable behavior. If someone spends a large amount of time on your website from their mobile phone learning about the importance of wills and guardian plans for new families and calls you from that page, you already know that they are likely to be a younger couple (more likely to use mobile to surf the web) and have young children.

If you are in our E2 CRM, several embedded systems will do some of the research for you automatically, along the way adding in their IP address for geographic information.

When your fully integrated marketing system clicks into high gear and they have an appointment with your office, they will receive an email focused on the special needs of young families and estate planning for high net worth individuals.

Gathering this data was once limited to huge companies with major technology. Today, your law firm can gain the information, improve how you reach new clients, and even enhance how you maintain ongoing contact with existing clients.

It’s an extra layer in a competitive market that could give you quite an edge.

From Getting By to Getting Where You Want to Go

Did this weekend just fly by? And with Halloween around the corner, the end of the year is nipping at your heels like a litter of puppies. Did you reach your goals this year?

Maybe the better question is this: did you set goals for this year?

Here are four things to consider while you go about your usual busy Monday:

1 – What are your professional goals for 2016? Do you want to increase the number of clients you serve, or increase the net worth of the clients you serve? There’s no judgment here - but you will be far more successful if you are making a conscious choice about where you want your practice to go, rather than just trying to keep up.

2 – What are your personal goals for 2016? Is this the year that you learn to water ski, paint with water colors, or set up drip irrigation watering system for an organic vegetable garden?  What matters to you and to your family?

3 – Did you manage your time wisely in 2015, or did it manage you? If you spent your days mostly reacting to emails or client requests, then you probably moved swiftly from task to task. Are you managing the workflow so that things are being done in the order that you want? Or are you constantly putting out fires?

4 – What can you do differently in 2016 to get to your goals? With two decades of experience helping law firms grow and lawyers prosper, we know that change can often be intimidating. But you know the saying – if you keep doing the same things, you’ll keep getting the same results.