Integrity Marketing

Happy New Year from IMS

We all know that the big crystal ball drops in New York’s Times Square. But did you know there are many other traditions besides a countdown and parties for New Year’s Eve?

In Scotland, they celebrate Hogmanay, an ancient Viking ceremony celebrating the winter solstice that also shares elements from the Gaelic Samhain winter festival. Hogmanay starts on New Year’s Eve and continues into January 2^nd.

The Chinese celebrate in a variety of ways, with different regions having different traditions. One is the New Year’s Eve dinner, where the family gathers to eat fish and dumplings, both symbols of prosperity. Fireworks are used to banish evil and Red Packets, red envelopes with money inside, are given by adults to young children.

Our British cousins celebrate the New Year with firecrackers, parties, singing and dancing. They also sing Auld Lang Syne, an ancient Scottish folk song that, depending on your source, was translated or embellished by poet Robert Burns. The song refers to the joys of friendship and togetherness paired with the sorrow of saying farewell to those we love.

Lucky enough to be in Australia for the New Year? That’s where the New Year starts first. Australians welcome in the New Year with a barbeque. People party on their boats, in parks and on beaches. The Sydney Harbor is known for its spectacular fireworks display that is watched worldwide.

In Spain, eat twelve grapes before the end of the countdown to the New Year, starting when there are only twelve seconds left of the old year. This tradition, started by grape growers, is said to bring good luck and is called “las dos uvas de la suerte” – the twelve grapes of luck.

You may not want to try this but in Denmark, some people throw plates and glasses at their friend’s houses to celebrate the New Year. If you open your front door and find a lot of broken glass, you’re going to have a really great year. And a mess to clean up!

In Chile, revelers eat lentils at midnight to bring a good year of work and money. They also thoroughly clean house, sweeping from inside out to get rid of bad energy that may have accumulated during the year.

In Germany, a hot punch made of dry red wine, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel is warmed, and then a large cone shaped piece of sugar that has been well-soaked in rum is placed on a special holder that sits above the wine. The sugar is lit with a match. The sugar caramelizes and melts into the hot mulled wine. Lots of firecrackers and loud noises at the stroke of midnight are followed by jelly donuts that may or may not have a practical joke inside – mustard instead of jelly!

However you celebrate, from all of us at IMS, best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Want to Start Your New Year Off with a Bang?

On January 12, IMS will present our first webinar of the year: Seamless Website and CRM Integration designed for Estate Planning and Elder Law practices. We believe that integrating your online presence with our E2 CRM (Client Relationship Management) will be the single most powerful part of your success in 2016.

Here’s how it works together: visitors to your website fill out a contact form, and in what seems like a flash from the future, you have access to key information about them and can send personalized marketing materials targeted to their specific needs and interests. Think they’ll be impressed? We do!

By integrating the CRM into your practice, you and your staff will not get tangled up in trying to recover lost information, asking prospects the same question repeatedly, or covering the basics more than once. Your prospects will be pleased to be working with an estate planning or elder law firm that has their administrative act together. You can focus on the things that matter most: serving your client’s needs in a timely manner.

At IMS, we spend a lot of time researching the tools and strategies to help you build your practice. That means finding new and effective ways to help you build your stream of new clients, helping you manage their information and enhancing your law firm’s profitability.

Integrating your website and E2 CRM is step one for an amazing 2016! Join us on January 12 for a look into your future!

Register now. The webinar is free, but seating is limited. Oh, and we won't take up your whole lunch hour! The webinar is only 20 minutes, just enough for you to see whether the E2 Marketing CRM is right for you, how it can save you time and money while bringing you more business and greater profits!

Don’t Drop the Ball: Marketing in 2016

By Anneliese Krull

Every year, thousands of Americans gather in New York City to watch someone drop the ball … and it is celebrated. Any other time a person drops the ball, only their enemies rejoice!

As you prepare for your New Year’s party, resolve not to be a “Ball Dropper” in 2016; instead, make and then follow these simple marketing resolutions.

1. Ask for Reviews.Reviews are vital to a healthy online presence. Ask your clients, they will be more than happy to share a few kind words. Just ask.
2. Update your social media. Have you received any new awards, joined a new organization, or moved offices? Make sure these “mini-press releases” are released to and consistent across your online social media. Also, if you have made new contacts, now would be a good time to add them on LinkedIn or Facebook and invite them to like your page!
3. Update your eNewsletter mailing list. If you have not yet added new clients or prospects to your eNewlestter contacts, go ahead and grow that list!
4. Get a responsive website. If you do not currently have a website that has been designed to convert from desktop to mobile, you are missing a key factor in the changing online market. Why? Responsive sites receive better rankings and perform better in a constantly changing mobile world.
5. Automate your marketing oversight in the E2 CRM. Track all of your marketing contacts and nurture prospects into becoming clients with the E2 CRM.

Don’t drop the ball on your marketing. For more information or to discuss your law firm’s needs, give us a call at 877-352-2021, or visit our website at www.IntegrityMarketingSolutions.com.

A Few Ideas for The In-Between Week

How was your holiday? We hope it was wonderful.

You are probably working to meet end-of-year deadlines this week or catching up during a quiet week. Whichever one describes you – and maybe your week includes both – we have a few tips for this in-between week:

Make time to write down five realistic goals for your practice in the coming year. Be specific. Exactly how many new clients would you like to have in 2016, compared to 2015? How many per year, per month, per week?

Do you know your numbers for 2015? Do you know how many prospects became clients, how they found you, and whether or not they were members of your target market, based on either the size of their estate or the complexity of their estate planning needs?

Did you sharpen your tools in 2015? Every gardener knows that before you put away your trusty shears, lawn mower and other gardening tools, they need to be clean and sharpened for the next growing season. January begins your growing season. Is your website mobile friendly? Is your firm brochure up-to-date? Are you using a document management system that integrates into your Client Relationship Management software?

Did you close all of the loops in 2015? Is there anyone who you meant to follow up with during the year and never did? The holiday season is a great time to wish them happy holidays, and tell them that you would like to connect with them in the first quarter of 2016. That might be a client who wasn’t quite ready to come into the office or a Center of Influence (COF). Pick up the phone, make a personal call to connect again.

Season’s Greetings from All of Us at Integrity Marketing Solutions

 

We hope that you are surrounded by those you love as you celebrate

  All the joys of the holiday season

~An IMS Christmas Story~

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a computer was stirring, not even the click of a mouse.
The PCs and Macs were shutdown with care,
In hopes that saved projects would not disappear.
The designers were home all snuggled up with iPads,
While visions of YouTube videos danced in their heads.
With the websites created, and print ads a snap,
The year-end marketing was considered a wrap.
"No Facebook, No Twitter, No LinkedIn or GooglePlus!"
"No e-News, No Print News, No Blogging for Us!"
And although the marketing team was ready to sleep in,
They still can't wait for the New Year to begin.
Because marketing is what we love to do,
Especially when our clients are as amazing as you!
So we'd like to wish you good times, good cheer,
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Thoroughly Modern Santa

Does Santa Claus have a website? If he does, you can be sure its mobile friendly.

If you can’t find Santa’s personal website or Facebook page, you may want to learn about the real story behind the Santa tracking website from NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command).  

The NORAD website says that the tradition began in 1955 when a Colorado Springs based Sears store used the wrong number for the store in a print ad. Instead of the store number, it used a phone number for the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD, later NORAD) hotline. In response to the calls, Colonel Harry Shoup had his staff give children who called updates on Santa’s location. 

But if you dig deeper, you’ll find an article from The Atlantic, which reports that the military has a long tradition of using media and Santa to promote a positive image. During World War II, Eisenhower’s headquarters issued a press release about Santa. In 1948, the State Department sent a diplomatic dispatch to Kris Kringle. And in 1950s, during the Cold War, a media savvy Colonel Shoup got a call from a child who had reversed two digits and accidentally called CONAD. The first misdial was not met with great warmth, but a savvy Colonel saw the potential for a great story. The public relations campaign grew, and decades later, NORAD has a very sophisticated website dedicated to Santa’s travels from the North Pole.   

We like both stories. The first one is heartwarming, even if it is disingenuous.

We also like the second one, because it shows what can happen when someone in a leadership position is open to seeing possibilities that might not be immediately apparent to everyone.

And we do have to add this final note - if your website is not already upgraded to a responsive design, i.e., mobile-friendly, that should be the first thing on your marketing to-do list for 2016.

The List: Tracking Capabilities Just Like Santa

By Anneliese Krull

Everyone knows that Santa Claus has two lists – one for naughty and one for nice. Because Santa can rely on the information that he has spent a whole year gathering, he knows exactly who gets the lump of coal in their Christmas stocking and who gets a Porsche 911. And based on data that Santa has been collecting for many years, he also knows when to visit which houses, who has a Santa-friendly chimney and who is leaving him the best cookies.

What if there was a way for you to create lists for your marketing leads so that you, like Santa, would have all the information you need to deliver the right message to the right prospect at the right time?

Well, you must have been very, very good this year – because we have the perfect solution for you – the E2 CRM! With it, you can:

• Create specific groups
• Track contact activity on your website
• Automatically send out monthly eNewsletters and weekly Blog Digests
• Set up drip campaigns with automated emails to groups
• Easily unsubscribe contacts as needed
• And much, much more.

 If you want to maximize the tracking and organizational capabilities for your prospect, client and referral source lists, give James a call to learn more about Integrity Marketing Solutions’ E2 CRM.

And yes, you can have a Naughty and Nice list too!

Five Fast Facts for a Busy Monday

1 – According to the U.S. Census, there are 76.4 million Baby Boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964).

2 – Millennials – born between 1982 and 2000 – number 83.1 million (U.S. Census). They are the largest and most diverse generation in United States history. They will be your next key target market. Check out this Wall Street Journal article for a look at this generation.

3 – Florida had the highest percentage of population that was age 65 and older in 2014, followed by Maine. Congratulations to those of you who practice estate planning in Florida – great location!

4 – Outside of Florida, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has a high number of seniors – 18.0% of the population is over 65. For the smallest proportion of seniors, look to Austin, Texas – but that number is changing as seniors discover the manageable city as a great place to retire.

5 – Boomer and Millennials have one thing in common – they are both part of demographic bulges making major impact on our country. Your marketing efforts are focused on the Boomers now, but the Millennials are not that far behind!

Oh, Christmas Tree! Oh, Christmas Tree!

By Kelly Myers

The holidays are right around the corner and everyone is busy baking festive treats, buying an assortment of gifts and decorating their homes. And what’s one of the most prominent holiday decorations? The Christmas tree, of course!

Each Christmas tree is unique. Some come from the local fire department and others are brought home from a tree farm. Some have twinkling lights and others – with no pets in the house! – are decorated with endless strand tinsel. Some are decorated with color coordinated themes, while others are bedecked with ornaments collected over the years. And almost always, there is a big shiny star at the very top of the tree.

The point is, you would never put up a Christmas tree without putting anything on it. And when all of the decorations are finally on your tree, you can step back to marvel at your holiday masterpiece. Every garnish works together to make a beautiful centerpiece for your home during the holiday season.

Much like a Christmas tree, law firm marketing has various elements that work together to make a masterpiece. There’s Search Engine Optimization, eNews and blogs, social media, a well-designed website, and much more. These features are offered in Integrity Marketing Solutions' Essential Solution.

We strongly believe that this mix of marketing tactics works together to bring quality business to your firm. We aim to be your Christmas tree, providing the necessary embellishments that highlight your firm and make your business shine.