When you think of marketing materials, your first thought is probably your website, followed by social media posts, e-Newsletters, print ads and direct mail. But there’s a host of marketing tools that you use every single day and probably don’t think of as marketing tools. That means a lot of missed opportunities to communicate key messages and branding. Here’s what you might be missing:
Email signature block. How many emails do you send every single day? Every single one of them is an opportunity to send a message, demonstrating consistency, organizational cohesiveness and branding. Everyone in your office, from the receptionist to the founding partner, should be using a professionally-designed email signature block that includes the firm logo, a symbol (if you use one) and your tagline as well as all contact information. Depending upon your jurisdiction, you may include badges from lawyer rating organizations like Martindale, Super Lawyers and Avvo. If a new employee is still using a personal email address because their email hasn’t been set up yet, take care of that within a week of the employee’s arrival.
Stationery that aligns with digital marketing. Of course you have business cards, letterhead, envelopes and return address labels. But have you looked at them in concert with your digital marketing? If your printed materials are all old-school traditional and your digital marketing is cutting edge, you’ve got a branding war within your own brand! IMS can help—we have very talented graphic designers who can bring your printed materials up to speed so they complement your digital marketing.
Incomplete information creates obstacles. You spent a lot of time making your website shine. Don’t neglect putting your website address on everything, from printed materials to email signature blocks to the small note cards you attach to documents. If your firm uses custom-printed sticky notes or memo pads, the website address should be on them as well. Think of it in the same way you do your telephone number: it should appear everywhere the firm name appears.
Consistency counts. Every office has an eagle-eyed individual who seems to have a gift for spotting typos. Let that person be in charge of making sure that every single instance of the firm’s name and all of the relevant contact information is correct. If you’re not sure, submit a support ticket and we’ll take a look.