Marketing Marketing

If you've already bought it, it's free to you.

Not sure exactly what to make of this quote from Bill Gates, taken out of context from this really good Fortune article on how he and Ray Ozzie handle e-mail:

Q:  What about your open-source rival OpenOffice?
A:  Gates: Well, most people already own Microsoft Office, and so it's free to them, whereas OpenOffice is not the same quality, not innovating, and doesn't have all the modules. We compete with our installed base by innovating.

Microsoft is now giving away free software — as long as you’ve already paid for it.  Are the upgrades included?

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Marketing, Quotes Marketing, Quotes

Quote of the Week

“Fix the holes in the bucket first, and then worry about how to add more water!”  — Howard Kaplan

This quote comes from the author of one of my favorite blogs, A Day in the Life of a Persuasion Architect.  The quote comes from this post talking about a ClickZ article that collected common complaints Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firms have about their clients.  Howard’s take:

It's pure lunacy to change your site to accommodate the recommendations of a firm whose stated goals are to provide more qualified traffic, when you've previously displayed an utter inability to close on the qualified traffic you currently enjoy. 

The lesson for lawyers?  How much “qualified traffic” visits your web site, calls your office, or comes in for an initial appointment yet doesn’t retain your firm?  Until you know the reason(s) why, don’t spend any additional marketing dollars.  Instead, take your marketing budget (you have one, right?), divide it by your hourly rate and spend at least that amount of time fixing the problems.  Once you get your act together, spend the dough to tell other people what a great lawyer you are.

P.S. It seems like the rethink(ip) guys like this quote too.

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Client Service, Marketing Client Service, Marketing

Be Prepared for Clients Who Love You

Here is another great client-relationship tip from John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing:

… when a client reaches out and tells you that you did a good job for them, they are asking you to take the relationship up a notch. Don't let the opportunity slip on by. You've got to get straight in your head that this is the perfect time to ask for and receive a testimonial, a lead, new business or a referral. You don't have to fall all over yourself acknowledging how smart you are. You can seize the day tastefully by simply being prepared to suggest that your client might know someone else who would like these kinds of results.

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Marketing Marketing

A Quick Conference Tip

I was talking to Matthew Buchanan of Promote the Progress and Rethink(IP) fame about a really cool thing he’s working on with the other Rethink(IP) guys (I’m sworn to secrecy, but the project’s code-name is “Merman”).  Matt told me he was going to a conference and I gave him a tip that makes more sense to me the longer I think about it:

If you write a blog and attend a conference, make sure the name of your blog is prominently displayed on your name badge.

I know more people know me by my blog then by my firm name.  Given the wonderful people you can meet through blogging, isn’t it better to give them an easier way to meet you, and vice versa? 

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Marketing Marketing

Have your receptionist read this.

I really like Bert Webb’s suggestion (from his Open Loops blog) to identify hidden messages in your communication.  He has a great example in his post How to Say What You Really Mean:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Webb's office, may I help you?"

"Yes, This is Bob Smith.  I need an appointment with Mr. Webb as soon as possible to discuss the situation involving the AYP project at his site."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Webb, cannot meet with you until late next week.  His calendar is quite full, I'm afraid."

With that, my secretary has just told my caller that I am so busy that he is considered unimportant, that his project is not a priority with me, and that, no matter what the topic is, I'm too inflexible to make adjustments in my calendar for priorities that arise unexpectedly.  Get in line, suck it up, and deal with it, Buddy.

Bert then suggests a better alternative:

How should my secretary have have handled the caller mentioned at the beginning of this post?  Let's listen in:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Webb's office, may I help you?"

"Yes, this is Bob Smith.  I need an appointment with Mr. Webb as soon as possible to discuss the situation involving the AYP project at his site."

"I'll be very happy to make you an appointment; let me look at his calendar.  I see that he has two openings next week, one on Wednesday at 9 AM and the other on Thursday at 2 PM.  Which one would fit your schedule better?"

And with that simple turn of a phrase, 90% of my callers are happy to accept the appointment next week and feel positively about it.  She has said we welcome your appointment, that I am busy but have time for his concerns, and that I recognize his schedule is important, too.  Should the caller still feel that he needs to see me sooner, it would continue like this:

"But that's too late, our deadline is this Friday."

"Mr. Smith, may I have a number where you can be reached in the next couple of hours?  I'll personally speak with Mr. Webb to see if there is a way to work you in more quickly.  I'll call you back as soon as I speak with him."

I may or may not be able to accommodate Mr. Smith, but we have added the message that I am flexible and am willing to work with his deadlines as much as I possibly can.  

The final bit of advice:

Begin to look at your word and phrase choices.  Consciously choose the hidden messages in your words and phrases to convey what you want them to.  Even more, train your staff so they, as the front line of your organization, broadcast the same positive hidden messages to your clients and customers.

I’ve been reading Open Loops for a while.  Take a look.  I’m sure it will become a regular read.

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Client Service, Marketing Client Service, Marketing

Mark Merenda on Client Service

 Mark Merenda has an absolutely fantastic post about the necessity of “great client service.”  Though I was tempted to lift the entire post and call it my own, I’ll give you a few great snippets and suggest you read Mark’s entire blog instead:

The fact is, even if you are very, very good at what you do, that circumstance will not set you apart from, or above, your competitors. Most of them are pretty good, too. And moreover, your clients are not really capable of distinguishing between an A-plus or a C-plus attorney or financial advisor. They aren't qualified.

But every one of your clients considers him- or herself to be an expert on customer service. They know when they are being ignored, or treated rudely. They know when someone doesn't return a phone call, or keeps them waiting 20 minutes past the appointed time.  They understand when your office looks like a pigsty and your staff is condescending and your phone answering system is a nightmare. …

If your company is a client service firm, the work product of which happens to be legal documents or financial plans, you have an excellent chance of being an indispensable part of your clients' lives.

But if your office is a document-creation system, well...your competition comes in a box. And the box costs  $34.99

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Marketing Marketing

Build Your Network, One Entree at a Time.

Next on my “To Read” list is Keith Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone.  Keith has a Blog and has been sharing some of his tips on networking.  If you want the summarized version of the book, check out this post and download the Reader’s Notes. 

I’m off to get the book today, along with another I found courtesy of Fortune Magazine’s The Smartest Books We Know:  Remember Every Name Every Time.  Frankly, I’ve grown tired of not remembering people’s names.  It makes me look like an idiot and I’m not going to fail at such a simple task any longer. 

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Marketing Marketing

PsychoTactics for Lawyers?

Sean D’Souza has been on a roll lately on his PsychoTactics Blog.  In yesterday’s post, titled First Meeting with a Client? he offers this interesting tip:

When you meet a client always let them ask the first questions. The
client wants control. They'll ask you to tell them about your business
or whatever. They need to speak first.

This is vital.

Luckily, clients usually speak first because they have questions to
ask. And if they don't...great.

You take control.

You stop talking and start listening. And the only way you can do that
is to have a series of questions that you ask. At the end of a longish
session, you should be asking dozens of questions and taking notes.

Then you have the client's full story. You have their needs.

Now they want you to speak.

Really great advice for any professional, but exceptional advice for lawyers.  Read Sean’s whole post, and while you are at it, check out these posts too:

How to Become an Expert in Your Field,  Why Your Business Frustrates You, and  Why the ‘Noise Factor’ Can Kill Your Sale In Seconds.

 

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Marketing Marketing

So, What Don't You Do?

I’m still working on the brain-dump from LexThink, but I had to pass this gem along.  At Techshow, I was looking at a product I’ve coveted for a while, and  asked if there was show special.  One of the people in the booth said no, but suggested that, as an authorized reseller of the product, he could give me a great deal.  He handed me his card, and the name of his business was “Generic __________ Solutions.”  The tagline under the name was “Choices from major manufacturers.”  On the back of the card was a list of over 20 “products and procedures” his business offered.  I took the card, and the snarky marketing guy in me almost asked, “So is there anything you don’t do.”  I’d love to hear his elevator speech.

 

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Marketing Marketing

Low Cost Marketing Strategies

Michael Cage offers seven great Low-Cost, High-Impact Marketing Tools.  Here are my favorites:

#4. Call your clients. Yes, call them. On the phone. In today’s rushed and hectic world, a little human attention goes a long way. If you want to turn spare minutes productive, keep a list of clients who bought from you in the last 30-90 days nearby. When you have free moments, call and ask how the solution you sold them is working. Aside from generating enormous good will (”they actually care about me!”) … some will have new needs or questions that will lead to new sales.

#7. Ask everyone for referrals. People who buy from you? Ask for referrals. People who don’t buy from you? Ask for referrals. Here’s a simple, no-cost way to increase your referrals: Before you deliver a solution, tell your client that you prefer getting new business by referral. Less money spent on advertising means better deals for clients like him/her, and you’d like to work with more people like him/her. Ask them, “after we’ve delivered this and you are thrilled with how things work, would you refer us to your friends/colleagues?” After you’ve delivered, make sure they are thrilled, and only then ask for a list of friends or colleagues who would want the same service and expertise.

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Innovation, Marketing Innovation, Marketing

Dim the lights, put on some music, and make some dough.

Ankesh has  these great suggestions at Marketing eYe for retailers:

2 very important small changes that lead to big profits:

Lighting: Change the lighting and you'll increase your profits. If you have a lot of women shoppers, use non-glaring white lights. Direct lighting makes skin look 5-10 years older. Indirect use of soft non-glaring white light makes women look younger.

Restaurants who have changed their lighting have seen profits increase by as much as 20%! Just like that! Indirect lighting changes the context and makes the food more delicious - magically!

Music: Soft classical music makes customers stay longer and spend more in your store.

Classical music changes the context and makes people believe that your store is an upscale one. And thus they spend more time and don't hesitate to buy even if your prices are higher than the competitor's.

What does your office look like?  What music is playing?

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Marketing Marketing

Mispromise and Desatisfy

Andy from Marketing Genius has this interesting take, on how great advertising can hurt business.  

The next time you create a new, exciting, cutting edge advertising campaign, take out a note card and write down the promise that you have created for the customer. ...What are you saying the customer is going to get out of the experience if they do what you want them to?  Ok, now set the campaign aside.  Go and do business with the customer that you created the campaign for (make sure you take the card with you). Visit their store, go to their website, call them - whatever - interact with the client as a customers and see if you fulfill the promise you just offered up to the world on behalf of your client. . . . What if your advertising promises top notch service and a customer receives fair service? . . .Your advertising actually reduced sales in the long run because you prompted trial and offered a promise that wasn't delivered. . . . Uh! Oh! - effective advertising actually reducing sales.  Now that's a point to ponder.

Don’t make a promise your business can’t keep.  You could turn an otherwise satisfied customer into an unsatisfied one, only because you’ve raised their expectations beyond what your business can deliver.

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Client Service, Marketing Client Service, Marketing

Let you clients sell your service.

Michael Cage has these fantastic tips for "adding proof to everything you do."

  1. Get testimonials – what other people say about you is at leasttwice as believable as what you say about yourself. When a client ishappy with your solutions, ask them for a testimonial to use in yourmarketing. Most will be very happy to help.
  2. Put written testimonials everywhere – every single written pieceof marketing material in your business should have at least onethrilled client testimonial on it. Proof is not a one-time thing; it’san all-the-time, every-time thing.
  3. Use on-hold marketing – what happens when potential clients callyour business and are put on hold? Do they hear music, or worse,nothing? Make use of it. Have your best clients record theirtestimonials, and play them when callers are put on hold.
  4. Use pictures – a client in the Midwest takes pictures every timethey deliver a new solution. He shakes hands with the client, they bothsmile big and bright, and an employee snaps a photo. The photos arethen used to make case studies and testimonials more compelling, andare also put in an album of hundreds of happy clients.
  5. Create case studies – what are the most common problems yourclients have? For each problem, create a compelling case study thattells the story of another client who you solved that problem for. Itcan all fit on a single page. Simply state what the problem was, how itwas hurting your client, how you solved it, and what the end resultwas.
  6. Create an eavesdrop line – put 15 or 30 minutes of recordedtestimonials on a voice mail line. Put this “real client eavesdropline” on your business cards, in your yellow pages ads, and ineverything else you do. Even if potential clients don’t call, the factthat you will let them hear real stories from real clients will lendbelievability to everything else you say
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Marketing Marketing

Tear apart your competition.

Another one from Sam Decker’s Blog (attributed to Martin Lindstrom):

Some years ago, an Australian takeout pizza place used the Internet in an attempt to boost sales. Traffic was slow. Hardly anyone visited the site. The need for an increase in traffic was urgent.

If traditional online media planning had been used, banners and links would have been purchased and the URL added to the shop's phone-book entry. It might even have invested in some traditional ads.

The pizza place went a different route. Instead of spreading money between off- and online ads, it spent the entire budget on radio. The spots were simple but extremely effective. So effective, the restaurant's increased business caused most of the local competition to shut down.

How'd it do it?

Instead of offering discounts or merely promoting its URL, the pizza place's radio ads asked listeners to tear out all the pizza-restaurant pages from their yellow pages and bring them in. In return for the pages, customers received a free pizza of their choice and a sticker with the restaurant's URL.

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