Even for the most marketing-savvy firms, the quest to improve marketing efforts year-on-year continues.  There are new opportunities, new technologies, and changing media landscapes - not mention the ever-changing efforts of competitors.  Here is our selection of ideas to freshen your firm's marketing - and even the smartest marketers should find at least one idea worth thinking about this year.

1.  TOTAL TRACKING OF YOUR ADVERTISING

Do you know where your initial client contacts are coming from?  Do you have systems in place to track where a person saw your advertisement or heard about your firm?  Are you able to tell which one of two advertisements gave you more enquiries or clients?

If not then now might be the time to start.  Tracking your marketing campaigns is critical to knowing what money is being spent wisely, and what money isn't.  The follow-on from that is, of course, that you can aim to improve the return on investment by putting your marketing budget where it works best, and developing campaigns which are are more effective.

2.  KNOW YOUR MARKET

Do you know how many people look for your services in your market every day?  Do you know on what days of the year, days of the week and what times of day they are most likely to be persuaded to call you?  Now might be the time to make a start on finding out.

A fantastic way to develop more sophisticated marketing strategies is to know your market and understand the patterns of client behaviour that reveal important relationship-building triggers.  It's information that can give you a competitive edge. 

If you're really serious about pushing your marketing dollars to the limit, this is excellent information to try to acquire - and you may be surprised at the simple methods available to help get you started.  It can be very illuminating, especially for forward business planning in the context of the real potential out there in your market.

3.  MARKET POSITIONING

How do your position your firm in the market?  What is it about your firm that is supposed to be making clients rush to your door?  Is it strong, clear, competitive advantage?  Or do you position yourself in exactly the same way as your competitors, perhaps dozens of them? 

The potential for many firms to get a lift from some deft market positioning in Australia is real, and largely untapped.  Many firms seem to be happy with their place in the pecking order, where in reality there is potential for smaller firms to win clients that might otherwise go to a larger firm or to a firm in another city.  And likewise, there is room for the larger firms to out-compete similar firms at their own level.

Re-thinking the way the firm positions itself in the market should be an important consideration when thinking about ways to invigorate a firm's marketing. 

4.  NEW OPPORTUNITIES ONLINE

Even if you are successfully using the internet to attract clients to the firm, there are always new opportunities arising - new ways to improve conversion rates, and new sources of leads.  It is always a good idea to revisit even successful campaigns to diversify the sources - over-reliance on one method can be risky if competing firms stampede to the same source.  Take a little time to look at what your firm is pulling from the internet, see where those enquiries are coming from, and take a look at some of the emerging ways of promoting your firm.

And, of course, if your firm has a website, but no active strategy to pull potential clients towards it - then it's certainly time to think about how it can help your firm to get your sales pitch in front of potential clients when they are looking for legal advice, and get started.

5.  OUTDOOR ADVERTISING AND SIGNS

Outdoor advertising can be a useful tool for firms looking to increase brand recognition or 'top of the mind awareness', particularly if they serve a defined geographical area or practice niche.  It might be that your ideal target clients are gathering at a symposium, or tend frequent certain venues or events.  So while it can be all well and good to get recognition on the inside page of the event brochure as sponsor, outside the venues can also have a wealth of outdoor advertising opportunities with the potential to be equally advantageous. 

And to be clear - we're not talking about gaudy and brash here.  Quite the opposite, we're talking about advertising aimed at enhancing the brand appeal in potential clients' eyes.

Another interesting aspect to outdoor advertising are the new printing technologies becoming available to take advantage of.  Particularly if you have a conspicuous office location, it could be worth taking a look at what is currently possible with the some of the large format printers and glass etching technology - it can often create a memorable impression.

6.  APPEALING TO EXISTING CLIENTS

Existing clients are the lifeblood of any firm, but too often they are taken for granted or left to return to the firm passively when legal issues arise.  So it is important to keep in contact with clients - many firms already create newsletters, email newsletters, send Christmas cards and so on.  But beyond reminding them that the firm is still in business, there are ethical and dignified ways that you can show clients some of the developments and services available in other parts of the firm - services that might help them above and beyond their current legal issue. 

What's new are some of the exciting and interesting ways to do that - it's about thinking through the ways how different aspects of your firms' services can benefit your existing clients and making them aware of the potential to take them up.

These are just a selection of ideas that we would suggest are worth considering as you plan your firm's marketing, and if you are looking for further ideas or help to renovate your firm's marketing then we may be able to help.  The most valuable person in any law firm is the one that brings in the clients, and with our assistance, we want that person to be you.

So for help with any of your firm’s advertising and marketing, from online campaigns, to print, broadcast, branding and brochures call us today on 1300 795 250 or email us using the link on the right.