Take a look at our April newsletter!
APR 2021 (800) 406-7229 SpotlightBranding.com
Is Your Website Losing You Clients? 3 REASONS TO UPDATE YOUR FIRM’S SITE TODAY
Think about the last time you went online to order takeout food. How was the experience? Did you put your order in without a hitch, or were you frustrated by the restaurant’s outdated website, malfunctioning plugins, and counterintuitive ordering process? Maybe you even wondered whether they were open at all when a COVID-19 popup from March 2020 appeared.
leather seats. The same thing will happen with your website but much faster. A decade in car time is like two years online. Websites have dozens of moving pieces and parts, and many of those plugins and integrations aren’t native to the website itself. They get separate updates, and over time, they become incompatible or stop
working entirely. Without regular full-site refreshes, entire sections of your website can become defunct. But when you update your website regularly, you can fix those issues and add cutting-edge features. 3. IF YOUR WEBSITE IS OUT OF DATE, IT MIGHT BE MISREPRESENTING YOUR BRAND. Think about what your firm looked like at the time your website was created. How many people were on your team? What were your practice areas? What did your branding and logo look like? Odds are if your website is more than two years old, some or all of those things have changed. 2020 forced thousands of law firms to pivot their practice areas and
Restaurants are notorious for their terrible websites. Once or twice I’ve come across an ordering platform that was such a mess I felt like throwing my laptop out the window. When that happens I say, “Screw it!” and order DoorDash instead. The restaurant’s old, crusty website officially lost them a customer. Unfortunately, this problem isn’t exclusive to restaurants. If you haven’t updated your firm’s website in a few years, YOU could be the one making people want to toss their computers across the room. To win over clients and keep up your firm’s image and reputation, you need to refresh your website regularly. Here are three big reasons to stay on top of those updates:
“Updating your website regularly shows that you’re keeping up with the times, and that’s a reflection of your firm’s credibility and attention to detail. Don’t get sloppy.”
update their messaging. If you haven’t made those changes on your website, you’re misrepresenting
1. DIGITAL TRENDS CHANGE — AND YOU DON’T WANT AWEBSITE THAT’S ‘SO 2015.’ The looks considered eye-catching, popular, and modern online change just as often as what’s “in” on the runway. What impressed visitors years ago might look awful today and vice versa. Right now, asymmetrical website layouts are in — who the heck
your brand and missing out on clients who could be ideal fits for you. Your website needs to reflect the current you, not the old you. A refresh can make that happen and bring in an influx of consultations.
would have predicted that in 2016? Updating your website regularly shows that you’re keeping up with the times, and that’s a reflection of your firm’s credibility and attention to detail. Don’t get sloppy. 2. EVERY DAYYOUR WEBSITE AGES, ITS FUNCTIONALITY DEGRADES. Think of your website like a car. As soon as you drive a new vehicle off the lot, its value goes down, and it keeps degrading over time. After 10 years, your turn signals are sticky, your glove compartment won’t close, and you have stubborn stains on your
I know these are tough pills to swallow. Maybe you LOVE your old website, or you designed it yourself and sending it to the digital scrap heap hurts. I get it. Sometimes our team has to replace websites for clients that we designed just a few years ago, and they can be hard to let go. BUT, doing so is necessary for the greater good of your firm — and we can help. Together, we can create a website that looks stylish, functions smoothly, and is the perfect fit for who you are now. It won’t be long before it pays for itself. When you’re ready to upgrade and start bringing in more clients, visit SpotlightBranding.com/NL.
1 –Marc Cerniglia
SpotlightBranding.com
SUCCESS STORY: BRETT TREMBLY
Brett Trembly is a business attorney fromMiami, Florida. If you’ve followed Spotlight Branding for some time, you’ve likely seen his name or even heard from him. That’s because Brett is one of our greatest success stories, and we want him to share his experience any chance he gets. When Brett first set out to build his firm in Miami, he was a true solo starting from scratch. He had no network, no resources, and was trying to do everything himself. He worked tirelessly to network and build a list of contacts to generate solid referral sources. When he started working with Spotlight Branding, Brett didn’t just sit back and wait around for things to happen — he kept pushing forward, networking and building his contact list. He then used his blogs, videos, social media, e-newsletter, and the website we created for him to create several touch points each month to remind business owners throughout the Miami area that Brett was out there and could help them.
Today, Trembly Law Firm is a major player in the Miami legal world. Their revenue has increased 50% each year. Their case value has quadrupled in the past three years, and their cost of acquisition has decreased by 50% over the last two years. Lastly, Brett has gone from a true solo operation to having eight associate attorneys and nine support staff members in his firm. This can be your firm’s reality, too!
WANT MORE REFERRALS AND BETTER CLIENTS? Visit SpotlightBranding.com/NL to schedule a call!
Don’t Write Off Clients Who Have Left THOSE RELATIONSHIPS ARE STILL VALUABLE!
TAKE CONTROL OF THE SITUATION. It’s up to you to build trust with your clients, fix mistakes when you make them, and offer competitive prices and customer service to prevent them from going to a competitor. You should always track the reasons for client departures to discover harmful trends that could be driving clients away; that way, you can correct them. MAKE A CLIENT DEPARTURE AMICABLE. When your product isn’t in your client’s budget anymore, or they’re no longer in need of your product, you can still make the departure amicable. • Don’t burn the bridge. Sometimes, messy departures (such as firing a client) are inevitable. In most cases, however, you should leave the door open and prepare to welcome them back, in case their situation changes. • Respect their decision to leave. Don’t make it hard for the client to leave. If they have a contract with you, follow the terms of the contract. A split where mutual respect is involved will make them more willing to return if they need your product or service again. A client’s departure is rarely the end of a relationship — in fact, it could just as easily be a new beginning.
We’ve all had clients ghost us. Without warning, they stop responding to calls and emails. Eventually, you learn the truth: They no longer need your services. It happens. But, in the wake of their departure, what can you do? WHY DO CLIENTS LEAVE? • Your product or service isn’t in the budget anymore. They’ve crunched the numbers, and there’s just no room. This reason is pretty common in the first quarter of the year when businesses are evaluating their books. • They no longer find your product or service valuable. Your client has determined they don’t get a good return on investment (ROI) from doing business with you. • They’ve moved on. It’s possible they’ve reached a point in their business where they no longer need your product or service. • Their trust in you has waned. Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe you never created a solid relationship with the client in the first place. • Your competition stole them away. If one of your competitors was offering a better deal — better price, better service, or better marketing — then maybe your client jumped ship.
More Referrals. Better Clients. Higher ROI.
2
DON’T BE FOOLED BY ‘VANITY NUMBERS’ EMPLOY THE 4TH LAW OF CONTENT MARKETING: TRACK THE RIGHT RESULTS
Imagine that it’s a Monday morning. You walk into your office and your secretary says, “I have good news!” Which of these two things would you want to hear next?
No. 2, right? You probably picked that one because consultations are almost guaranteed to make you money, while Twitter followers don’t put anything in your pocket. And you’re absolutely right. Not all good news is created equal — and neither are all metrics. When it comes to marketing, many law firm owners and marketing companies don’t understand the difference between helpful metrics and useless ones, which we like to call “vanity numbers.” If you’re focused on tracking data like email open rates, Facebook likes, or Twitter followers, then you’re getting stuck in vanity land. And if the marketing company you’ve hired is doing that, then they’re doing you a disservice! Instead of focusing on vanity numbers, you should prioritize tracking revenue-generated results like new clients, referrals, and average case value. These are metrics we include in the 4th Law of Content Marketing: Track the Right Results.
Following this law is easier said than done, but you’ve already accomplished the first step by figuring out what to track. From there, you can create your spreadsheets or hire a marketing company like ours that sees eye to eye with you on which metrics are important. Our team actually wants to help you grow your business instead of just wowing you with statistics. Finally — and this is the hardest part — if you have an outside marketing team, you’ll need to collaborate with them. Only you really know how many referrals and new clients you’re getting, or what your average case value is. By communicating that with us, we can see what’s working and what isn’t and double down on helping you succeed. We’re always here to discuss the metrics that actually matter. When you’re ready to have a free conversation about the numbers, schedule a meeting with us at SpotlightBranding.com/NL. FEATURED EPISODE THE VERY BEST EPISODES OF ‘THE LAW FIRM MARKETING MINUTE’ PODCAST
1. “We gained 10,000 new followers on Twitter!”
2. “We got referrals from three clients, and I just booked them all for consultations!”
RESOURCE OF THE MONTH
Ready to Publish a Book? LULU MAKES IT EASY!
Publishing a book is one of the biggest authority boosters you can have as a solo/small firm attorney. Just the sight of a book in your lobby with your name on the cover tells people you’re an expert in your field. Unfortunately, many people are concerned over the logistical hurdles of getting a book published. With Lulu, you don’t need an agent to get you a book deal. You also don’t need to order a huge bulk amount of copies in order to get them printed. Lulu allows you to self-publish on demand, which means if you only wanted one copy, they would make it for you (but, of course, you’ll want more than that!). Lulu’s process makes it easy to upload a PDF of your book. They also have a cover designer that allows you to create a professional-looking book cover with minimal graphic design skills! Even more, they have distribution options so you can turn your book into an extra income source by putting it for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble’s website, and more.
If you’re looking for more great resources to drive your business forward, take a look at this episode from our industry‑leading podcast “The Law Firm Marketing Minute.” “What’s Your Mindset?” — LFMM 351 There seems to be two kinds of business owners out there: the entrepreneur who’s always looking for ways to grow the business and the ones who feel like they have to do everything themselves. If you’re the second kind of business owner, you’re playing a dangerous game that might result in your getting burned out and hating your career. It’s time to delegate! If you want More Referrals, Better Clients, and Higher ROI on all your marketing, call us today at 800-406-7229 to schedule a consultation! Listen to this episode and find more at SpotlightBranding.com/lfmm and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, or over a dozen other platforms!
Want more great tools for your law firm? Visit SpotlightBranding.com/rotm
SpotlightBranding.com
3
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
9624 Bailey Rd., Suite 270 Cornelius, NC 28031
(800) 406-7229 SpotlightBranding.com
THIS ISSUE INSIDE
1 2
Is Your Website Losing You Clients?
Success Story: Brett Trembly
The Value of Relationships With Past Clients
3
Don’t Be Fooled by ‘Vanity Numbers’
Resource of the Month
Spotlight Branding’s Industry-Leading Podcast
4
How to Craft the Perfect Follow-Up Email
Craft the Perfect Follow-Up Email The (Not So) Secret Recipe
FIND THE IDEAL NUMBER OF FOLLOW‑UPS. Obviously, not following up at all is a recipe for abandoning several potential leads. However, sending too many follow-ups can leave potential leads annoyed and unwilling to look into your business. According to several studies, the ideal number of follow- up emails is no less than three, but no more than seven. TIME YOUR FOLLOW-UPS RIGHT. You don’t want to space your emails so far apart that leads forget about you, but you also don’t want to spam their email box so often that they get annoyed. A good rule of thumb is to wait at least 48 hours before sending a follow-up email after the initial email. After that, wait 2–4 days before sending another.
When it comes to securing leads, the follow- up email is hard to beat. One study found that a 12% response rate from two emails increases to 15%–16% with a third email. If you play your cards right, the success of your email marketing could, in large part, depend on your follow-up emails. So, how do you create ones that maximize positive responses from leads? KNOWYOUR GOALS. You should have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish with your email campaign. Which metrics are most important to you? The number of times recipients open your follow-up email? That they click a link in the text? That they reply? Maybe tracking total conversions resulting from follow-up emails is important to you. Whatever the case, knowing your goals is a good first step.
CRAFT APPEALING CONTENT. This point is worth its own article, but briefly put, your follow-up email content is incredibly important. Create a subject line that will grab readers’ attention. Then, be polite, direct, friendly, and personable in each email. As you send out more follow-ups, become more specific about the deal you’re offering and make it more enticing. Above all, you should constantly tweak your follow-up content and overall strategy as you gain new information. As you continue to create follow-up emails, you’ll learn what works best.
More Referrals. Better Clients. Higher ROI.
4
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker