I've seen it time and again: clients get excited about a marketing opportunity and plunge in, but then get discouraged when it doesn't bring the results they were anticipating.
Part of the problem is the need for instant gratification. Building your practice takes time, and you cannot consider individual marketing activities in a vacuum. The most effective marketing strategies are part of an integrated process with connections to other marketing strategies. But you can get more mileage even from individual marketing activities by developing your "Before, During and After" strategy.
Before
Whether it is a networking event, speaking engagement, attendance at an industry conference, or an upcoming article, what will you do before the activity itself to improve your results?
If you will be attending an event, take the time to think about your goals for that event. For example, you may want to meet a specific person you know will be attending the conference, make connections with individuals in certain companies or industries, plan to have coffee with clients in the area, get information on a specific topic to share with your firm (or with clients) upon your return, or make a connection with organizers to speak at a future event.
If you do not identify these goals in advance and take the time to identify the individuals you want to connect with at the event, it is not likely you will be able to do so at the event.
You may want to invite a client to attend the event with you, or, where appropriate, let clients know you will be attending to find out whether there is anything you can do for them at the conference (information they might need or people they might like to connect with). If you will be speaking, set up an event (or indicate your participation) on LinkedIn and other social media, put it in your newsletter, and/or send out notifications by 'snail mail.'
During
What is your strategy during the event? Be mindful of the goals you set before the event. It is easy to get distracted when attending events by other people who are attending without an agenda or a plan. Don't let that happen to you.
If you are a speaker, during the event you may want to talk with others about your topic to see what the audience would like you to focus on. Will you have a 'call to action' at the end of your presentation or some kind of offer for participants, whether that is an offer for a consultation on a specific topic, a discount or 'bonus' service for those who make appointments within a certain time after the event, or some article, white paper or other information pertinent to your topic?
Will you collect business cards at the event? If not, how will you obtain contact information from participants?
After
How will you follow up after the event? If you have obtained business cards or contact information, what will you do with them? How will they get entered into your system?
It is always better to have a specific, set strategy for follow up specific to the event and the audience. Will the first follow-up be by email, regular mail or telephone? Since we know that it takes several contacts to create relationships that lead to business, what will the subsequent follow-ups be? How long between follow-ups? What will trigger the subsequent follow-ups?
If your marketing activity is an article that was published in an industry publication, how will you leverage the article? Who might you send the article to? What other publications might be interested in similar articles? How can you promote or link to the article on your website or in social media?
Developing a "Before, During and After" strategy will increase your marketing success, in part simply by forcing you to think more strategically about your marketing activities and planning for additional contacts with your audience.
Need help developing your strategy? Contact me to see how Legal Ease Consulting, Inc. can help.
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