Are you wasting space?

Think about the last time a friend, colleague or client gave you a business card. You probably looked at it, turned it over, and filed it away. I’d venture to guess in nearly all cases, the back of the business card was blank. But smart business owners, lawyers and other service professionals are using the backs of their cards to convey key marketing messages.

What to print differs by profession, but here are a few examples:

• A criminal lawyer could list the 5 things to do (or not to do) if stopped at a DWI checkpoint
• A financial planner could print a “referred by” form for use by existing clients when making referrals
• A doctor might print a checklist of flu symptoms
• A real estate agent could list all of the local charities they support

Just about everyone reading this piece is wasting space — on the back of their business card! Use your card to make your business and profession more memorable.

Photo credit by vivekchugh.

What’s your service like, after the sale?

Do your clients cringe at the thought of calling in to your service number? Sunday night, as I was pulling down our window shade, the right side string broke, and the weight of the unsupported slats brought the entire blind down. Fearing the worst, I called Levolor first thing Monday morning to inquire about repair costs. Fully prepared to go into battle with what I thought would be an overseas customer service department, I was pleasantly surprised when my call was answered by a real live human named Donna, within a ring or two of the phone.

Tip 1: Call your client or customer service number — how long does it take you to get through to a representative? If you grow impatient, imagine how your clients feel.

Donna then quickly looked up my account, all based off of a little tag on the inside of our window shade. She knew when it was made, when it was bought (by the previous homeowner) and based off of that little tag, which window it belonged to.

Tip 2: Do your systems work this fast? Or do you make clients go through hoops validating who they are?

I explained the problem to Donna, and she told me the repair charge was $25. All I had to do was mail in the blind, and they’d do the rest. Not bad – sounded like a fair price to me. While she was writing up the repair order, I chatted with Donna about her weekend. I must have made an impression as Donna informed me she’d waive the repair fee and the return mail charge — again, all I had to do was ship the blind.

Tip 3: Are your client services staff empowered to make impressionable decisions? $25 isn’t a lot, and I was fully prepared to pay it. But her change made my Monday. And we all know what Monday’s could be like…

Your “after the sale” service is often what makes or breaks your business. It also has a dramatic effect on the referrals you get.

Are you doing everything you can to get the sale, only to fall flat afterwards? Or are you like Levolor, which just made me a client for life?

Photo credit by iprole.

Have you hit a client development plateau?

Watching what your competition does for client development is a basic principle for your marketing activities. It’s usually OK to borrow, copy and steal their ideas. For example, if your competition is another law firm, and they’re listed on Lawyers.com, then you better be there too. If they have a professional looking website, nice office, thoughtful logo or other impressionable, you should have the same. But, if you only borrow, copy and steal, you’ll quickly run out of ideas. At some point, you’ll reach a plateau, where you’re constantly playing catch-up. What’s worse, if you’re constantly changing gears and trying the next new shiny thing you risk forgetting what’s unique about your firm!

The solution? Stop and regroup.

Don’t worry about what your competition is doing. Instead, plan out your own client development strategies and work your plan. You’ll sleep better, and your competition will worry about you instead.

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• The Guiding Principle of Marketing
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What are your clients thinking?

One of the best ways to keep clients is to prove your dedication to them. So talk to your clients – frequently. Ask questions about your services, what you’ve done (and what you haven’t).

But if you really want to know what’s on their minds, survey them.

When writing your survey questions, keep them brief. I’m sure a study has been done somewhere proving a drop in response for each additional question on a survey, so limit to a half-dozen or so. Be clear, concise and always thank your clients in advance for their participation.

With today’s technology, it won’t cost a fortune to gather valuable business intelligence. Here are a few tools for surveying clients:

• Survey Monkey
• Zoomerang
• Cvent
• Poll Daddy – especially easy to integrate into your Twitter account (you are on Twitter, right?)

The most important thing when surveying? Not what you ask, but how you apply the answers to your business.

Photo credit by kikashi.

What is it you’re really selling?

It’s been said that in business, sales are King, but marketing is Queen, and she runs the show. Marketing is the engine behind your business, but also its weakest link. Before defining your niche, it’s helpful to create and implement a high level marketing plan containing the following:

• The purpose of the plan (what you want out of it — more sales, more website visitors, more email leads, etc.)
• Your main benefit to clients (more on this later)
• Your target audience(s) — describe the ideal client very specifically
• Your marketing budget, expressed as a percentage of gross sales, so it grows in step with your business’ growth

How to Define Your Niche
Your main benefit, or why a client does business with you, is critical to your success, so invest the time needed to carefully think about and answer these questions:

• How do I solve a client’s problem, achieve their goals or satisfy wants?
• What can I do to create desire for my service? Could be based around convenience, speed or a promotion.
• Could I make my service solve multiple problems or achieve multiple goals for my clients?
• What can I do to make it easier for clients to do business with me? For example, convenient hours, value pricing, excellent staff members, variety of services, speed of delivery, etc.

With your niche and plan in place, you’ll give clients a reason to hire you – and be foolish if they went with a competitor!

Photo credit by saavem.