Posted by Lisa Henry on January 31, 2009 at 11:30pm
Greetings everyone!Developing your competitive edge is a must. I am a true guerrilla marketer just the same as most, however what has made me unique or stand out marketing for the legal community is my ability to adapt using media software creatively. I have spent years developing my edge to survive in the industry. There are numerous docket runners and legal marketers in my area in the same business who are creative when it comes to guerrilla marketing, but it is that edge of creating something our competitors cannot offer keeps us going. My competition are other legal marketers.My use of software and informational content are my edge in the industry. Keep in mind people do not buy features as much as they buy benefits. Marketing benefits is the key to gaining paying clients.If you fall and scratch your knee, it may benefit you to get a product that helps heal the wound on your knee. People seek out benefits, then browse or shop for the features. One product may feature an antibiotic creme, another may offer the feature in an easy no mess tube. Benefits usually come before features. When I market using how a service can truly benefit the desired target audience in a format unique from others I have created marketing a product or service with a competitive edge. For example, you have likely seen attorney TV commercials, newsletters, brochures, direct mailers or billboards. Now, how many of those commercials have you seen or heard the statement, "We will work for you" or " If you are hurt on your job, call the law office of ________"?Where is the edge, the uniqueness.?I learned quickly to market quality, not quantity which is another competitive edge rule that when followed, generates paying clients. A lot of "prospects" do not equal paying clients. It may seem as though you are not making progress when you market quality in the beginning, but your bottom line and what you receive in return will prove fruitful in the future. Quality is about planting seeds and preparing for the harvest. Quality marketing is marketing where your products and services benefit.What is your edge? What makes your product or service different from other products and services just like yours? I developed skills, along the way, that I can confidently add to my resume because of adapting and developing my competitive edge. See some examples below of how keeping up with technology has helped me expand into other areas.These are examples of wedding vendor sites: Mir-A-Co Designs and Elegant EventsWhen I created my Ning social network I wanted a unique banner so I designed from scratch this interactive banner: SweeThorn flash bannerYour edge will create business longevity. Create your edge today.It is always a Blessing to Share, Dream a WorldRead more…
Posted by Lisa Henry on December 6, 2008 at 11:43pm
Greetings!One of the most important thing in marketing is knowing who your target audience is. How do you gain potential buyers, listeners, and readers? It is through share of mind. We have all heard the saying, "change your thinking and you will change your life" this is more than a saying it is so true. Understanding your audience makes the difference to your success.The key to direct marketing is trial/error, repetition and PATIENCE. Patience enables us to have a realistic expectation of who the audience is and what that audience will favorably respond to. Think about how long it has taken to cultivate your skills. How many days and nights of studying did you invest to receive a degree or rehearsing before reasonably confident about performing to a live audience. What you are doing or have done to cultivate your skills is "DEVELOPMENT". Personal, social, and now marketing. It takes longer to develop your marketing (for longevity) than it will developing everything else. Direct Marketing requires patience and commitment to gain share of mind.Know your target audience. Often the audience we think we should target, is so NOT. You will only know this through trial and error, repetition and the primal key is patience.Lisa Henry
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Posted by Lisa Henry on December 6, 2008 at 8:07pm
Greetings!Marketing concepts change very fast, however the heart and soul of guerrilla marketing remains unchanged. The first rule of this strategy is to have the ability to adapt. Guerrilla marketing uses creativity, imagination, and not traditional marketing in the least. Ones who market traditionally usually are very well funded and have fat budgets and resources. My legal marketing clients usually are just out of law school or have no resources at all. I learned these tactics the old fashioned way through on the job trial and error.The first thing I learned quickly is to build an informational database on all prospective clients. A prospect is someone who maybe in need of your products or services. Grocery stores do it on a regular basis. Here in the south most everyone has a Kroger Card from Kroger Grocery store. You give the check out clerk the card to swipe to receive rewards and a percentage off your purchase. It is great!! Now with your consent the grocery store is compiling information about your purchases. If you buy Cherrios, then they may send you Wheaties or another grain/oat cereal coupon in the mail. Wheaties may be paying the grocery store a little more for shelf space.Database marketing is an effective guerrilla marketing tool. It is gathering information and using it creatively and legally to promote your products and services on a very low budget. Start your database today. It is a revenue generator for any business. I have used dBase, excel, and access. The most effective platform I have used for staff convenience is on www.WebExOne.com, an online web office service. I can move to any office or location and have realtime benefit.Any questions about guerrilla marketing, message me or join today!Sincerely,Lisa Henry
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Posted by Lisa Henry on December 6, 2008 at 8:04pm
Rainmaker may refer to* Rainmaking, attempting to artificially induce or increase precipitationo Rain dancing, a ceremonial dance that is performed in order to invoke raino Cloud seeding, dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nucleiThe “Rainmaker” is any person who attracts and establishes long-term business relationships with clients and/or desirable contracts. It is not enough to create a marketing plan and pay attention to your marketing only Mondays and Thursdays. Becoming a rainmaker takes willingness, persistence, patience, and the ability to accept and mold to change. It requires evolving your state of mind and continually building your staff through constant business development. To build anything worth having requires work.Rainmaking does require a ceremonial dance. Establishing business relationships of respect and confidence with your target audience and local community is a ceremonial dance, a journey of building trust that you will do the work they are paying and entrusting you to do.Bringing business in the door that surpasses financial expectations is awesome, however it does not indicate a “Rainmaker” Once the client or contract chooses your services, does your work live up to the expectations that were presented by you or your staff? Business development should come before a marketing plan is put into action. Poor service does not a “Rainmaker” make.So you want to be a rainmaker? The next question I personally ask myself, when I’m tired or must work with obstacles is, “What are willing to do to get what you say you want?” You cannot skip or ignore the dance if you want rain. You can change the style of the dance, the tempo, or the venue but rainmakers dance.Becoming a rainmaker is a journey, whatever business you are in. Setting goals, working your business vision everyday and adapting to change are necessary to become a certified “Rainmaker”It is always a blessing to share. Dream your World!
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Posted by Lisa Henry on December 9, 2008 at 8:35pm
Greetings everyone!Marketing effectively on low and no budgets requires a humble attitude and knowing and understanding what you are against. No one wants to waste time with people or businesses cash flow poor or seem to be going nowhere. Many minds will be closed to your services or offerings. Notice I said MINDS. (One must have a willing mind to receive and accept.) Your attitude task is to help prospective clients in any way possible, offer your assistance, if they allow you, expecting to receive nothing. A willing mind must accept you and clearly see that your circumstances are temporary, that you are temporarily without cash and start to believe in the services you provide. This is where database marketing is crucial to your business. The most important word in guerrilla marketing is DATABASE.Keeping a record to track clients, prospective clients, and important deadlines is a must. It keeps you in tune with your clients’ needs. A satisfied client normally is great for spreading how wonderful you are.Businesses are different and have different needs and uses for the information collected. You will have to decide how, when, and where this information is structured to benefit your business. I will use my experience only for an example.When I first became marketing manager for a criminal defense law firm many moons ago, I immediately noticed that the information that the firm was paying someone to gather was not being used to its maximum. At that point, I had over ten years of commission sales, sales management, and management experience. I knew that the firm’s bottom line would increase with a few adjustments. Never had I seen a group of people fight change before on any marketing job, especially when profits may increase. After about a year of fighting, I finally did not include the staff, I set-up the database and began using it. One Monday morning, the attorney came to my office closed the door and said, “Show me that thing. We took in five cases this weekend.” The irony of it, the business manager gave everyone a raise that year including her raise, but me. I didn’t complain to the attorney because it was his name on the door, he caught me as I was leaving one day and handed me a bonus. I received a bonus every 90 days after.The information that the firm was paying to receive was now being tracked. I was able to track trends and properly prepare successful campaigns for popular arrest charges that occurred in different areas of the state. We were able to track who was coming to the county jail possibly to pick-up indictment papers or just been arrested. Usually most picking up indictment papers had already retained counsel and if not, the attorney knew then that a payment plan probably was not possible if they called the firm. The database also helped to increase revenue on some cases. Before a prospective client was allowed to speak with an attorney in the firm, their information could be immediately verified while they were currently on the phone. Sometimes a prospective client had separate cases and charges in other jurisdictions and the information was flagged. The attorney was able to ask the client if he needed representation on those cases along with the one he initially called about. The information that our attorneys could share with prospective clients immediately cemented the attorney-client relationship.This is just a little information about the power of database marketing. It is important that you create one for yourself and your business. Your needs will be different. I created a prospective database for every product or service I sold or represented from furniture, prestige cosmetics, and had a database for district managers, whether they were my manager or not. Helped me keep up with the politics of the businesses I worked for, equally important. A humble attitude and a well organized database are solid building blocks.One more thing, gather database information yourself to insure integrity. I know there are great information brokers and lead lists out there, however, how many of your competition purchased the same list? The more competition, the more time and energy you spend on courting prospective clients. Working a watered down list is time management suicide, especially for attorneys.Always a blessing to share, Dream your World!www.LisaHenry.org or lisa@lisahenry.org
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