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For the past few months, Lynn McDowell, our President, has been visiting clients, attending marketing conferences, and listening to some great speakers talk about the best way to build law practices. Lots of information and lots of ideas shared.

Her last stop was the PILMMA Super Summit in Chicago. As usual for PILMMA, the speakers were phenomenal. Three days packed full of a wide variety of topics, including some great ideas about marketing. At the end of these sessions she often heard the same question from attendees – What’s next?

The answer is simpler than most would think: JUST GET STARTED! Getting started is the hardest part. To be a little more specific, we recommend taking the following three steps to get your marketing plan started:

1. Choose two or three tools that you think will work for your firm.
2. Get your staff on board.
3. Find somebody to hold you accountable.

Putting together an effective marketing plan means using different tools that work to reinforce each other. When choosing the tools you want to use (#1), try mixing online with print. You will need a whole staff effort (#2) to implement your marketing plan, so getting everyone on board is a must. Finally, following through on your good intentions can be tough when there are so many other tasks on the schedule. That’s why it’s important to have someone in your life (#3) to hold you accountable and make sure you are executing your plan consistently.

If you would like to discuss these ideas further or have a brainstorming session, Lynn is available to talk. Call 877-860-9807 anytime.

Premier Print Marketing is a small business. We like it that way. We have a team of people who know our business and are ready to provide top-notch service to our clients. Those clients are also small businesses. We like having this in common with our clients. It makes it easier to work together since we have similar strengths and face similar challenges.

One of these challenges is facing off against much larger competitors with greater resources. Fortunately, the competitive advantages of being a small firm can be enough to turn the tables against the big guys who pay for their ad campaigns with dump trucks full of cash. Our whole service centers around the idea of building personal connections with current and past clients. That is what our newsletters are most effective at accomplishing. One of the universal rules of marketing is that consumers like to do business with people they know and trust. Small firms can count on this basic human desire to help them if they make the effort to establish the personal connections.

Another advantage small firms have in competing against larger companies is smallness itself. According to a recent article in The Atlantic, “A company’s smallness, it turns out, is something that can play to its advantage in competing with massive brands. A host of research shows that if the circumstances are right, limiting size—of a brand, of a company’s board, of a project team—can have unexpected benefits across industries.” Follow the link to read the whole article.

We’re often taught that bigger is always better, but is that really true? Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

 

The latest edition of the Premier Print Marketing newsletter is now available.

In this issue:

• Lynn shares the marketing lesson she learned on the road this summer.
• We tell you how you can save big on your holiday cards.
• You’ll find out the three types of newsletter articles your clients want to read.
• We’ll share one of our favorite recipes.

Click on the image below to open as a PDF.

 

Browse our selection, which includes many different styles, by clicking here.

 To peruse our multimedia catalog, click here.

 For more details, additional options, or to place an order, call us at 877-860-9807.

We are currently working on our Fall issue. Below, you will find one of the articles that will be included. It is about the importance of trial attorneys and the civil justice system. Feel free to use this however you would like. Post it on your blog, include it in an e-mail newsletter, and certainly use it in your Fall issue. We want to help get the word out about this important issue.

GM recall shows importance of civil justice system

You have probably heard about the massive General Motors recall in the news. A variety of issues, including the faulty ignition-switch that is believed to be responsible for 13 deaths, have led GM to recall millions of vehicles since early 2014. Adding insult to the many injuries was the confirmation that the company knew about the ignition-switch problem since 2004 and government regulators knew about it since 2007. When corporations and the government fail us, the civil justice system is our only recourse.

Burton Leblanc, President of the American Association for Justice, said as much when he testified in Congress about this matter:

“The escalating fallout over the G.M. ignition-switch recall scandal should be a wake-up call to all Americans as to why the civil justice system is essential to ensuring our families are safe from dangerous products.

G.M. knew of the fatal ignition-switch defect as far back as 2004 – the year the first Chevy Cobalt rolled off the lot – and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration learned of the defect in 2007.  But the danger was only exposed in 2013 by a lawsuit brought by a victim’s family.

When corporations act with indifference and government agencies fail, the civil justice system is the only way to shed light on dangerous products and ensure that corporations are held accountable for the harm they cause.”

The smallest gesture can make the biggest impression. Sending your clients birthday, sympathy, anniversary, congratulations, or thank you cards lets them know you care about them.

A great way to handle birthday cards is to set up an automated drop system. This system works by sending out batches of cards monthly or bi-monthly to the appropriate clients on your mailing list. The other types of cards are good to have on-hand to send out as needed. We can help you with both of these. Our sister company, Mail Service Ink, has been executing automated drop systems for many of our client’s birthday lists for years. Now, for the first time, we are also able to provide you with imprinted assortment packs of the other greeting cards. If you’re interested in viewing our selection, click here or contact us for more information.

The first issue of our company newsletter is now available. Click on the thumbnail to open as a PDF.

In this issue:

• We celebrate our one-year anniversary this spring. Read a brief history of PPM to learn how we got here.
• Find out what Cindy Speaker, Legal Marketing Expert, had to say about PPM.
• Get to know Mail Service Ink, our partner who provides database and fulfillment services.
• Building a reputation may be more important than building a brand. We’ll tell you why.

It’s among the conventional wisdom of marketing that you must build a strong, recognizable brand. Sometimes the conventional wisdom is wrong, or at least dated.

While there is a big value in having a highly-recognized brand (Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola), getting to that point is a long and expensive process that most small businesses cannot afford. It’s also not working as well anymore, according to a recent New Yorker article. The Internet has made it easier than ever for consumers to be well-informed about potential purchases. A quick Google search will get you expert reviews of almost any product or service, Amazon is loaded with customer reviews, and sites like Yelp and Angie’s List provide places for people to share their experiences with local businesses.

In other words, the Internet has made it more important than ever to build a good reputation. People’s experiences with businesses, both good and bad, are more likely to be shared on sites like those listed above or on social media like Facebook and Twitter.

The good news for a small business owner is that building a good reputation isn’t very expensive. Provide great service. Go the extra mile. Share your expertise with your clients. It takes time to build a good reputation, but word-of-mouth (or word-of-internet) is the largest source of new clients for most businesses.

A good way to work on building that reputation is to send a newsletter. It’s your chance to prove your expertise and show your clients that you care about them. Contact us to find out how to get started.

The most important thing you must do if your client newsletter is going to be successful is to send one out consistently. The second most important thing you must do is fill it with compelling content. That may sound “easier said than done,” but it’s really not too hard. You must simply strike a balance between the following three types of newsletter articles. You don’t need to have each type in every issue, but these are the three types of newsletter articles that will have your clients looking forward to receiving your next issue.

1. Informative. The bulk of your newsletter should be made up of informative articles. You are an expert in the legal field and this is your chance to share that expertise with your clients. While some of these articles should include a call-to-action, many should be information for information’s sake. These articles should raise awareness of important consumer issues, provide tips for consumer safety, and offer general advice on the legal system. When it makes sense, you can mention that you are available to help in the event that the reader needs an attorney.

2. Personal. A newsletter works so well as a marketing tool because it builds trust between the client and you. You’ve already given them some great information, now you should give them a chance to get to know you, your firm, and maybe even your family. Personal articles work best with a picture. Personal articles are also great for raising awareness for any charity or non-profit work you or your firm may do.

3. Fun! Don’t forget to have a little fun! Recipes, contests, and other fun articles make the newsletter more…fun. And everyone loves fun.

With the New Year right around the corner, many people are thinking about their New Year’s Resolutions. In the spirit of resolution season, we’d like to offer up the following three Newsletter Resolutions. Apply these to your marketing efforts and you’ll be sure to have a great 2014!

1. Make your newsletter informative, educational, and entertaining. A newsletter isn’t just a marketing piece. It can provide helpful information to consumers. Give your readers the gift of your knowledge and add a little fun stuff to keep ‘em smiling and they won’t even have to think about who to call the next time they need legal help.
2. Send your newsletter consistently. Keeping your name in front of your clients year-round will ensure that yours is the name they think to call when trouble strikes.
3. Use high-quality photos. Good content is huge, but the photos in your newsletter shouldn’t be an afterthought. Use only high-resolution images (at least 300 dpi) and print them in full color. Even if you prefer the look of a two-color newsletter, think about using full color for the pictures. Nothing grabs attention like a striking visual.