There are 4 marketing principles that must be implemented to market your professional services firm effectively and efficiently.
- Defining Your Target Market – This allows you to focus your efforts on the right people and market yourself in the right places. By figuring out who, what, when, and where your target market is, your marketing dollars will go further and in front of the right people.
- Awareness – Getting the word out about what you do is key. You could be the best attorney in your practice area or industry, but you will be the best-kept secret if you do not put yourself out there. You can put yourself out there through:
- Thought leadership – think relevant website content and current information posted consistently to your blog, social media & email campaigns.
- Networking in-person and through online channels such as LinkedIn and through business associations. Build relationships with those that are also in front of your target audience. While they can certainly help you, keep in mind that it is nice to have a network that you can refer to as well.
- Nurturing – Consistency is key. You must keep your audience engaged. If you do the “awareness” part and get in front of people once, or infrequently, they might forget about you and move on to the next service provider that stays in touch with them.
- Building Trust – Clients must trust you to buy from you when you are in professional services. Whether a client is handing over their life savings to you, or you are helping them to sell their business that took them 40 years to build, these are big decisions and not taken lightly. The definition of trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Trust is built through building relationships over time. In some cases, “time” can mean many years. You must be willing to invest the time and consistently build awareness through a nurturing campaign over an extended period. By doing this when the your audience needs your service, you will be the one they call.
If you implement these 4 marketing principles (well-defined target market, awareness, nurturing, and building trust), you will build the foundation you need for a successful marketing campaign.
