INVISIBLE MARKETING is a concept requiring a sharp eye and ear. It is a component of “permission marketing” where a client or prospect provides you with an offer to market to them! When conducting workshops with our law firm clients, we will spend at least 1/2 hour tuning in to invisible marketing.

For example, we all know that great work and referrals are the 2 best sources of future business development. But complaints, yes complaints, are another great source of business by building a strong relationship. If a client calls and complains that something is not going well with a current engagement, they want to keep working with you. So fix it, fix it fast, and remind them periodically that you fixed it fast by ending a periodic conversation with “just want to make sure we are meeting all of our targets,etc.”

Another invisible marketing tactic is to ask clients why they switched to your firm. At the right time in an engagement, you might learn what they are happy with, and what problems the previous firm had. You can build on the success and avoid the problems.

Next time we’ll address two more invisible marketing tactics:

* “What’s new?”
* What do clients really want?”

It is amazing how out of touch some attorneys are when attending a pitch, lunch or presentation session with potential clients. Some of the comments I’ve heard about meetings:

• “They spent most of the time talking to themselves, not to us.”
• “What a complete lack of respect, let alone interest - one was using a Blackberry, one answered 2 phone calls during our meeting, and one was a potted plant.”
• “There were 2 of us and 6 of them.”
• “I found that off-color joke offensive”
• “They agreed to take a table at our favorite charity but no one showed up.”

Got the message? DON’T DO THAT!

> Get help with improving relationships with clients

In this third chapter on law firm mergers and the importance of early involvement of marketing leadership, the next question is:

How do you show - not tell - the marketplace that your intellectual and professional platform is indeed broader and deeper? New sub-specializations can be defined and marketed. Articles on legal or client industry issues should be co-bylined by lawyers from both merging firms. Talk about mergers in general, using your own as one example. Even years later, partners from the two original firms can still share their experiences at conferences, meetings, etc. - and by so doing implicitly remind the market that their own experience is an example of how it is done right.

Your Client, Your Collaborator

Everybody enjoys a little ego-stroking from time to time. Hold your client in high regard, and be sensitive to how their expertise can enhance the depth and breath of your own practice, while deepening the bond between you.

• • Invite your client to bar and industry association events to discuss topics related to their industry, like current events, new legislation and court decisions.
• • Ask clients to participate in new partner training to lend advice on their specific needs, pressures and day-to-day concerns.
• • Invite clients to co-author articles or prepare joint presentations with you in which they can provide expert industry commentary to the legal and executive community. Then use the article for your law firm marketing tools and business development. Use them as collateral materials for conferences and seminars you hold. Email the published pieces to prospective clients and colleagues.

This strategy has real benefit. First, you communicate to the client that they have something to contribute. Secondly, you reinforce a strong relationship. In turn, your client may invite you to their training and industry events, which can be a boon for future business development and networking opportunities.

PROBLEM: I just lost my largest client!

RESPONSE: Setbacks should catalyze action, not cause paralysis. The firm should monitor and evaluate all such occasions where clients fall by the wayside to ensure that the lawyers responsible jump back into the business development fray with a new three-month action program.

RESULT: A crisis should spell opportunity. Losses should pump the collective adrenaline. If that kind of response becomes ingrained in the firm’s culture, odds are that the bottom line will actually improve at a reasonable point in time after every loss.