Email marketing for barristers (Clerksroom, Autumn 08)
Clients often ask us if electronic or on-line marketing is yielding the tangible, trackable, measurable benefits it promises. In the absence of any available information on this topic, earlier this year Berners Marketing undertook an on-line survey amongst the legal profession.
Whilst anyone responding to an on-line marketing survey is likely to be pre-disposed to digital marketing techniques, almost all respondents agreed that e-marketing is important to their future needs, with 70% describing it as “very important” or “extremely important”.
Respondents cited a wide range of benefits, including:
- raising awareness amongst existing and new clients
- extending market catchment in terms of market sectors and geographic reach
- ensuring a better understanding of the full range of services and capabilities
- differentiating them from their competitors
- improving their image
- speedier communications with clients
- improved attendance at seminars
- reduced costs
- improving their environmental credentials.
Speed is one of the main benefits of email marketing for the legal profession. As experts in a particular issue, it provides you with the facility to circulate solicitors with a comment or response to a case within hours rather than days.
Chambers that already produce a newsletter for their clients, contacts and prospects will already recognise the benefits to be had in terms of building their profile and keeping in touch with past and prospective clients. If you have been regularly sending out printed newsletters, you can probably benefit from considerable savings by using email newsletters for the proportion of contacts with an email address.
Modern emailing solutions allow you to create, personalise and send branded electronic mailers, invitations and surveys as part of your marketing communications programme.
The most sophisticated systems also provide comprehensive real-time tracking – allowing you to see exactly who is opening your email, which articles or web links they click through to and what they download – information that is invaluable as a reminder to touch base with a solicitor that you have not spoken to for a while.
When hosting seminars, email marketing ensures that the communications budget goes much further. Not only can you email more people, but you can send several reminders without worrying about the costs of print and postage to ensure that you drive attendance to capacity levels. Many clients have commented that seminars are easier to promote this way. In addition, some email systems collect the booking information which can then be used to create the delegate list, badges and follow up mailer.
In order to ensure that your client email newsletter has the highest chance of being received and read it is necessary to follow best practice, including adhering to the law regarding electronic communications. A specialist email service provider will have built in controls to manage opt-outs and prevent you sending emails without an “unsubscribe” facility. Guidance for marketers on the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003” can be downloaded from the Information Commissioners’ website www.ico.gov.uk.
