Ideas for business growth. Some examples I have used.

When it comes to making a purchase, 82% of us are more likely to make a purchase based on a recommendation. When it comes to 'throwing money' or time at marketing we also ask for recommendation and want to know what works.

The unfortunate truth is that many of us have different experiences when it comes to advertising and to an extent, some forms of marketing too. That means we trust what others say when perhaps they just might not be great at implementing a strategy...

What I have done here is list what strategies I have implemented when launching my business and what works when it comes to generating leads to give some ideas for business development. I have also listed the steps in more detail to help you overcome some potential hurdles.

Firstly I am a believer that your business NEEDS a website. I'm not the only marketeer who believes this. Martyn Jennings - MJ (a Legal Growth partner) also shares this view. It's your shop window and whether it's a sales funnel or a brochure, it's crucial for building trust as well as a digital footprint.

What you may wish to do is to 'control' or have control over your website so that you're able to make changes as and when you need to. These changes are what I refer to as 'pivotal points' on the marketing strategy. Examples include building a page which supports a new commercial partner or allows them to send you leads - building a quick information capture page.

Naturally having social media channels (all branded and linked back to your website) is important too. It's another way to build your digital footprint. Your social media marketing team will be able to send content to these channels for you to maintain your presence but you should be aiming to post relevant and engaging content at least twice a week. If you need content or design, speak to us at Legal Growth.

Then, when it comes to lead generation you can start to have some fun. Every Monday I share some tips, stories or guidance called #MarketingonMonday (you're reading one now ;-) ). The primary purpose is to help people understand my subject. You could do the same. Share some more indepth information about your subject. It doesn't have to be a blog like this. You might share a video. Essentially it is part of a wider strategy called 'Position of Authority Marketing'. This in an in-bound marketing method.

Next, create some simple lead magnets to add value to your audience. In order to get the value the audience needs to share their contact details. An example of what I have done is to create branded intestacy flowcharts for my followers at a small cost (to cover my time in this example). I also added scarcity to it by offering the first one free and then the next 5 at half price.

This offer is still running although all of the discounted offers got snapped up. If you would like your own branded flow chart, it's only ￡49. I just need your brand guidelines and logo. If you don't have brand guidelines, we can create one for you.

You'll note that what I'm doing here is what most others are not. Most others are doing traditional social media SELLING and expecting it work. I'm not suggesting you shouldn't use social media though, simply in conjunction with other methods as part of a wider strategy.

Then, start building relationships, add value to connections, make introductions and be genuine and authentic. It may not generate leads this week but over time, you'll benefit.

I would note the following: You're primary business is in DATA. Legal firms are in the business of data collection. It's you job to collect the data and utilise it to solve legal problems.

I'll end with a quick example;

Your CRM enables you to collate data. You can use this data and search fields within your CRM to be able to understand what segment of your data to target (in a non-aggressive way). For example; you can segment your data to find out all of the contacts who don't have a property and financial affairs LPA. Et voila - data...

Naturally, if anyone has any questions or would like to talk about their strategy or wants to run an idea past me, get in touch.