Recently in Public Relations Category

This post was written by StephanieWestAllen: "As with any conflict, family disputes can be difficult--and they can also be fruitful. From "Advice to nonfamily managers" (BusinessWorld Online):

Conflict among family members in a business can be normal, but it can also present the greatest source of difficulty and discomfort for nonfamily managers.

...

The author gives 5 tips:

• First, as much as possible, enhance the trust among the siblings because the more they trust each other, the less they will fight.
• Second, encourage a greater flow of information.
• Third, assist in preparing the successor.
• Fourth, encourage accountability in the organization.
• Fifth, make sure not to take sides with one generation or the other.

For a more about each of these tips, read the article."

Full text and active links are available by clicking on the author's name.

Source: idealawg, 11 March 2010, reproduced with permission of the author.

From the e-newsletter: "Roller coasters and amusement parks are traditionally associated with summertime fun for children, adults, and families. Amusement parks market and advertise themselves as places to escape and enjoy the thrills of exhilarating roller coasters, twirling rides, and water park slides. Tragically, however, some visitors never leave an amusement park or water park alive."

Read more...

Source: FindLaw's Public Advisor. 11 March 2010 Copyright © 2010 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

This post was written by Tom Kane: "The good news is that some firms are doing client feedback programs; the bad news is that they aren't really getting the feedback they need. That is, the feedback questions are superficial, and don't really offer the kinds of return that will actually benefit the firm in retaining the client over the long haul.

An article posted on the BrandThinking blog by Sue Allison contends that a firm's feedback program may not actually "lead to satisfied clients."

The Problem...

What a Feedback Program is Not...

What is Needed:

• A "Continuous Client Value Program" that assures that "your clients feel your firm is really listening and acting to solidify the relationship," and
• Conducted by an in-house staff person or lawyer not involved with a client's matters, or an outside third party in order to increase the likelihood of getting candid feedback.

Law firm's need to ensure that their client feedback program is one that really works, and not come across to clients as lame or insincere.

Full text and active links are available by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 5 March 2010, reproduced with permission of the author

This post was written by Simon Fodden: "Every now and then it is "improving," as the Victorians used to say, for a lawyer to be caught up in the toils of another profession, in order to recapture the client experience of uncertainty in the face of an opaque problem. I've had the fortune, recently -- I wouldn't label it "good" -- to be in that situation and it has occurred to me, not for the first time, that there is a way to make the experience better for the lay person, a way that is all too seldom taken. My small suggestion is that professionals who deal with clients consider preparing printed material for the clients to take away with them, material that will help them understand what is going on.

There's a perfect storm of reasons for these "hand-holders," as I call them..."

Continue reading this interesting post by clicking on the author's name.

From the e-newsletter: "Social networking, via sites like Facebook and Twitter, is the current big thing. Indeed, the popularity of such sites has caused nouns like the word "friend" to become verbs in the new social networking vocabulary. But is all well and good in the social networking universe?"

Read more...

Source: FindLaw's Tools of the Trade: Legal Technology News. February 2010 Copyright © 2010 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>

This post was written by Dan Pinnington: "The ABA Legal Technology Resource Center blog posted a warning this morning that all of us should pay heed to: Be Careful! Twitter Phishing Catches Lawyers, Too...

In the case of these recent Twitter phishing attempts, the usurper then uses the innocent individual's Twitter account to send out spam, malware, and more phishing attempts via Twitter's "direct message" (DM) feature...

Access the full text with examples of phishing and access the active link by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Slaw.ca, 1 March 2010. Reproduced with permission of Simon Fodden, founder of Slaw

This post was written by Tom Kane: "By this I don't mean to put down technology and social media as ways to develop business, because we know they can and are effective at some level. But, it is still important to not forget those old fashion means of developing business that include face to face meetings, and my point of the day - handwritten "Thank You" notes.

Remember those times your mother drove you nuts with "have you thanked Aunt Betsy for that knitted sweater yet?" Maybe that is the cause for many people to have an aversion to thanking people for.....whatever. Or, they may thank them, but in the quickest and least painful manner possible. Unfortunately, they are passing up one of the most effective means of producing a real, favorable impact on their business.

I ran across an article on ProfitAdvisors.com on "How to Build Your Business with Thank You Notes" by accountant Michael Gray dated January 1999 (I luv that old stuff). His main points in my view:.."

Continue reading this interesting post and reach the active links by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 25 February 2010, reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by John Jantsch:  "For many businesses, particularly service oriented businesses, getting up in front of a group of prospects with the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise is one of the best lead conversion opportunities going.

Holding workshops and seminars live and in person has long been an effective tool. The web makes this tool even more powerful and more affordable as it allow you to conduct online versions of seminars that don't require you to rent a room or your prospects to leave their homes and offices.

Online seminars are a marketing tool every business should consider adding to the mix. Below are seven steps to consider to make your online seminars pay.

1) Get sponsored...

2) Educate, don't sell...

3) Pick your platform...

4) Cause interaction...

5) Create a backchannel...

6) Have bonus content...

7) Promote the archive...

Continue reading this interesting post by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Duct Tape Marketing, 22 February 2010. © 2003-2010 Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing, reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by Jim Hassett: "Whether you choose to focus on current clients and referral sources or to spend your time looking for new ones, the marketing tactic that is most critical in this changing economy is increasing the value you provide.  This need is hardly limited to the legal world.  In his book, What the Customer Wants You to Know, consultant Ram Charan described how the internet and the global economy are changing the way customers think and what it means to people who sell: "[Businesses] are under enormous pressure to deliver value to their clients and their shareholders.  They are compelled to use the newfound power of transparency and overcapacity to drive down prices."  One result is that the traditional tools of business development - "long-term relationships, golf games, skybox seats and theater outings" - are losing their power (p. 4).

The same trends have now come to the legal world, with a vengeance...

In interpreting this result and others from the survey, they noted that:

CLOs rated the importance of "relationships" with outside law firms at exactly the same low level, whether for critical work, important work or commodity work.  The personal element apparently doesn't carry as much weight in the hiring decision in 2009.

How do you deliver more value? Value lies in the eye of the beholder, so it all starts with asking clients questions like this..."

Full text and active links are available by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Legal Business Development, 10 February 2010, reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by John Jantsch: "Marketing podcast with Brian Solis (Click to listen, right click and Save As to download - subscribe now via iTunes

For this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast I asked Brian Solis, Principal of FutureWorks and co-author of  Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, about the future of the PR industry as we know it.

There's plenty of doom and gloom surrounding the practice of public relations in the social web world, but Solis suggests, and I totally agree, that there's a tremendous opportunity if firms and departments understand how to evolve and grab it..."

Continue reading this interesting post and reach the active links by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Duct Tape Marketing, 9 February 2010. © 2003-2010 Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing, reproduced with permission of the author.