Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and if you’ve not started thinking about your holiday marketing, I have some good news and some bad news. First the bad news: Thanksgiving is right around the corner! And here’s the good news: It’s not too late to pull your holiday marketing plan together. And by holiday marketing plan, I don’t mean simply choosing what greeting card you’re sending this year. That’s a start, but there are some other things you can AND SHOULD be thinking about. I’d like to challenge you to begin thinking differently about holiday marketing. Make this year’s holiday season a time to supercharge your marketing for the coming year.
Here are 10 things you can do between now and the end of the year. Each one will make a big impact, but you don’t have to do all 10. Pick three. Do three. Have fun. And get ready for a Happy New Year.
- PARTY! Yes, party! You’re going to be getting invitations for bar association events, firm receptions, and parties with friends. GO TO THEM! Enjoy yourself. Meet new people. Expand your networks. Have fun!
- Brush up your laser talk. Since you’ll have the opportunity to go to a lot of parties between now and the end of the year, it’s the perfect time to brush up on your laser talk or elevator speech. Can you tell people in three sentences how you help people, why your clients hire you and what makes you unique?
- Host an open house. Hey, you don’t just have to go to other people’s parties. Throw one of your own. Show off your office and your team. In fact, let your team plan the party and host it. I bet they’ll come up with some ideas you never would have thought of. But if you want to host a party, get moving NOW.
- Do something special for your top 20. How well do you know your Top 20 referral sources? I hope you know them well enough to know what would be a great, personalized gift for them. If you don’t, well then, I guess you should be taking them to lunch or dinner or coffee or the theater to find out.
- Give back. Are you passionate about a particular charity or cause? Is there a particular cause that might resonate with your clients? For example, if you’re a family law attorney, would it make sense to support a shelter for women or a children’s charity? If you’re passionate about a cause, the holidays are a great time to give back. It might even turn into something your firm could support throughout the year.
- Have a holiday photo contest. OK, this one lends itself more to certain practice areas – family law, adoptions, estate planning. Criminal law attorneys might want to skip this one. You could have a photo contest and use the winners to decorate your office. It could even become an annual event for your firm.
- Send cards that give back. If you want to support a particular cause or charity, why not send cards that donate part of the cost of the card to the charity? Check out Good Cause Greetings or Cards That Give.
- Reach out to former clients in a personal way. When was the last time you called a past client just to check in and say hello? What better time than the holidays to reach out? Identify your favorite former clients and give them a call. You’ll feel great and you might just be rewarded with referral.
- Celebrate something different. I have one client who sends Thanksgiving cards and another who celebrates the New Year. By focusing on these holidays you can set yourself apart from the crowd.
- Commit to continuous improvement. OK, this isn’t so much a holiday thing. It’s something you should be doing all year long. Make it a habit to spend at least one hour a month learning something new about marketing AND DOING IT!
If you do just three of these things your New Year will be very, very, Happy!