Consider creating an event to promote your firm

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Specific expertise possessed by law firms makes for valuable events.

Prospects, clients and media benefit from hearing the latest legal trends. Event speakers benefit from getting their message out to an influential audience. Vendors benefit by hawking their wares, typically outside the event venue. Event organizers benefit by sharing costs with these vendors and, of course, by being associated with producing a quality event.

Corporate anniversaries, new facility open houses, new practice launches all create wonderful opportunities to engage clients and prospects. Events, when done correctly, are great opportunities to build relationships. Here are a few tips based on my experience in planning and executing events.

Start early. When pulling together an event, the sooner you start the better the result.

You can minimize calendar conflicts. Quality speakers and venues are more available.

You have more time to promote the event.

As a rule, I suggest clients start planning at least six months out with monthly face-to-face meetings among event committee members and weekly phone updates among the individual subcommittees.

Strive for consensus. Starting early also allows you to build consensus for the focus of the event. Without consensus on what the event must accomplish, you invite chaos resulting in lackluster events.

Timelines are crucial to success. Ensure the timeline includes specific deliverables, assigned responsibility and due dates. Allow for input from committee members and others who will play a role in the event, not the least of whom is the executive who will pay for it. Definitely lock down the amount budgeted for the event.

Update databases. Whether inviting media to cover keynote speakers or inviting prospects and clients, database development is crucial to the success of any event.

Frequently databases are not updated regularly. Ensure you have the resources to get the right people to your event.

Build momentum. Before mailing the save-the-date card, it’s imperative to generate event awareness. Engage media with story lines and announcements of what attendees can expect to experience, such as speaker line up, break out sessions and calendar listings. This sets expectations when recipients receive a save-the-date card. Afterward, follow up by phone with clients and prospects.

Ask for a commitment to attend the event, which allows you to plan food, drink, table settings, audio, video, giveaways and a ton more. E-mail, direct mail and blogs should update target audiences on new developments, such as new sponsors and significant event giveaways.

Media and elected officials. These folks require continuous contact leading up to the event. Always add something new to your conversations when you call them. Both have insane daily schedules, making it easy for your event to get pushed aside. Rarely does either fully commit to an event early.

Elected officials might commit two weeks out from an event. Media might not fully commit until the morning of the event. Typically we send out a media advisory that lists the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when and why the event is newsworthy) two weeks in advance of the event followed by phone calls that continue to build understanding about the event.

Consider media partners. Frequently media outlets with a specific focus, such as your local business publication, will leverage the advertising side of its business to promote an event. Media partnerships have a wide range of involvement. The range might include a few free ads leading up to your event to full-scale media promotion including development of an event Web site, access to their database, which is updated and robust, electronic and print promotion of the event, as well as event production in some cases.

One caveat: news and advertising, for the most part, remain separate functions within a media outlet. Simply put, the editorial side will cover an event based on its newsworthiness, not because the ad side partners with your event.

After the event. The event is only as productive as your post-event activity. Debriefing and sharing the information gained at the event with others within the firm powers the next steps in winning new business or expanding existing client business.

Post-event surveys of attendees are a great way to learn what attendees found valuable and what they consider immediate and long-term legal needs. One way to leverage this information is to launch a practice-specific newsletter or e-newsletter to address their legal concerns. Make sure to capture email and mailing addresses from attendees to shore up your database.

Karl Robe, APR, counsels attorneys and executives on communications strategies that support achievement of growth objectives and overcome business challenges. Contact him at Karl James & Company LLC by emailing [email protected].