Before you start thinking about your goals and resolutions for the new year, take a critical look at the methods you have used throughout the past year. One important element of your practice that deserves scrutiny is your communication strategy.
How effectively you communicate with your clients and prospects has a profound effect on the success of your practice. Are your messages reaching your clients? Are you using the communication methods that suit their preferences?
Here are three key steps you can take to evaluate your communication strategy:
1. Track your digital content
The good news is that communications are easy to track when they are online.
Find out which content struck a chord with your clients. Which blog topics received the most comments? Who liked your postings on LinkedIn? Which links were retweeted or “favourited” on your Twitter account?
“That’s the kind of content you want to stick with,” says Richard Heft, communications director with Ext. Marketing Inc. in Toronto. “The most important thing is giving the people what they want.”
2. Ask for clients’ feedback
There is nothing wrong with asking clients for their opinions on the content you have produced over the past year. For example, during a client meeting, broach the topic of your newsletters and ask for your clients’ thoughts.
Another way of eliciting feedback is by sending a short questionnaire to your clients asking them what they thought about the communications they received over the past year. Were they more likely to read something sent by email or do they prefer the traditional print newsletter? Were there any topics that really appealed to them?
“[Feedback] can not only help you with content,” Heft says. “It can also turn into a real relationship- and business-building tool because it shows more engagement and more interest in your clients’ needs.”
3. Determine how clients get their content
Find out how your clients prefer to receive information. Which of your communication channels are reaching them?
Social media is an easy and popular way to distribute your communications. But that does not necessarily mean it is always the most effective.
“If you’re posting to Google+ three times a week and your clients don’t know what Google+ is,” Heft says, “it’s a waste of time.”
If you have accounts with various social-media platforms but find your clients respond through just one or two, focus on those. Don’t spend too much attention on sites that don’t add to your business.
Andrew Broadhead, communications manager with Ext. Marketing, suggests asking where clients go for their information. You might be surprised by the answer; you may have miscalculated you clients’ preferences.
“Maybe [your social-media] metrics aren’t as good as you thought,” Broadhead says. “Maybe it’s time to go back to a paper newsletter.”
Next: Reflecting on your accomplishments.