As I have mentioned before, it is smart legal marketing to utilize a client intake form so you will know who refers work, as well as determine where and how your client matters come to your law firm. By periodically reviewing these forms, you will get a better picture as to where your strengths are, and where your lawyer marketing efforts are more likely to pay off sooner. Your efforts clearly need to be aimed, in the short term at least, in that direction.
In an earlier post, I gave a list of questions that could be included on an intake form to help make smart marketing decisions. I got the list from Bruce Allen at Marketing Catalyst who has since pointed out some reasons for caution on those earlier questions. Accordingly, he has revised his list.
My guess, since he is an in-house marketer, is that some of his lawyers were being lawyers (we just can’t resist can we) and nitpicked the questions rather than actually filling out the intake form. That’s just a guess on my part, but I’ve been in Bruce’s shoes before. In the interest of accurately reflecting Bruce’s list, the following is his latest version:
- How did you get this work?
- What was the referral source (if there was one)?
- What is the business of the client?
- What is the scope of their operations within (state, or our marketingplace)?
- How comfortable are you to work with this client or on this matter?
- Does this client/matter fit into your overall practice/practice goals?
- What is their potential for additional work?
- Would you feel comfortable talking with partners in other practice groups about exploring additional business issues the client might be facing?
The important thing to keep in mind is not the actual wording of this internal form, but the important marketing intelligence that can be gathered about your client base, and how you can utilize the information to improve the success of your legal marketing program.