The following article is about an experience I personally was involved in when attempting to advertise in a paralegal newsletter in Columbus, Ohio. Hopefully, your experience will not be the same. However, the focus of this article is not to isolate this incident but rather to point out some important marketing lessons which I will summarize at the end of this article. These lessons may be helpful in various areas of your own business.
Here is how the story goes . . .
I recently advertised a display ad for my company, 713Traininig.Com, in the local paralegal newsletter. On September 5, 2006 the paralegal organization held a special Happy Hour honoring all the advertisers. My assistant, Angie Boyd, and I were invited.
When we arrived at the law firm that sponsored the event we were met by the Public Relations manager. I told her that 713Training.Com was interested in advertising a full-page ad for 12 months in their newsletter and asked who I needed to talk to about it. The Public Relations manager gave me the name of the Editor, but since I did not know what she looked like I was left to find her on my own. This was the first bad marketing mistake, not introducing me immediately to the Editor so the Editor could close the sale.
Because the PR manager forgot to give us the name of the Editor, Angie and I spent almost 30 minutes reading the name badges of the people who were present, but we were unsuccessful in locating the Editor. Of course, we probably looked stupid walking up to people, reading their name tag and then politely excusing our behavior. But the people we were face to face with were equally as rude. To excuse my behavior for walking up to them to look at their name tag, I would explain that I was looking for the Editor. Not one of them helped me to find the Editor. Instead, they looked at Angie and I as if we were an intrusion to their little inner circle club.
After almost 45 minutes I went back to the PR Manager and told her I was unable to find the Editor. I asked her if she could answer my questions or provide me with some literature. Unfortunately she could not. Immediately, I realized that this organization was set up so that each Board Member manages one specific, minute part, but does not have any idea what is going on with the other functions of the Board. This is bad management. Every Board Member should know everything about their organization. Passing the buck is a sign of bad management and an organization like this simply cannot grow.
(Note: I know this for a fact. When I asked the Secretary of the organization at the happy hour the membership size, she proudly stated they had 328 members. When I was a Board Member in 2002 there were 412 members. So in four years, this organization had gone no where.)
After making another round in the room and attempting to socialize with others to get the information I wanted, I went back to the PR Manager for the third time and asked her to direct me to the Editor. I could tell she was getting annoyed with me so she took the initiative, walked me down the hallway into the crowded room and introduced me face-to-face to the Editor. Because the Editor was engaged in a group discussion at the time, I immediately apologized for the interruption and asked her if I could send her an email regarding questions I had about advertising.
The Editor told me to ask my question now as she did not know her email address off the top of her head. (Perhaps she had too many cocktails.) By this time, the other 8-10 people engaged in the group discussion with the Editor stopped talking and focused their attention on me. I felt very uncomfortable because it was not my intention to barge in and interrupt their conversation. I asked the Editor which membership she suggest I join: the Sustaining Membership or the Paralegal Membership (since I was a paralegal.) My hope was that this question would draw the Editor away from the group so that we could discuss advertising and the best way to showcase 713Training.Com.
But my plan did not work. Instead, the Editor told me to join the Sustaining Membership and then she turned her back on me and withdrew back into the group discussion. Immediately, the entire 8-10 people huddled back in the group with the Editor and it was evident Angie and I was not welcome in their world. It was then I decided that my advertising dollars would not be welcome either.
It was finally clear to me that this Happy Hour was not intended to thank advertisers for their financial contributions. It was nothing more than a bunch of paralegals getting together, talking about their small little worlds and drinking liquor (and I do not drink.) Therefore, Angie and I excused ourselves, left the building, walked down the street and had a better time at Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop where the people were much more friendly.
Lets Examine the Major Marketing Mistakes
1. Since the function was supposed to be a Thank You for the advertisers, they should have had some type of recognition for the advertisers. At first I thought they just didn’t like us, but after meeting two of the other advertisers we discovered they were left standing around with no one to talk to either. Why wasn’t a member of the organization introducing them around and making them feel special? What happened to good old-fashioned manners?
2. Instead of the paralegals focusing all their attention on their friends they should have been focusing their attention on the advertisers, which is why they held the function in the first place. This would have generated in more sales and income for the organization.
3. The flyers showing the advertising rates for the newsletter were distributed only at the front desk when the person signed in. They should have also had these displayed in the conference area and talked to the advertisers about their advertising needs.
4. Paralegals were grouped together with Judges and most of us did not know their relevance for being at this function. And surprising enough, when some people asked the Judges why they were at this event, they didn’t know either. Someone should have made introductions in order to create a mood of acceptance and interest. That way, instead of people standing around wondering: Who is that person? they would know enough to start up a general conversation and perhaps spark some creativity.
5. The Board Members had no knowledge of how their organization worked on a large scale, only on the small scale they focused on. This is quite sad because it is important to have a general knowledge of much more than your own little world. For example, I must have asked five different people the circulation of the paralegal newsletter. Finally, one paralegal told me it was 400. The other four didn’t know.
But when the paralegal told me the circulation was 400, this number was quite significant to me. Back in 2001-2002 when I served on the same Board of Directors (for the same organization) we had a circulation of 400. It was evident to me the Public Relations manager and the Editor was doing nothing to promote the growth of the organization because it stayed the same for four years. This is the result of what happens when people do not have a clue to marketing.
Take note of this: If you have a business (or an organization) and four years later you are making the same amount of money, it is evident you are doing something wrong. If after four years these paralegals did not realize this, they need more help than I thought. Yet, they had someone in their midst (me) who could have helped them. But they had no clue as to my significance or had any concern to care.
When we left the meeting, I asked Angie for her feedback. She said that she never wanted to go to a function like that again. She complained that everyone was very snooty and made her feel very unwelcome. The group split into separate groups and Angie could overhear them in conversation talking about their personal life rather than how to build and grow the organization.
There are several lessons to be learned here about marketing in this article. One thing to always remember is that people have the ability to choose where they spend their money. Ignoring potential customers, making them feel unwelcome and unappreciated is not the way to grow and prosper. Needless to say, this paralegal organization lost $1,000s of dollars in advertising from 713Training.Com.
Summary
Please do not think that our experience is the norm. Columbus, Ohio is still somewhat of a cow town in the legal community. Progressive cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and even Kansas City will probably provide a better experience. However, you will not know unless you give it a try.
If your business sells products and services that are used by the legal community, local paralegal organizations are the best places to advertise and network. So take a moment, find your local organizations, attend a meeting and see how the people treat you. If you like the group, explore advertising as well as sponsorship opportunities. Perhaps you could offer to speak at the next meeting or write an article for their publication. All of these are ways to grow your company and increase awareness of the benefits of your products and services.
AUTHOR BIO:
Victoria Ring is a Certified Paralegal and Bankruptcy Specialist. She has developed an entire line of training products and holds several seminars per year in drafting bankruptcy petitions. Her training materials have been approved by NFPA for 11 CLE credits. Additionally, Victoria Ring provides speaking and in-house training services for bankruptcy law firms. Visit her website at http://www.713training.com