It is now that time of the year when lawyers put together their list of who to send holiday greetings to. From a marketing standpoint, I have always thought that they were a waste of time and money.
When I was an in-house attorney, I usually received about fifty. I simply tossed most and rarely read them. Occasionally, they were even insulting. Some sent cards with their names already pre-printed on the card. Couldn’t they spend a minute or two and write a few personal words or at least sign their name?
Get Noticed
If you insist on sending cards, do it at a time of the year when it will not be received with ten other cards on the same day. More importantly, make it memorable. Every year I receive a card from a lawyer I know who practices in Memphis, Tennessee. He is a huge Elvis Presley fan. Around the time of Elvis’ birthday (January 8th), I always receive a New Year’s card which has an Elvis theme photo and a short greeting. One year it was a picture of President Bush and the Prime Minister of Japan (a big Elvis fan himself) during a visit to Graceland. It certainly was memorable; I’m blogging about it five years later.
The purpose of the holiday card, as well as every marketing activity attorneys do, is to remind your clients that you are still around to perform legal services. You want to stay top of mind. Traditional holiday cards simply do not do it.
Originally appeared on Lawyerist.com’s law firm client service portal
