Make it Personal: Sitecore DMS/xDB

17 Jun Make it Personal: Sitecore DMS/xDB

Before joining Supersonic, I worked as a legal marketing consultant for a giant company that owns the largest, most visited legal directory on the planet. Two-thirds of my territory was more rural, working mostly with small or solo law firms. These firms typically had a very small marketing budget, or no budget at all. In addition, the large law firms from the metro areas, with what seemed like an endless TV, radio, billboard and SEM budget, extended deep into the backyards of my clients. It’s probably safe to say that you have experienced the deep pockets of such firms in the form of Mesothelioma, IRS, and pharmaceutical commercials, or driving into work and passing personal injury and bankruptcy billboards. Nothing against this, as when done right, these campaigns produce ridiculous ROIs and have help defend countless people in need. But for my clients, this created an enormous hurdle to not only defend their turf, but to grow their practice and expand their firm with new opportunities.

Another obstacle that I encountered was the multitude of both local and national digital marketing agencies that were still there or came before me. Rather than creating a digital strategy customized to the goals of the law firm and their desired clientele, they focused/sold solely on website/web design. This was an effective approach in the immediate years following Al Gore’s inventing of the internet, where if you had a website, you could easily be found. Now to grow or even sustain, it takes an effective, well-rounded digital strategy to generate returns from digital marketing dollars. At the same time, this was a blessing because if I was given the chance, the areas of opportunity were easily identified and many times, easily remedied for immediate returns.

Now while immediate returns were welcomed by my clients, consistent, continuous long-term success was mandatory for their goals being met and new possibilities now a reality.  A vital first step, I needed to know everything about my client, from where they were raised, where they went to law school, and assessing their individual characteristics that made them different from their competitors- local and metro. Also, what clients they wanted to attract, what practice areas they enjoy, what case types they are especially skilled in, and how far away they would take a specific case.

The next step was for me to research the opportunity- who, where, why and how, then deliver my findings to the PM of the team assigned to build the strategy customized to the firm’s goals. I was involved throughout the development process (3-4 months) and increased my engagement post-launch. It was pivotal that the communication on both sides remained open, honest and often, and that continuous review of analytics were performed, tweaks made and new strategies implemented. When it was all said and done, this process typically resulted in outstanding returns for my clients.

I enjoyed learning about my clients but as important as these details are, it pales in comparison to the importance of knowing our clients potential clients. From training, research  product, white papers, etc…, the majority of time and money went to doing just that. When all said and done, they have a very specific need and are looking for a resource that specifically addresses this specific problem in the fewest clicks possible. A great example of this is the continued rise in long-tail searches and the increased conversion that comes with those that capture it. The more specific a search, usually means the need for an answer is more urgent. While “Personal Injury” searches happen, the competition (cost) is dramatically more, and converts at a much lower rate. However, being visible with the “car accident attorney Savannah” searches -minimal competition, higher conversion. Back before Google restricted keyword visibility, what stood out most was the greater amount of long-tail searches, the higher the incoming calls and intake submissions. The same holds true with SEM- re-marketing, landing page best practices, etc…- creating a personalized solution/experience for a specifically searched need. I know I am preaching to the choir, and this is old news but…. as it relates to Sitecore, it’s amazing how these vital principles are underutilized or not used through the capabilities of DMS.

Sitecore: Not Just a Tech Thing

While those in the Technology departments understand and appreciate the benefits of having Sitecore as their CMS, the same many times, cannot be said about the marketing side. Don’t get me wrong, there are companies that I speak to and know of where the excitement and appreciation are shared across both departments. Where Sitecore best practices were utilized within the original implementation so that all DMS and Page Editor features can and are taken advantage of, and where the tremendous ROI opportunity from DMS has been initiated. But, these examples seem to be few and far between typically because of not knowing the full repertoire of DMS capabilities. Sitecore continues to develop new marketing tools within DMS, making companies more successful in their quest to provide the ultimate customer experience. From the ability to setup your own analytic criteria to build an effective data-based marketing campaign, and the ability to personalize your website for each visitor, can be just clicks away.

Supersonic and DMS

At Supersonic, we are looking for long-term partnerships, working together to generate revenue by DMS planning. We value the relationships with our clients, and because of this, while it is vital to know everything about our partners and their business goals, it is even more important to understand their target clients. We figure if we are successful at this, what greater evidence could there be in regards to having our client’s best interest.

Maximum DMS potential starts with the implementation process. Nothing more frustrating than implementing Sitecore, hours of marketing meetings but then nothing happens when the DMS switch is flipped to the “ON” position. We are especially skilled at bringing  Sitecore developers specifically for DMS, which only about 1 out of 20 developers understands to fully enable DMS  and Page Editor capabilities. Or if a client already has Sitecore and is looking to upgrade to a new version, the end result will be a marketing-friendly, componentized architecture ready for 100% DMS deployment.

After the environment is ready, our highly skilled Business & DMS consultants are utilized for the following steps:

• DMS diagnostic
• Digital Ecosystem Assessment
• DMS training of internal staff
• Strategy mapping & planning
• Campaign launch

If you would like to learn more and speak with the team here at Supersonic, please call us at 763.208.7689, or email us at Connect@GoSuperonic.com.

Josh Kampa

Business Development Manager- Enterprise CMS