Let’s Get Technical! All of Your Most Pressing Website Management System Questions Answered

Foster Web Marketing has worked hard over the last 15 years to develop the best solutions for website domain name registration and management, as well as performance and security. This has led us to a best-of-breed solution that we not only encourage, but actually require for all our clients. 

What is my domain registration, and do you have my credentials so I can log in and make changes?

Your domain registration is essentially the ownership of your domain. 

Website companies that manage domains for their clients and hold client domains under their company accounts are predatory in nature. They use their ownership of your domain as a way to manipulate you into staying with them—even when you don’t want to. FWM does not register or hold registration of client domains because of this. We believe that you should always own your domain and retain the ability to transfer to a different provider, if needed. 

You can check where your domain is currently registered and who technically owns it by going to https://who.is and entering your domain name.

Typical companies used for registering a domain include GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Register.com, and several others. Your responsibility as an FWM client is to ensure that your domain is registered, maintain its credentials, and renew and make payments as needed. 

It’s important to keep up with this so it does not impact your website, email, or other services tied to your domain. 

My IT company wants to make changes to my mail server settings, add a DNS record, or have control of my domain records. Is this okay?

During the launch of your website, we can work with your IT provider to answer questions and ensure a smooth transition of all things related to your domain. During the preparation for launch, we will exactly replicate any existing DNS records you have in place now. So, even if your existing website is with another provider, it will not be impacted. There is no need to worry that any changes we make will impact your email, website, or other services. It’s typically a painless transition.  

Once launched, you and your authorized IT team can request changes to DNS records 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. To request changes, you can call our main number at 888.886.0939 and open a ticket with one of our Customer Service team members. If it is after regular hours or an urgent request, you can call 888.886.0939 at any time and press 1 for Emergency IT Support. Leave a message, and we will return your call within 30 minutes.

Can my IT company or staff log in and make changes to DNS directly?

Because we utilize an Enterprise DNS solution called Cloudflare for all clients and cannot give access to specific clients for their records, there is no way to make this happen.

What is Cloudflare, and why do I need to have it for my website and DNS?

In a nutshell, Cloudflare is a web infrastructure and website security company that provides content delivery network services, DDoS mitigation, internet security, and distributed domain name server services worldwide. From our perspective, it is the best way to protect your website, speed up your web pages, and manage your DNS records. 

To put it into perspective, over 35% of all website traffic globally runs over Cloudflare networks and services. They are the absolute best at what they do. 

Foster Web Marketing has partnered with Cloudflare as an Enterprise Reseller to provide our clients with the best services and support they offer. Here are some of the more detailed elements they provide:

• Conceals the public IP (internet address) of your website so hackers cannot access it directly
• Free automated SSL certificates
• Global content delivery network (CDN)
• Unmetered mitigation of DDoS attacks with up to 67 Tbps capacity
• Enhanced security with Web Application Firewall (WAF)
• Bot report and basic mitigation
• Lossless image optimization
• Accelerated mobile page load speed
• Privacy-first analytics
• API Integration to our DSS Content Management System to support immediate cache updating and pre-caching of content on your website

My IT person or I still have questions about this topic. Can you help?

Absolutely. You are the customer, and we are here to answer your questions and be your trusted advisor. Please call us any time at 888.886.0939 to speak to a member of our team or send an email to [email protected].

Are You Considering Adding Marketing Automation Software To Your Law Firm or Medical Practice Strategy?

If you feel you're missing out on your share of leads for your law firm or medical practice there's a good chance you are. The good news is Foster Web Marketing is here to help! Please contact us online or call our office directly at 888.866.0939 to schedule your free consultation with our experienced marketing team. We've been helping clients throughout the United States and internationally since 1998 and are confident we can help you not only reach, but exceed your goals.

The whole point of customer relationship management (CRM) software is to manage the experience that clients have with your law firm. And, if you think about it, an awesome client experience is really what most small and solo law firms are already known for! 

But is the software really worth it? Well, yeah! We sure think so. 

Although small law firms handle less volume than bigger firms, they might actually benefit the most from CRM software. CRMs typically come loaded with all kinds of digital tools that streamline, personalize, and improve the relationships you build with your clients. So, in a nutshell, it supports you as you capitalize and expand on what you already do well—and that’s the kind of strategy that gives you an edge over your competition.

Still not sure if a CRM is right for you? Keep reading below to see exactly how and why small law firms are absolutely KILLING IT with CRM software. 

Already a marketing-automation enthusiast, but looking for something better? Don’t forget these three CRUCIAL things when you upgrade your law firm CRM software. 

Short on Staff? Law Firm CRM Software Is Like Another Employee

Small and solo law firms often find themselves running with a skeleton crew. They employ less staff, or their attorneys might even be doing everything themselves. We all know how hard it is to be an attorney, a business owner, and a marketer all by yourself. And that’s exactly why a little bit of software can make a HUGE difference.  

When you have a CRM, it’s like having an extra employee in the office that takes charge of new leads, collects contact information, and notifies you that people are coming in. It sends email sequences right on time, to the right people. And it solicits feedback that keeps you on the right track with your clients and referral sources. 

Just like a well-trained employee, a well-trained CRM can carry out the tasks you know you need to do—exactly the way you want them to happen. And, if your ideas don’t work out the way you’d hoped, it’s easy to make on-the-fly adjustments that will make it all work better.  

Imagine what you could do with just one employee that is dedicated to improving your relationships with clients and referral sources. Now, imagine that employee is working for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and never takes a day off. 

That’s the power of a great CRM!

Leads Getting Lost in the Shuffle? Law Firm CRM Software Puts Them Right in Front of You

There’s no doubt that an excellent, personalized client experience is one of the biggest selling points for small law firms. But that’s pretty tough to keep up consistently, especially as your law firm grows. Leads slip through the cracks. Promising contacts fall off because they don’t hear from you and don’t get the follow-up communication they need to make a real hiring decision. It can be a big mess, even when you have the best intentions. 

And, yes. CRM software notifies you of the leads that come in, leaving fewer contacts hanging. That alone can be a big relief for a small but busy law firm. But CRM software also does a whole lot more to keep you engaged with great leads.  

CRM software is all about managing and nurturing your leads and contacts. You can easily create, edit, import, and export your contact list—no matter how big or small. It’s easy to update contact information, tag contacts, and create groups without the need to maintain separate lists. 

So, you want to send an email blast only to past clients? No problem. You want to send an email blast to everyone BUT your past clients? Also, no problem. 

With custom email templates and automatic scheduling, you know your email sequences, blasts, and campaigns are going to the right people at the right time. So, ultimately, a great CRM saves you time and automatically keeps you top of mind with the people that matter most. It reduces redundancy and “busy work,” so it improves your overall efficiency. You know when you have a lead. You know that lead is already getting emails that educate them and introduce them to your law firm. You can rest assured that each new contact is funneled in the right direction, and you don’t have to write every email or make a personal call to keep it all going. 

And that’s really the beauty of it. CRM software takes a lot of the work off your plate in the background while making you look like a total pro to your existing clients, referral sources, and potential clients.

Not Sure If CRM Software Is for You? Track Your Performance and See for Yourself

Our CRM is backed by all the power of DSS, so you never have to wonder if your investment in a CRM is worth it. Instead, you can track it for yourself! 

You can track your leads and monitor your performance, all from the same place. You can easily see the number of opens, opt-outs, and clicks from your email campaigns, and you have access to other tools that give you essential insight into what’s working best for your practice. 

And, even more importantly, the DSS CRM makes it simple to create and deploy customer feedback campaigns. All the numbers and data aside, that genuine feedback from your actual clients might be the best and most important indicator of success you can get. 

Find Marketing Automation Software That Makes You Even Better at What You Do

Ultimately, great CRM software streamlines contacts, communication, and client acquisition, while helping you manage the relationships you build with your clients and contacts. It’s a little thing that can boost small law firms, build up their relationships, and grow them into bigger firms. And it can do it all with less juggling, less stress, and fewer new leads getting lost in the mix.  

Are You Considering Adding Marketing Automation Software To Your Law Firm or Medical Practice Strategy?

If you feel you're missing out on your share of leads for your law firm or medical practice there's a good chance you are. The good news is Foster Web Marketing is here to help! Please contact us online or call our office directly at 888.866.0939 to schedule your free consultation with our experienced marketing team. We've been helping clients throughout the United States and internationally since 1998 and are confident we can help you not only reach, but exceed your goals.

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Boost Your Email Reputation With These DSS CRM Enhancements Get More Law Firm Referrals With These 5 Tips How to Follow Up With a New Website Contact

A big part of the point of your website and marketing is to get potential new clients to contact you. But what do you do once the initial contact is made? You can’t let those valuable contacts fall through the cracks!

Before you do anything, though, you should know that how you choose to follow up is a big factor in how well you can turn those contacts into clients and fans of your brand. If you aren’t ready to meet them—the right way—at this critical stage in their “customer journey,” then they’re likely to turn around and move on. 

So, how should you follow up after someone contacts you through your website? Here are our seven best tips for getting it just right for your potential clients.    

#1 Tip: Choose Marketing Software That Makes it Easy to Follow Up With Contacts

Before we get into our other tips for following up with your contacts, we need to talk about your marketing software. Why? The very best tip we can give you is that the software you choose has a huge impact on how easily you’re able to collect information about your contacts and follow up with them. 

For example, all our websites are built and maintained using DSS (Dynamic Self-Syndication), which gives our clients a lot of options. 

With DSS, you create the contact forms that encourage people on your website to reach out, and you choose what kind of information is automatically collected from those forms. You are notified when people contact you, and you set up the follow-up emails that they receive when they do. You never lose the contact information that people share with you, and you can quickly tag and manage your contact list as it grows. It’s even easy to add dynamic call-tracking numbers! 

You are still in control of the strategy and the message, but your website and DSS automate all the routine tasks and moving parts to give your follow-up strategy a pro-level polish.  

Imagine trying to do all those tasks manually, before you even get the strategy, content, and messaging going! When your website and software are already built with follow-up strategies in mind, you save yourself a ton of time and frustration. 

6 More Ways to Maximize the Effectiveness of Your Follow-Up 

Whether your website automates some of your follow-up tasks with contacts, or you do it manually, you still need to:

1. Act fast. Some attorneys and podiatrists wait a week or more to follow up with potential clients after they’ve reached out, which gives contacts plenty of time to go elsewhere, get frustrated, or forget about you. In general, you should return contact within 24 hours of an email or phone call—and you should aim for immediately wherever you can! This is why automated follow-up sequences make such a difference in conversion. When people reach out to you, they immediately get a response and know that you got the message—even if you plan to also respond personally later.   
2. Be specific. When you write your follow-up emails or direct-mail letters, don’t write a generic form letter or general “thank you” response. Instead, use that content to talk specifically about your contacts’ concerns. It shows them that you are listening and have thought about their issues during the time between contacts. Want to nail this? Check out Dave Frees’ tips for creating powerful follow-up content.  
3. Send helpful information. The purpose of a follow-up strategy isn’t exactly to try to pitch the benefits of your law firm or medical practice over and over again. Instead, you want to give your potential clients something of value that creates a link between what they need and what you offer. When you send them helpful information that’s relevant to their problems, you show them that you have the knowledge and experience to help.
4. Establish your credibility. The first few interactions your potential clients have with your law firm or medical practice are critical. This is the point where they come to a decision about whether they really want to work with you! Sending contacts your book and other helpful information goes a long way, but this is also a great time to build your credibility in their minds by including some testimonials, case stories, and reviews in your follow-up materials.  
5. Tell them what to expect. Your follow-up campaigns work best when they tell people what to expect next. Is this the only contact they will receive? When should they expect to hear from you? What do they need to do? What happens next? This can also include information about how to take the next step toward becoming a client. For example, if they requested your book through your website, the next step might be to come in for a free consultation with you. 
6. Include your contact information. A lot of the follow-up you do with potential clients happens off your website, where your name, phone number, and other contact information isn’t in view. As simple as it sounds, just remembering to include that kind of information in your follow-up content makes it much easier for contacts to take the next step or reach out with questions. Consistency matters here! The customizable email templates in DSS make it easy to make sure you include the right contact information, every time. 

Getting new contacts to come to your website and reach out to you is tough, so you need to be sure that you’re ready to nurture them into leads and clients when they do take action. 

Want to step up your follow-up game? Want to save time and energy while doing follow-up better? Request a DSS demo to see our powerful software in action, or give us a call at 888.886.0939. Just mention that you’re interested in what you can do with follow-up campaigns!

RELATED

The “Secret Sauce” for Successful Follow-Up Campaigns Rem Jackson’s Proof That Follow-Up Campaigns Convert How to Use DSS to Manage Your Email Campaigns

Are You Considering Adding Marketing Automation Software To Your Law Firm or Medical Practice Strategy?

If you feel you're missing out on your share of leads for your law firm or medical practice there's a good chance you are. The good news is Foster Web Marketing is here to help! Please contact us online or call our office directly at 888.866.0939 to schedule your free consultation with our experienced marketing team. We've been helping clients throughout the United States and internationally since 1998 and are confident we can help you not only reach, but exceed your goals.