Seth Godin recently posted: Mass personalization is a trap. For those of you whose firms send email blasts designed to make clients and potential clients think it actually came from you, I suggest you take a moment to read what Seth Godin has written.

I still get emails every day from law firms, from consulting firms for law firms and from others. I think those emails which are sent to thousands at the same time actually annoy potential clients rather than draw them to a firm or lawyer. I am tired of opting out and then receiving more emails.

If I don’t want email blasts, just imagine how your clients are more busy than I feel about receiving email blasts.

Seth Godin not only posted the recent blog but a few years ago he expressed his thoughts in an interview:

Marketing is no longer about interrupting the masses with unanticipated spam: ads about average products for average people. Instead, marketing is about leading tribes – groups of people who want to go somewhere.

One of the lawyers I coached shared with me a story about an experiment one of her partners had conducted with an alert. Here is the story:

I decided to try something. I picked 40 clients that I thought might be impacted by the new I-9 forms.  I drafted a general email text about the client alert. I took the general email text and personalized it in some way for each client so that it did not appear as a mass email blast. It took about 45 minutes to send out these emails.

The result:

Fifteen clients emailed to thank me and four specifically mentioned that they were unaware of the changes.

One client used return email to schedule a call regarding an unrelated matter that directly resulted in billable work.

In 2018, the competition to attract and retain clients could not be greater. Adding a personal touch to any contact with clients will set you and your firm apart.