Marketing and Advertising

Marketing / Advertising List of Categories

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3

What is the Advocate Registry Service
What's the most common marketing error made by advocates?
What's the first step in preparing a marketing campaign?
Are you going to practice full or part-time?
I'm practicing full-time. How should I approach the market?
How do I determine my initial advertising budget?
What's the three month rule of marketing?
How do I determine the effectiveness of my ad?
How do I determine how many advocates are practicing in my area?
Advocate Registry Service
Developing local credibility as a disability advocate can take years to accomplish. To address this issue, Disability Associates has added a new feature to our course called the Advocate registry Service. This service is designed to provide our Executive students with instant credibility. This service is free of charge and here is how it works:
1. After completing your training, be sure to request your Certificate of Completion.
2. Using the link below, send us your name and company name. We will verify that you are a currently active student.
3. If you are a currently active Executive student, we will place your company name into our registry.
4. Begin your marketing using whatever approach best fits your budget.
5. When customers begin contacting you, some will ask about your background and experience in this field. Your answer could determine whether they use your service or not. First, provide the new potential customer with information about your unique background if appropriate.
6. On the question of experience, here is what you should say:
Our Company is directly associated with the Disability Associates Corporation. We have twenty-one years of experience representing Social Security disability claims. If you would like to verify our relationship, please call 303-766-1111 for verification. You can also contact our home office at Disability Associates via e-mail at info@daincpm.net.
1. In order for Disability Associates to verify the credibility of your new company to a potential client, you must register your company name with us. If you have not registered your company with us, we cannot verify your association.
As you might expect, by using Disability Associate’s as a verifying source, your company will gain instant credibility in the marketplace. This service will remove the downside of being new to disability advocacy, enabling you to acquire more customers in the first year of your service.

Please note that company verification is only available to active Executive students. Please also note that when the Executive support period ends, so will the free verification service. However, if you decide to renew your support services, the verification service will automatically continue.
What's the most common marketing error made by advocates?

The most common marketing error made by advocates is the starting of a marketing campaign before having a full understanding of the disability process. Make sure that you are prepared to accept cases prior to beginning a marketing campaign.

To top
What's the first step in preparing a marketing campaign?

The first step in preparing a marketing campaign is to decide your level of marketing.
1. Are you going to practice full or part-time?

2. What is your initial advertising budget?

3. How many non-attorney advocates are practicing in your immediate area?

4. Take a look at the general demographics in the area you intend to practice.

5. Is your community affluent, middle or working class? Middle and working class communities
are the best for advocacy services.

6. Review local avenues for advertising.

7. Begin by using non-paid advertising sources.

To top
Are you going to practice full or part-time?

Determine if you are going to practice full or part-time. We normally advice our students to start part-time whenever possible. we recommendation this only because those who take their time, generally enjoy greater success in this field. If you are starting part-time, you may not need to go beyond using several of our free marketing approaches.

To top
I'm practicing full-time. How should I approach the market?

If you're going to practice full-time right from the start, then do the following:
1. Execute as many of our free marketing approaches as possible before you spend a dime on advertising. Read "Market Planning" and "Selling Your Service" in the marketing segment of the Executive web.

2. Use our exclusive niche marketing technique. See Special Subjects in the Executive web.

3. Start your local PR campaign immediately. See PR Planning parts 1 And 2 in the Marketing segment of the Executive web.

4. Set up your customer contact system. Be prepared to answer commonly-asked client questions. See Common Questions Asked in the Student web syllabus under special subjects.

5. Be prepared to assess and accept a case. Review the Case Assessment Navigator software. Review first client contact in your Study and Business Guides in the online student web.

6. Call your mentor to discuss all other advertising approaches before you spend any money.

To top
How do I determine my initial advertising budget?

You determine your initial advertising budget by first determining what would be the best initial advertising avenues to use. TV is usually not an initial option for most advocates. However, radio spots are more affordable and are a great way to get instant name recognition for your firm. No matter what advertising avenue you use, start by using the three month rule of marketing.

To top
What's the three month rule of marketing?

The three month month rule of marketing states that no matter what advertising approach you use, it will usually take up to three months to prove the effectiveness of that advertising approach. To save money while using the 3 month rule, limit the overall number of ads, but still run them for 3 full months.

To top
How do I determine the effectiveness of my ad?

This is tricky! You determine the effectiveness of your ad by tracking the ad's response rate. Depending upon the advertising avenue used, you should always create a simple tracking system to determine the effectiveness of a particular ad. Contact your mentor. Our mentors have been trained in creating ad tracking systems of various types including on the Internet.

To top
How do I determine how many advocates are practicing in my area?

The reality is, it doesn't matter how many advocates are practicing in your area. What matters is the market the other advocate has targeted. To determine the number of non-attorney representatives in your area, do the following:
1. Call your local Social Security office and ask if they can provide you with a list of practicing non-attorney advocates. If they do not have a list, this is good news for you. If they have a list, try to get a copy of it and note the number of non-attorney advocates listed.

2. You may be able to identify local non-attorney advocates from a local advertising source. Call the advertising source and ask if anyone has purchased advertising for this type of service.

3. Contact local agencies for the disabled and ask if they can recommend a non-attorney. Tell them you are looking for help with your claim. Regardless of your location, in most instances you'll find that non-attorney representatives are few and far between.

To top

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3