My dear friend Amanda Loesch the chief marketing officer at Porzio, published an article on LinkedIn yesterday, and I asked her if I could make it a guest column on my blog because I think the message is so important – there is nothing like a global pandemic to put things in perspective.

The article focused on legal guides and award submissions and why they are still considered a priority – the publications continue to send deadlines and reminders, and it seems quite tone deaf given the fact that we are living in the midst of a public health crisis with no end date. Legal industry publications should be thinking about adapting and innovating, not pushing through as if this is business as usual. Amanda is another woman who wows, and I hope you’ll take the time to read her article.

A law firm’s most precious assets are its clients, which are the source of both today’s business and tomorrow’s referrals. It’s never been more important than right now to integrate the voice of their clients into all you do. Unfortunately, many law firms still haven’t adopted a client-centric mindset as they engage with their clients and prospects, which often leads to what I call lots of random acts of marketing. There’s nothing worse than bombarding your clients with lots of non-focused content.

The fundamental and critical elements of business development success include forming strong online and in-person relationships, and providing exceptional client service at all times.

Since in-person networking is on pause for now, online networking is the most important tool  we have.

It’s never been more important to be client-focused as it is right now as we face this global pandemic, which is affecting everyone around the globe.

Here are nine ways to adopt a more client-centric mindset at your firm.

As we are in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, online networking has never been more important to stay top of mind and build connections.

There are three essential building blocks of LinkedIn – your profile, your connections and your interaction on the platform. I find that many professionals focus on the first one – creating a strong profile, but they don’t take it to the next level by strategically building their network (meaning sending and accepting connection requests) and maintaining a consistent presence through liking, commenting and sharing posts.

Here are some ways you can fire on all cylinders when it comes to strengthening your LinkedIn presence. Remember that LinkedIn is where business professionals gather, do research and look for information especially now.