Estate planning clients must be wooed. They’re not coming to you in need of immediate assistance— instead, they have the time to take their time as they consider whether or not they want to work
Effective marketing for law firms can often be tough, mainly because of the struggle to balance professional with personal. Law firms usually need a unique strategy that displays the lighter side of their lawyers and profession, while still communicating confidence and the right level of thought leadership.
There are some steps that law firms can take when developing their overall marketing strategy to ensure that their efforts are effective and deliver the right results – here is a sneak peek at some of then:
1) Strive to develop a message and voice
Most law firms do not take the time out to really articulate what their message is, and in what voice they would like to deliver that. However, strong messaging and a clear voice can do wonders when it comes to reinforcing trust and confidence in website visitors.
The key is to anticipate questions that potential clients may ask and provide messaging for that.
The key is to anticipate questions that potential clients may ask and provide messaging for that. That way, by the time they are able to speak to someone, most of the “sale” is already done. This will also help in ensuring that you have the right information to determine how much time to allocate to potential clients when speaking to them later.
2) Make your website easy to navigate
No profession is immune to this tip, but law firms are a special case. Whether it is contacting a specific lawyer, practice group or anything in between – make sure that the contact information is easy to spot.
Consider your website as an extension of your phone, and like a new phone call. If you do not have a form of some sort that is readily available and easy to spot or even just general contact information, how will prospective clients contact you?
This must mean that each part of the website must have contact information easy to spot and conveniently placed for optimum ease. Whether prospective clients choose to email, Skype or even just want to call – have that information prominently displayed.
3) Adopt adaptive communication practices
Clients expect adaptability in this digital age, so you must deliver on that. Whether it is before, during or after, ensure that your communication is able to adapt to their needs and how they communicate. This might mean picking up the phone and simply calling them or sending a simple check-in email to understand their case better.
Email marketing tends to have the best ROI compared to other digital marketing strategies, but it must be used smartly. A “firm newsletter” might not always cut it, although it is usually the best choice. Think about what issues your clients are facing, what changes are happening in their industries, and design newsletters that address these issues. To use sales terminology, think of it as a way of nurturing leads and giving them a preview of your expertise and legal acumen.
4) To get returns, you need to make an investment
Another key misstep by many law firms is not investing in the right tools. First and foremost, to compete in this digital landscape, you must allocate a digital advertising budget. Organic search traffic from Google will not happen overnight, unfortunately. Having a digital advertising budget in place will allow you to ascertain what strategies are right for you.
However, you will need to direct at least some paid traffic to your website, at least initially in order to results. This will help your website grow, and that subsequent growth will lead to higher rankings that will then pull organic search traffic.
Effective marketing in the digital challenge can pose a challenge for many law firms, but it is something that we have great expertise in. To learn more about to market your law firm effectively, please do not hesitate to contact us.