Marketing Your Law Firm

Top Five Tips For Marketing Your Law Firm

Gone are the days when law firms did not have to engage in marketing as they could rely on partner networking to bring in clients. As of October 2022, there are?9,636 regulated solicitors’ firms in the UK and thanks to Google, alternative business structures (ABS), and an increasingly educated population, competition amongst legal providers is increasingly fierce. Investing in marketing is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity. However, with so many marketing products and methods available, it can be difficult to choose one that is right for your law firm. To help you sort the wheat from the chaff, below are five sure fire marketing actions you can take to boost your firm’s profile and attract new business.

Appoint someone to oversee marketing activities

If cashflow and revenue allows, the ideal situation is to appoint an experienced marketing professional to manage your law firm’s marketing strategy. If this is not possible, there are numerous marketing agencies you can instruct to help you develop and execute a solid marketing plan. Failing that, if a particular partner has skills in marketing, they could oversee the activities. The most important thing is that someone, either in-house or external, should be in place to ensure a strategy is drawn up and appropriate campaigns are organised and delivered.

Treat your website as you would your shop window

The worst mistake you can make with your website is to create it and leave it for months (in some cases years) without ever updating or adding to it. A business’s website in 2023 is the equivalent of a 1980s department store shop window and just as much effort, care and creativity should be invested in making it interesting, informative, and beguiling. By adding blogs, videos, firm news, and photographs to your website regularly, you will boost your search engine optimisation (SEO) and ensure your website reflects your current business and brand.

Host information events

One way to connect with prospective clients and upsell to existing ones is to provide free information through in-person events, webinars, podcasts, and videos. Different departments can decide on the best legal topics to present. Examples include:

·????????A guide to the home buying process for first time buyers.

·????????What to think about when writing a Will.

·????????How to plan your estate to minimise inheritance tax.

·????????Negotiating a commercial lease.

·????????Legal issues when starting your own business.

Use case studies and testimonials to showcase your success

All law firms claim to be experienced, client focused, responsive, and providers of personal service. However, without proof to back up such statements contained in your website copy and marketing materials, these are just soundbites. Investing in case studies and asking clients for testimonials and Google reviews will ensure you have a body of evidence to support your claims and prove that you ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to providing exceptional service and legal expertise.

Monitor your marketing ROI

Unfortunately, not every marketing strategy you undertake is going to produce results. However, certain blogs, videos, events, and PR initiatives will boost your SEO, brand recognition, and client conversions. The only way to keep track of what works and what does not is to monitor the impact of all your marketing activity, including social media posts. There are several tools available to help you achieve this, for example Hootsuite for social media and Google analytics for landing pages and blog posts. And train your customer facing staff to ask people how they heard about your law firm. That way, you will develop a clear picture of the route taken by customers to find you. Following on from this, asking clients to fill out a ‘how did we do’ type questionnaire once their matter is resolved can also help you gain insight as to how your team are performing and delivering client care.

Wrapping up

Great marketing is not a dark art, you simply have to understand who your customers are, what they want, and then communicate how you can deliver it. For example, a few years ago there was a trend where law firm landing pages would talk about ‘partnering’ with people and businesses to help them solve their problems. However, when clients were questioned about this, they made clear they were not particularly interested in partnering with a Solicitor, they just wanted them to take the problem off their shoulders and deal with it quickly and cost-effectively.

To avoid falling into the trap of blindly following marketing trends that may not be effective is to talk to your clients and find out what they want from a law firm and develop your marketing and communication materials around the information you receive.

“The best way to sell something – don’t sell anything. Earn the awareness, respect, and trust of those who might buy” – Rand Fishkin

Albion Legal provides a?range of added value products and services, from bespoke employment disputes insurance cover to white-labelled HR software. To discuss any points in the above article or to find out how we can help your business, please phone 0113 2471 717 or email our team.