The success of any business depends on a steady flow of customers. For a business to thrive, there must be a constant influx of new customers. Your law firm is a business! To increase income, lawyers must constantly find ways to generate new leads and regularly secure more clients. To grow their client base and, in turn, their revenue, successful law firms employ a variety of proactive business tactics.
One of the secrets to bringing in lucrative new business is knowing how clients choose law firms. Questions should include: What are clients looking for in a lawyer? How can our law firm implement effective methods for clients to choose our firm over other firms? These are some of the questions we ask ourselves and answer to provide the best business solutions to our law firm clients.
How do potential clients find lawyers?
Not long ago, a referral from a friend or family member or a quick look in the yellow pages was the best and only way to find a lawyer. Today, clients have many more options available to help them find a reliable and trustworthy attorney. Google and online referral services continue to grow and evolve, making it easier for consumers to find what they need when they need it.
Law firms must continually monitor and adapt theirs marketing strategies to satisfy the needs and desires of consumers. Fortunately, tracking data on legal trends can help companies measure how people find lawyers. Businesses can then use this information to modify their marketing strategies and generate more leads. Legal trends illustrate that most people looking to hire lawyers find law firms in one of two ways.
References
Referrals are still a key source for finding a trusted attorney. Potential clients want to trust the person they hire to advocate for their interests. Potential clients are likely to hire someone who has successfully helped a friend or family member with their legal problems because they trust that they will do the same for them. If a law firm wants its practice to thrive, it will work to improve its referral marketing.
A 2019 Legal Trends Report found that 59% of potential clients sought some type of referral when searching for a lawyer.
Three common sources of referrals include:
Family members Friends Other lawyers Non-legal professionals such as real estate agents and accountants whose work overlaps with legal matters.
Growing law firms understand the importance of nurturing professional relationships, as these referrals will help grow their business.
Online searches
We no longer need to go through the yellow pages to find any kind of business. Finding a lawyer to hire is fairly simple, and most potential clients will find legal advice through online search methods. 57% of potential clients searched for a lawyer on their own, according to this same Legal Trends Report. Consumers used different approaches online to find the perfect lawyers. Some of the approaches they used included social media, attorney websites, online attorney reviews, attorney directories, online search engines, law firm blogs, articles, and videos.
Google is where most people start any search online, including looking for a lawyer.
Trends indicate that potential clients will first look at Google Business profiles, reviews and law firm websites, then narrow their search to the best candidates. At this point, potential clients will research law firms through social media and take a closer look at specific law firm websites.
Trends have also pointed to a difference in how younger and older clients are searching for lawyers. Older clients tend to place more value on referrals and reviews of potential attorneys, while younger clients value the law firm’s website and brand. Serving a younger audience is a great way for growing law firms to ensure and secure ongoing referrals and repeat business for the future.
How to generate leads and secure new clients
Knowing how potential clients find and hire attorneys is essential to generating leads and landing new clients. Law firms need to diversify their marketing strategies to attract new clients and generate leads for their firms. Referrals will always be a key factor in generating new business, but a law firm’s online presence is more relevant and important now that most things have gone digital. Creating and maintaining a positive and informative online presence is a key factor in generating and securing new customers, increasing revenue and providing a successful future.
Here are five ways to create a successful online presence that will help businesses increase their revenue:
Establish a high performing website
Law firms that want to generate more business and revenue need to create a professional, high-performing website. The design and content must be meticulous and attractive to attract new customers. Your website could have a major impact on the number of leads that become customers and the success of your business.
Many new clients use the law firm’s website to help them decide whether or not to hire a potential lawyer. A law firm’s website should allow users to quickly navigate and find answers to relevant legal questions. It must be well designed and pleasing to the eye. It should be clear, concise and include relevant information. The user experience should be fast and easy for the average consumer. A mobile app is something to consider to make your website accessible to everyone. These factors can turn potential customers into paying customers.
Use search engine optimization for substantial traffic
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an integral part of any 21st century marketing strategy. SEO will set your law firm apart from others and help you get more clients. Your content must rank well in search engines for potential customers to see it. Research has shown that potential customers don’t usually look past the second page of search results. A user-friendly site, smart keywords, website design and linking strategies will attract users. Developing an effective SEO strategy will provide a law firm with a way to grow and maintain a successful practice year after year.
Social media and email
Marketing through social media and email will build relationships with customers and drive people to your website. Competitors use social media to win customers, so maximizing your social media presence and using these platforms will increase your competitive advantage. Videos, infographics, blogs, reviews, and other engaging visual content can help you win leads. Using these platforms to attract future customers will increase your lead generation and future customer growth.
Provide relevant information to consumers
Most often, people search online for answers to questions about legal issues they face. They will watch YouTube videos and read informative blogs and articles to help them solve their legal problems. If potential clients read information or watch a video on your website that offers help with their legal problems, they are more likely to trust that your law firm can win their case. As stated earlier, clients often choose law firms because of confidence in the firms’ capabilities. You will earn their trust if your informative content is valid and useful.
Content written in blogs or articles will establish your credibility and reputation and increase traffic to your website, which in turn will increase your customer base and income.
This informational content must be done consistently to ensure credibility and reliability. Consider hiring a digital marketing agency that understands both SEO and the law if you want to outsource this task.
Ratings and reviews
Many people read Google reviews and ratings to determine which law firm to hire to help with their legal problems. A potential customer will not hire a company if the reviews are unsatisfactory and the ratings are low. Every positive review and high rating will establish a law firm’s credibility and convince potential clients to trust and hire you. Most clients will not hire law firms with low ratings and/or bad reviews. Also, the number of reviews is also important. Clients tend to question the credibility of law firms with high ratings from a small number of people as opposed to law firms with high ratings from hundreds of former clients.
There is no policy on asking for client reviews, and helpful reviews can make or break a growing law firm. It can be advantageous to ask past customers to provide a rating for your business. Provide easy-to-follow instructions for leaving reviews for your customers. They’ll be more likely to leave a review if it’s a simple process.
Digital Marketing Next Steps
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all these challenges. Growing your business is a difficult task, and it’s important to consider outsourcing some of the components if your digital marketing budget allows. If you’re going to do your custom marketing to generate and secure new customers, start with branding first, then build an amazing website, post consistent content, and then drive traffic to your website. With a little effort and time, you can see your law firm at the top of Google.
Annette Choti, Esq. graduated from law school 20 years ago and is the founder of Law Quill, a legal digital marketing agency focused on small law firms and solopreneurs. Annette wrote the best selling book Click Magnet: The Ultimate Digital Marketing Guide for Law Firmsand hosts the podcast Legal Marketing Room. He is one of the most sought after CLE conferences and speakers in the United States and Canada. Annette used to do theater and comedy professionally, which isn’t that different from the legal field if we’re all being honest. Annette can be found LinkedIn oh annette@lawquill.com.
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