Your law firm needs a marketing strategy to compete. While it’s easy to defer developing a smart marketing strategy because your firm is busy, we promise that it’s time well spent. Without it, your firm will be relying on word-of-mouth referrals and stunting its growth. To best grow and sustain itself, your law firm needs to attract new business. Having a concrete
marketing strategy is the most effective and efficient way to build a pipeline of new leads. In this article, we’ll cover best practices for building a marketing strategy and offer tips on how to market your law firm. Let’s get started! What is law firm marketing, and why is it important? Law firm marketing is used to attract (and hopefully convert) potential clients to your firm. It’s
an important part of developing successful strategies to grow and sustain your legal practice. And it’s not only for big law firms! Small firms, boutiques, and solo practitioners alike can all benefit from a marketing strategy. Basically, developing a marketing strategy requires putting thought into your firm’s needs and mapping out actionable steps to meet those needs and build your roster of clients. Your law firm runs because of one thing: a continuous stream of
But maintaining a profitable
level of client activity is a real struggle for many small firms and solo practitioners. Acquiring new, paying clients is not an easy process, especially when your firm is just starting out. A successful law firm marketing strategy can help fix this. By marketing your law firm efficiently, your firm will generate new leads and increase its opportunities to acquire new clients. New
clients mean more billable hours, which means more profit. All of this starts with a good law firm marketing strategy. How do you market a law firm? Creating and then enacting a good law firm marketing strategy is a multi-step process. The key steps are knowing your law firm, identifying your target audience, considering your competition, defining your goals, and then
executing the strategy. Patience is also key in this process. It’s unlikely that your law firm will get it all right on the first try. Your marketing strategy will require adjustment to reflect shifting needs and priorities. The best law firm marketing strategy is flexible, so just know that whatever your firm decides upon now is not set in stone.Without identifying the folks who
Might need your law firm’s
services, it’s hard to know how to tailor your firm’s marketing activities. A steady understanding of your firm’s target audience is the best way to determine the focus of your law firm’s marketing efforts. Important factors to consider regarding your target audience include geographical location, age, gender, income, and occupation. If businesses are your
law firm’s main clientele, consider your typical client’s size, geographical location, and industry. By knowing your target audience and considering them when making marketing decisions, your law firm will optimize its efforts and reach people most in need of its services and thus most likely to turn into paying clients. Considering your competition The legal
is competitive. One way to stay ahead is by analyzing the market and considering your competition. Conduct a market analysis by evaluating your target audience, the size of business opportunity in your area to serve that audience, and possible practice area expansions. Think about the level of competition in your practice area and location when creating your law firm marketing tactics. For example, your tactics will differ if your firm
Specializes in executive compensation
in a competitive market like New York City or if you’re a solo practitioner in a small New England town. The best law firm marketing strategy considers market opportunity and possible market share.Executing the strategy When creating or revamping your law firm’s marketing strategy, consider early on who at the firm will be the head of marketing and who will make up the larger marketing team. We cannot stress enough the benefits of outsourcing
the legwork to marketing agency experts who can help you devise and implement your legal marketing strategy (and who won’t blow your budget). Remember to keep your target audience top of mind when devising what marketing channels your firm will pursue. For example, if you practice in trusts and estates, a Twitter campaign might not be the most
use of your firm’s marketing funds. However, if your firm practices in tech mergers and acquisitions, a LinkedIn campaign might be the right place to advertise. What is the difference between a law firm's marketing strategy and a marketing plan? Though they sound similar, your marketing strategy and marketing plan are distinct. Your law firm's marketing strategy is
Conclusion
the connective tissue between your law firm's goals and your firm’s ongoing marketing efforts. Your strategy is based on the theoretical, focusing on the why behind your decisions. Why this marketing goal? Why this target audience? Why these legal services? A law firm's marketing plan defines the specific actions that your law firm is going to take to execute its strategy. Just as you might outline a business plan, your law firm's marketing plan should be well-structured
and detailed. Your marketing plan will include specific actions like digital marketing, the creation of a law firm website, content marketing, email marketing, or enhanced search engine optimization. Having a sound law firm marketing strategy plus an actionable law firm marketing plan is key to keeping your firm top of mind for potential clients. But because
marketing is outside the skill set of the typical legal professional, many law firms choose to work with outside expert marketingWhat are some best practices for a law firm marketing strategy? Your firm’s marketing strategy should be primarily digital. Sure, you can plaster your firm’s name on a billboard, but you’ll likely get more bang for your buck with online advertising on targeted websites. More now than ever, life is happening digitally. By focusing your efforts
on digital marketing like increased search engine optimization (SEO), blogs, newsletters, and ads, you’ll ensure that your law firm reaches a wider but curated audience. Another important component to consider is your marketing budget. What is it? To figure this out, your law firm will need to identify its goals and determine the revenue you need to achieve those goals. It’s important to be realistic here and to know that as your firm begins to reap benefits from its
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