How To Find Your Law Firm’s Optimal Marketing Strategy
Law firm marketing is like a foreign language for many attorneys. There seems to be an unlimited number of marketing and advertising avenues—online, TV, radio, and print, to name a few—and if you intend to grow your practice, having some kind of marketing plan is a must. So, how do you know where to start?
Through a simple question-and-answer exercise, you can determine which marketing strategy will work best for your law firm.
A 3-Step Exercise to Identify the Best Law Firm Marketing Strategy
Effective marketing is a process of figuring out how to get (1) the right message (2) in front of the right people (3) at the right time.
This exercise helps you market effectively by identifying:
- The right clients—people who need your services, know they need them, and have the ability to pay for them.
- The right time—when potential clients cross the threshold between discovery of legal issues, and the desire to seek a resolution.
- The right message—the marketing materials and distribution channels you can best convince potential clients to act.
Step 1: Q & A Analysis
The first step in our exercise is to analyze your practice in detail. Ask yourself the following six questions, and write down a thorough, detailed answer for each:
What specific types of services do you provide?
Who are your target clients? (Consider age, gender, and other demographics.)
How do your clients become aware of their legal issues?
How urgent are their legal issues?
What are their motivations to resolve these issues?
What is likely to be their first course of action once they become aware of their issues?
Step 2: Impact on Marketing
Next, use the answers from Step 1 to see how the responses will affect your marketing needs.
For example, if you answered Question 1, “I defend my clients from drug-related criminal charges,” the impact on your marketing would be that all your marketing materials should use relevant language and emphasize the value of hiring an attorney when facing drug-related charges.
If you answered Question 2, “My target clients are younger clients who tend to actively use smartphones and the internet,” you will want to prioritize online marketing strategies—and to optimize your content for audiences using mobile devices.
If you answered Question 4, “My clients will be motivated to find representation quickly,” your marketing goal is to be the first lawyer your clients encounter—so Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising may be a great option, as could offering live chat on your website (to catch the attention of potential new clients who visit your site).
And so on.
Step 3: Define the Marketing Strategy
Finally, use the information you gathered in the “Impact on Marketing” step to design your marketing plan. Focus on aligning the three elements of effective marketing: right message, right people, and right timing.
An Ideal Marketing Plan
Based on the sample responses above, the most logical choice is to market online to a young demographic that will want to choose a lawyer quickly.
Below are a few starter assets which should be incorporated into this type of marketing plan:
This Q&A exercise will help you assess exactly who your clients are, what their motivations are to hire a lawyer, and where they are likely to go for answers. From there, all you have to do is design your marketing plan accordingly, and you’ll have a good shot at landing more of your target clients in the future.
About the Author
Aaron George is the Director of Product Management for Clio Grow, Clio’s client intake and legal CRM software. Previously, he was the Co-founder of Lexicata, which was acquired by Clio in 2018. Aaron has written extensively about legal technology, law firm marketing, and the future of legal practice.
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