Law Firm Marketing Tailored to Your Goals

Many lawyers feel that actively marketing their firm should be a focus of every associate through networking and building an individual book of business. With more associate turnover and increase in competition in the legal marketplace, many firms find that networking and traditional business development methods are no longer as effective as they once were.

Today's successful law firms prioritize marketing as something the firm itself should engage in, not solely dependent on associates to bring in new business. Modern marketing not only brings in leads with less attention and time from associates but also supports the efforts of associates building a book of business, reducing the number of non-billable hours and increasing profitability per associate.

When done well, marketing can also reflect well on your law firm to not only drive new business but also build up your firm's reputation and respect in your community. Law firm marketing comes in many forms so identifying the right marketing partner to deliver exceptional quality can make the difference in the perception of your firm.

Marketing a law firm today focuses primarily on digital marketing as the majority of legal service consumers are searching online for legal representation, according to market research by Clio. Second only to referrals from friends and family, a law firm's website and search presence drive the majority of new business and allows law firms to tap into new client bases without an introduction.

The specific strategy that will work for your firm is largely dependent on your practice area, target clientele, and the competitiveness of your region. Some law firms can easily become the leader in their practice area with a minimal investment in law firm marketing while others have a significant hurdle to overcome.

We start off by developing a law firm marketing strategy unique to your firm's needs. Your unique plan takes into consideration the timelines and difficulties for success in all your practice areas and focuses on identifying the most lucrative, easiest to acquire business first while working towards long-term, more sustainable practice areas. Online marketing plans can include anything from website development and SEO to newsletters and billboards, but it is all tailored to your budget and specific needs.

Most law firms need both marketing and advertising to stay competitive in today’s legal landscape, but it largely depends on your firm’s practice areas, region, and competition. Looking at what competing firms are doing can give you a good idea of what will be required for your firm to be successful.

At a minimum, most law firms need to maintain an active website with comprehensive information for organic search, have well-managed Google Ads campaigns, and use Google My Business profile tools to improve local search rankings. Firms in more competitive practice areas or regions may also need to incorporate other aspects of digital marketing, like social media marketing and advertising, and traditional advertising techniques.

We can help you better understand what marketing and advertising is best suited for your firm’s goals and budget in a consultation.

There's a wide range in how much law firms spend on marketing and it varies based on a number of factors, including firm size, practice areas, lifetime client value, competition, and region. Successful firms may spend as much as 20% of the gross revenues on marketing. Higher growth firms typically spend more on marketing than slower growth or static growth firms.

Developing your law firm's marketing budget should include competitor research and projections of ad spend costs to determine the right budget for marketing success for your growth goals. We help our customers determine their overall budget for marketing as part of our initial free consultation, as well as recommend the overarching strategies and spending amounts for each marketing channel as part of an integrated marketing approach.

Staying competitive in the legal market comes down to four key points: visibility, responsiveness, customer service, and results. Most law firms focus primarily on the last of the four elements, often neglecting the first three to their peril. 

In today’s legal market, getting in front of your potential clients when they’re looking for legal representation is one of the biggest challenges to overcome. It requires actively marketing your law firm to be where potential clients look for a law firm, using advertising to raise awareness of your firm, and building a strong referral network that scales traditional relationships easily. Strategies tend to focus on digital marketing because it’s more cost effective than many other channels to improve visibility of your firm. 

Responsiveness is also an important factor to staying competitive because legal service consumers are looking for someone right now who can help them with a pressing problem. Research shows that if your law firm doesn’t quickly respond to potential clients’ questions, you’ll miss a lot of opportunities to competitors. Beyond call answering services and proper intake processes to use lawyers’ time efficiently, using technology to make your law firm more efficient at managing legal leads is key to staying competitive. 

Customer service goes hand in hand with responsiveness, both before and after clients retain your firm. Addressing concerns and treating clients with dignity and respect, regardless of their legal situation or profitability of their case is essential to cultivating great relationships with clients who have the potential to be great referral sources. As well, protecting your law firm’s reputation starts with customer service. It’s much easier to benefit your reputation online with an overwhelming number of positive reviews rather than online profiles peppered with negative ones. 

Working with an experienced law firm marketing agency can help you address visibility, responsiveness, and customer service issues to keep your law firm competitive in your legal market.

Marketing that prioritizes quality typically outperforms other approaches because of how modern marketing works today. Potential clients often see through low-quality or spammy marketing tactics that are all too common in the legal field. In addition, search engines give priority to websites that demonstrate quality factors related to authority, expertise, and trust.

Exceptional marketing places a high priority on better addressing the questions and needs of your ideal clients rather than your competitors, which has a direct effect on the quality and quantity of lead generation. It also takes into account the weakness of your competitors and seeks out opportunities they may have missed or overlooked to carve out a lucrative niche and solidify market leadership early.

Our marketing agency for lawyers focuses on outperforming your competitors by better responding to potential clients' concerns as they search for legal representation and using competitor research to identify opportunities for your firm to succeed. As an attorney-owned marketing agency, we can better identify new niches in complementary practice areas that grow your client base thanks to our legal insight and practice management knowledge. We've helped clients with smaller budgets successfully compete thanks to an integrated approach focused on showcasing the firm's authority, expertise, and trust.