Law is no longer an exclusive industry. Marketing solutions for law firms are becoming essential because firms face challenges from multiple directions. Smaller legal firms offer increased specialisation. Larger law firms are expanding their services and their offerings. For labour-intensive legal tasks that require a lot of time and effort, other companies outside the legal sphere have started producing offerings too. Law firms are never going to be completely short of business because legal services are essential to modern infrastructure.
The legal sector has always been slow to embrace technological enhancements. Many firms still rely on primitive paper-based filing methods and systems. This laissez-faire approach has been successful in the past, but it is now becoming a millstone.
Law firms that don’t offer adequate digital services are being shunned for more effective and efficient competitors. Being bigger doesn’t always mean being better. Socio-political factors like the Coronavirus pandemic have only exacerbated this as people have been isolated from offices and forced to adapt around remote working.
As a result, mid-market law is finding itself squeezed into a corner and law firms now face a brand new set of challenges to ensure they are not pushed out of business.
The Key Challenges
In the midst of a profound and thorough digital transformation, law firms must transform the perception of their industry.
- Stuffy, staid men in suits are out. A more agile, dynamic approach to working is in.
- Legal services are no longer one-size-fits-all.
- Enhanced customer service and personalisation options need to be available to ensure that people are thoroughly satisfied with their service.
Above all, law firms must reinvent how they market themselves, their brand and their services. Although brick and mortar law offices still have a place in the world, people are increasingly looking for flexible legal services.
They expect to be able to access them when they require them, with minimal fuss and maximum expertise. Thanks to the enhanced connectivity, people have a wider range of options when it comes to picking legal services.
The Roadblocks
Consequently, this makes it more important than ever that law firms differentiate themselves from competitors and use this as a unique selling point for commercial advantage. This is before law firms even begin to factor in the importance of developing a reputation of being reliable!
Thomson Reuter’s 2019 Legal survey found that 30% of law firms cited ‘Advertising or Marketing’ as a top 3 concern. Digital marketing for law firms is strictly regulated by governing bodies which means there is a significant danger of wasting resources. As law firms are increasingly seeing their margins squeezed, they need to be sure that the activity is worthwhile. This results in a difficult balance between investing time and money to generate high-quality leads, whilst also ensuring that every penny spent is worth it.
The good news is that law firms have a wide variety of opportunities and ways to enhance their marketing. Very few mid-market law firms have successfully been able to differentiate themselves and carve out digital niches at the moment. This means that it’s not too late for your law firm to change!
Lead Generation Solutions for Law Firms
One of the most effective ways to improve your lead generation strategy is to use Pay-per-click marketing. This includes Google Ads, or other social media advertising. PPC marketing allows you to specifically target key search queries and terms and promote your law firm at the top of search engine rankings. This increases the likelihood that you’ll get clicks through to your site, and assuming that your PPC marketing matches up well with the searcher’s intent, you have an excellent chance of converting them.
Another option can be using a digital form for data capture. Create a high-quality piece of gated downloadable content, and use traffic adverts to drive relevant users to your site. Once they engage and download your content, you can get their data including email addresses and contact numbers in order to facilitate further conversations.
Content Creation Solutions for Law Firms
People searching for legal advice may have a broad idea of what they want, but they will expect law firms to be able to guide them in a concise and cogent manner. Traditionally, some law firms’ websites have really struggled with this. They focus on technicalities and jargon and end up only succeeding in putting off prospective clients
Your core content should make it clear what legal services you offer, an outline of how it works and define your USPs. Multimedia content such as videos can display this in a dynamic, interactive and interesting manner. Every core page should encourage visitors into taking action by calling your firm, making an enquiry online or downloading relevant resources.
Furthermore, writing a quality blog on a regular basis can help with humanising your brand. It also gives you a robust platform to debunk common myths, re-assure prospective clients and nurture existing leads. Focus on quality, not quantity. Every single blog must answer a specific question or enquiry, display your knowledge in a clear manner and most importantly use a strong call-to-action to map out the next steps.
Brand Identity Solutions for Law Firms
Your clients are dealing with serious, and often stressful matters. They are looking to your law firm to provide advice, support and reassurance with whatever decisions they take. Your marketing, therefore, needs to act as an extension of your character, because it will likely be their first touchpoint.
When you think about your brand, lawyers should be able to easily answer the following:
- What does my brand say?
- What do I want it to say?
- Does this affect the expectations I give to my customers?
By taking a human-centric approach, you can create a more relaxed branding, whilst also retaining the professional nature and assurance. If you specialise in one particular legal field, try and bake that into your brand as a USP. Provide a face behind the brand to generate the initial psychological trust, and always get testimonials, reviews and case studies where possible to demonstrate that people trust and appreciate your brand and expertise.
The Final Word: Marketing Solutions for Law Firms
Law firms are facing a variety of challenges, from reduced high-street footfall to slow uptake of technology. The cautious approach has worked in the past, but as law becomes an increasingly dynamic environment, early adopters are benefitting whilst less ambitious firms are lagging behind and dying out. As a result, strong marketing is more important than ever for law firms.
If you want to discuss how any of these marketing solutions for law firms could benefit your business, or want to find out what other aspects of legal marketing Boss Digital can assist you with, get in touch today.
