Following recent law firm ‘merger’ and administration announcements north of the border, well-kent names such as Maclay Murray & Spens, Pagan Osborne and Hamilton Burns will cease to be a part of the Scottish Legal firmament.
Sad news for the individuals negatively affected and for the Scottish legal sector in general. News, I’m sure, that has led to deep reflection in law firm board rooms throughout the land.
These recent announcements serve to remind us that during these times of unprecedented change in the legal sector, never has it been more important to have in place a robust marketing strategy designed to help you:
- Increase your turnover
- Enhance your brand
- Improve your efficiency
- Future proof your firm
Given recent events, and to help you achieve the above, we thought that now would be a good time to update and republish our ‘10 top tips’ cheat sheet for marketing your law firm in the digital age.
1. Don’t be all things to all people
Develop your niche and work towards becoming the ‘go-to’ solicitor for your area of practice and location(s). When you are looking for someone in particular, you will find them more easily (and they you). Knowing exactly who you are looking for makes marketing easier.
2. Develop your brand to differentiate
People trust lawyers to do a good job. What will set you apart from your competitors is what you offer over and above standard legal services. That’s your brand, and it’s more important than ever.
3. Provide a sophisticated design and user experience
Your website is very often a prospective instructing agent’s first impression of your firm. Is your site aligned with your brand and value proposition? Does it offer a level of sophistication in design and user experience that is comparable to the service you provide?
4. Mobile matters
In 2017, having a mobile friendly web presence should be taken as a given, particularly with Google stating its intention to roll out a ‘mobile-first’ index, making mobile pages the default pages for ranking purposes. With the number of people searching for a legal service from a mobile device increasing all the time and the fact that Google have been penalising ‘non- mobile friendly’ sites in search since April 2015, optimising your website for mobile searches is no longer optional; it’s mandatory.
5. Content is king
The phrase ‘Content is King’ is as relevant as it’s ever been. Content is crucial to the success of any online activity designed to help you highlight your expertise and authority and generate more business. Developing robust quantities of relevant, authoritative, on-brand, targeted content will help you present better to Search, convince potential instructing agents that you are the firm for them and help increase the number of enquiries you receive via your website.
6. Increase your online visibility
‘Search Engine Optimisation’ is the name for the tactics, techniques and practices designed to get you to the top of Google. You could have the best law firm and best-designed website in the world but if people can’t find it online, you won’t grow your firm. With Google moving the goalposts in their quest for perfection, it’s vital to remain aligned with best practice.
7. Pick your low hanging fruit by marketing to existing clients
It’s amazing how few firms take advantage of their existing client contact database; people who already know you and trust you. Sending out an email newsletter to current clients who may have a limited understanding of the scope of your services will help to keep you front of mind for such a time as when they require the services of a solicitor again. Maintaining contact between instructions also helps to create a stronger relationship by building a sense of trust and familiarity with your brand or business.
8. Google Ads for quick wins
Utilised within the context of an overarching growth strategy and for particular areas of practice and times of year, PPC is a great way to achieve high visibility and quick results by driving additional conversion focused traffic to your website.
9. Knowing is better than guessing: understand your marketing data
Do you know how many leads your website generates for you each month? Do you know how many of those leads turn into new instructions? Are the leads of a good quality? What is your internal conversion rate? What is your biggest barrier to conversion? To make sensible business decisions, to determine the long-term value of your marketing outlay, and to generate more and better-quality leads, to need to continually analyse, review and improve.
10. HANDLE. CALLS. BETTER!
Answering the telephone can often be viewed as an ‘admin’ task. And not just any admin task, one that is frequently delegated to employees who may have the least to gain from converting an enquiry – those who are further down the salary bracket or those that might be least engaged with the long-term health or growth of the business.
Call handling should be viewed squarely as a business development task. After all, what’s the point of investing your hard-earned cash in generating new enquiries if the leads are being lost at the first point of contact?
Moore Legal Technology – Dedicated to your law firm’s success
For further information on any of the areas covered above please contact Chris on 07969336526 or email chris@moorelegaltechnology.co.uk
