One marketing expert shares what he believes to be the top five marketing mistakes that lawyers must avoid.
Most people look for attorneys by getting recommendations from their family, friends or colleagues. Some of the best marketing is spread from one mouth to another.
However, waiting for a client to come knocking on your door isn’t the most effective way to market your firm, especially since most of your competitors are leveraging many different legal marketing tactics.
As great as these tactics are, it’s also important to look at your business’s current marketing and realize what tactics you might want to avoid. From this, determine what new tactics you would like to pursue, efforts that may need improvement, or that should be avoided altogether.
To help, here are five marketing tactics your law firm needs to steer clear of:
1. Putting the Business First
Always remember that without your clients, you have no business.
Just because attorneys are skilled at communicating with colleagues, judges, and juries doesn’t necessarily mean that they are very good at expressing their gratitude to their clients. Communicating how worthy you find them can help retain old clients as well as win new ones.
Taking advantage of local charities, news sponsorships and showing your involvement in the community can give you much-needed exposure. It also shows that you care, and people who are seeking legal assistance might flock to attorneys who care about the welfare of their clients.
2. Taking Any and Every Case that Comes In
Jack of all trades, master of none – this is a common situation that lawyers face, especially when first starting out.
While it might be necessary to take every client when first starting your practice, there comes a time when you must specialize. It pays off to have a clear idea of what types of clients you want to work with.
It sounds better when you say that you specialize in the exact legal specialization that certain clients need, with many highly favorable outcomes to boot.
3. Overlooking the Importance of Branding
Whether in small or large communities, it seems logical that attorneys or law firms that are easily recognizable should end up with the most clients. People tend to recommend goods and services that they can recall without any trouble. This is where a strong brand comes into play.
One of the first steps of starting a brand is by coming up with an eye-catching and meaningful logo. Sending a strong message with the help of a tagline that’s simple yet smart. After that, effective marketing of that brand will help to make sure your firm is recognizable and top of mind.
4. Viewing Technology as a Threat
Even if your legal business is a small one, it is crucial that you adopt and use new technology for your firm.
For example, you need to be using the internet to market your firm. Otherwise, you will never be able to keep up with your competition.
Online marketing can prove to be a cost-effective way to make your business more visible or accessible to your target audience – current and prospective clients alike. You can learn more about this by taking a look at the digital marketing course at Fremont College.
5. Failure to Improve Intake
So you have an effective branding and marketing system, and new leads are rolling in. No matter if they choose to contact you via email, social media, text or phone call, it’s incredibly important to have an efficient lead intake system.
As a busy attorney, your time is precious and you may not be able to respond to every message. This is when it might be time to add to your team with either a virtual assistant or full-time employee.
There are more legal marketing tactics you’ll want to avoid other than the five mentioned above, but knowing some of the most common pitfalls is a good start. With the right marketing strategy, you’ll build a presence both online and offline, turning leads into paying clients.
Article Credit: Fremont College.
