For a law firm, marketing is a challenging discipline. Attorneys are very aware of this fact. The legal industry has strict limits regarding promotion, and this makes it extremely challenging.
Advocacy has many specifics and it is necessary to follow a number of rules determined primarily by national bar associations. Despite this, there are plenty of opportunities how to show the uniqueness of a law firm, generating interest, demonstrating reliability or strengthen trust in the brand and the legal services delivered. So let’s jump right in!
Find a right specialist
Attorneys are aware that finding an experienced marketing specialist is not easy, as the field is governed by state regulations and other rules pertaining to the practice of law. And marketers have to think about legal promotion a bit differently. And it’s a real challenge! Any marketer or business development specialist who has experience in this sector is therefore highly appreciated. And it must be said taht there’s not a whole lot of them. But that’s no reason to be pessimistic, you can definitely find smart ways how to get there and even achieve great results with experts by your side.
Take it up from the ground
All starts with a law firm’s core values and mission. When was the last time you sat down and said where will your firm be in a year? And five years from now? Do I want SMI or international clients? Am I going to expand the team? Shall I focus on all areas or on a specific one? Then everything has to be properly presented to the public. If marketing goes hand in hand with these plans, you’re going to hit your target.
Uniqueness at every step
In this industry, like any other, uniqueness is really important. People are known when they are special. Brand becomes more interesting and distinguishable from the competition. And that’s the goal.
Reputation support
Other elements that can help you gain the possible clients’ attention are an innovative approach to solving legal problems, integration of modern technologies or social responsibility activities. A slightly poisonous lesson from marketers is: if I want to donate some funds, I should send away half the money and the second half spend on the announcement of it.
An unstoppable stream of new business
You have one certainty – that new solutions will continually emerge and that more and more competitors will enter the market every day. Marketing, its ever-changing trends, new and improved ways of appropriate promotion (we’ll leave the inappropriate ones to other industries), is an absolute must for anyone who doesn’t want to end up in the dust of history. (Yes, even a gaining a reffereal from a current client is actually marketing, I’m making myself known).
Constantly track the competitors
A huge mistake is to stay with eyes closed. Constantly monitor the competitors. Otherwise, you may wake up one day and find out that there are alternative legal service providers, for example, who are able to offer a wide range of services at much more lower fees. So having a well-mapped competitors is essential.
Do I know where am I aiming?
And what about that target audience? Demographics, time spent on the site, resources, interests of the ideal client? Working with social media? Does it serve as a copy of articles from the site, a marketplace of opinions, or a source of new leads? Keeping up with trends in the use of technology in the legal industry can provide valuable information and set the right direction for how to communicate with the public.
The key to success, then, is to know your law firm (from vision to goal), your clients (current and potential), and the entire legal landscape (from rules and trends to competitors).