Operating a law firm is the same as running any other kind of business in that no business can sustain without making a profit and it is literally impossible to be profitable without customers. In the case of a law firm, that would be clients they represent, often in a court of law. So then, if a profit is necessary to sustain or grow a business and if profits are dependent upon paying customers, it’s vital to find ways to grow your client base. This is where we get to the bottom line, which is marketing. Now it’s time to look at how to determine and develop the best marketing strategies.
1. It All Begins with Data Analytics
While many law firms rely on marketing specialists to capture and analyze market statistics, a growing number of law firms are engaging in data analytics prior to hiring a marketing team. With a high-powered deep learning workstation like those found on Lenovo.com and user-friendly software, it is possible to discover market metrics from an entire branch of the law all the way down to your personal client base.
Sometimes legal teams devise a short questionnaire that seeks to discover how they heard of the firm, what caused them to contract their services, and other KPIs that can be the foundation for a marketing strategy. With that information in hand, the firm can seek the marketing team that is the best match for the kind of marketing they need. Here again, finding the right marketers may also necessitate running some analytics, but that can be done with the same workstation and software as mentioned above.
2. Devising Marketing Strategies for Your Audience
Even though it can be a best practice to run the marketing analytics necessary to find the right marketing team, developing effective strategies should really be left to the pros. The data analytics that led you to that particular marketing firm will also indicate that you probably haven’t a clue on how to write and post content with backlinks or how to run paid ads built on competitive Google AdWords. Yes, it’s possible to run the data to find marketing metrics, but it isn’t always possible to create marketing strategies to address that portion of the market.
3. Draw Heavily on Word of Mouth – Social Media
You will often hear old-timers lamenting the fact that with all this digital technology, word of mouth advertising is dead and gone. That is simply not true! It has just taken on a new vehicle of delivery. Social media marketing fills the void quite nicely in that followers of your law firm’s social sites will share their experience to their own personal pages. Their followers will often visit your social pages to see what services you offer and in what branch of the law. One good comment on the page of a follower can attract literally dozens of not hundreds of followers to your social page, getting the ball rolling nicely.
To say that it’s a numbers game sounds a bit cliché, but it’s pure, unadulterated truth. Successful marketing strategies begin with accurate data analysis and this is the foundation needed to grow your law firm’s client base.