6 Steps of a Successful Law Firm Marketing Program

Many lawyers are unhappy with their marketing. They wonder – does marketing even work? The answer is “yes,” but it only works if you do it consistently. If you want to attract qualified prospects from your legal marketing campaign, you need these six steps in place.

1) Attract prospect’s attention – Prospects are most concerned with their problems, concerns and frustrations, so initially, your marketing should be focused on them. Identify the types of clients and legal work you want to attract. Then, list 3-5 key problems those types of clients would be facing and write your marketing brochures, newsletters and other materials around those key issues.

2) Establish your credibility – One of the biggest challenges to marketing is that people are skeptical. They don’t believe what you say. So you have to find ways to develop rapport and trust. Running an ad, sending a letter, or putting up a website is not enough. Trust is earned over time, so build several follow up steps into your marketing campaign.

3) Explain why you are different – Do you have a clear, compelling reason why your prospect should choose you from your competitors? Prospects don’t have the time or the attention span to evaluate how each attorney is different or better. If you don’t provide them with a compelling reason, they will look at the one thing they can understand: price.

4) Identify why prospects should act now – Most people don’t like change. If they hire you, they know it means more work and a hefty fee for them, so they will delay making a decision as long as they can. You need to build a compelling case for why they should act now and what the consequences might be if they wait.

5) Learn how to close the deal – Your prospects want to engage with you before they hire you. You can’t outsource that initial phone or face-to-face consultation, so you have to hone your business development skills to gain your prospect’s commitment. Services are intangible, so they evaluate your ability to deliver your services based on things like how friendly you are, how quickly you return their calls, how helpful they feel you’ve been. Only you can sell your legal services.

6) Build client loyalty – Marketing doesn’t stop when your prospect signs your standard agreement. You continue to market to clients through the client service you provide. Happy clients refer business, but you need a referral marketing system in place to cultivate those referrals. Don’t assume people will just send business your way.

These six steps make up the fundamental components of any marketing plan. Without each, your marketing campaign is much more likely to fail.