A smart marketing approach is an important factor of growing a law firm, or any business for that matter. However, not all practices can allocate a substantial budget to marketing. This lack of funds shouldn’t be an impassable barrier. With efficient planning, it’s possible to market your law firm without sizable investments.
By investing extra time and effort in creating a comprehensive marketing strategy, you can cut costs while enjoying higher conversion rates. Let’s take a closer look at several cost-efficient elements for your plan.
A Referral System
Existing clients are your best brand ambassadors. Fortunately, word-of-mouth marketing doesn’t require substantial investments. Setting up a referral program gives your clients an incentive to become your lead generating tool. Here are some tips:
- Don’t hesitate to ask your clients to make referrals, and set expectations from the start (instead of just at the close of a legal matter). Express to your new clients that you will provide them with the best service possible and that you hope they will refer your firm in the future.
- Provide an easy-to-use referral form on your website.
- Educate your clients about your services (if they are getting help with a bankruptcy case, let them know that you can help with insurance claims as well).
- Offer incentives for making a referral (i.e., free eBook, free consultation).
Always thank your clients for referrals. A personalized “thank you” email or postcard can be an excellent incentive for further recommendations.
Peer Referrals
Besides working on a referral program for your clients, consider cooperating with other law firms. Many of them focus on one or two practice areas. They should be happy to recommend your firm when a client needs advice outside their area of expertise, in exchange for your willingness to do the same.
Social Media Marketing
Using your law firm’s social media to grow your client base doesn’t have to be expensive. Social media marketing is mostly organic, which means you should be ready to invest more time than money.
By posting high-quality content across several social media channels, you can raise brand awareness, establish thought leadership, engage your audience, and attract prospective clients. Anything from inspirational quotes to legal tips can become excellent shareable material for your followers.
Social media platforms provide an opportunity to learn more about your target audience. Meanwhile, by engaging with existing clients, you can improve relationships and give them another reason to make a referral.
Google Reviews
More than 80% of people trust online reviews as much as they do personal recommendations. Building a good review base can help you improve your marketing strategy without substantial investments.
- Set up a review collection process (after case completion, follow up with the client and ask for a review).
- Make a Google Review link available on your website.
- Consider offering an incentive similar to what you use for a referral program. However, do not offer monetary incentives of any kind, or you may end up in legal trouble.
To start taking full advantage of Google reviews, you need to sign up for Google My Business and keep the listing updated. Make sure to capitalize on positive Google reviews by reposting them to your website and social media accounts.
It’s imperative to reply to all reviews (good and bad) to show clients how much you care for their experience and demonstrate your willingness to make changes.
Content Marketing
High-quality content is an essential part of any promotional campaign. Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable content to attract and retain clients while positioning your firm as an industry leader.
Content varies from service descriptions on your website to eBooks and blog posts. It can have many forms, including text, images, and videos.
You can increase your law firm’s visibility by sharing valuable content across all available marketing channels. Additionally, you can establish your firm as an authority in the legal community.
Content creation doesn’t have to be expensive. Legal professionals on your team can offer their expertise to come up with valuable content pieces.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of tactics that bring your website to the top spots of the SERPs (search engine results pages) naturally. They include:
- Improving website structure
- Creating valuable content
- Working on backlinks
SEO is an organic practice that requires more of your time and effort than money. A variety of free tools exist to help you start improving your SEO.
It’s important to understand that SEO efforts don’t yield immediate results. It can take months until you see them. However, they are often more efficient and long-lasting than the results provided by paid search marketing campaigns.
Marketing Quality Doesn’t Always Depend on the Budget
Law firms with a tight budget shouldn’t give up on high-quality marketing tactics. Even if your resources are limited, it’s still possible to achieve excellent marketing results. A solid marketing campaign requires your time and effort more than it needs a formidable investment.
To increase your marketing return on investment, consider outsourcing your intake to a legal call center. By doing that, you can make sure your lead generation efforts yield top results.
Get in touch with Alert Communications today to learn more about the answering service for lawyers we can offer.
