A good legal marketing habit is a task that is so routine, it becomes automatic and ingrained through regular repetition. Law firms that create and maintain good legal marketing habits are highly successful because these habits develop leads, grow business, and increase employee happiness and retention.
There are many reasons why good legal marketing habits have such positive impacts on a law firm. Any practice that improves productivity, efficiency, communication, understanding, or reliability will increase the law firm’s return on investment (ROI). When that practice becomes a habit, that ROI grows exponentially.
Good legal marketing habits lead to:
- Effective time management and prioritization, helping employees stay focused and accomplish tasks more efficiently. This increased productivity leads to better use of resources and improved output for the law firm, as well as job satisfaction.
- Consistency across the law firm’s branding, marketing content, and all legal marketing tactics, which enhances the quality of all the law firm’s legal marketing strategies.
- Innovation and adaptability based on real results.
3 Habits of Successful Law Firms
1. Create and regularly review the law firm’s legal marketing strategy and plan
Law firms that take some time to first think strategically about such things as goals, budget, and target audience are already going to see more legal marketing success than law firms that don’t. Having a legal marketing strategic plan can make a significant difference in everything from attracting and retaining leads and clients to building a strong presence through branding and reputation management.
A legal marketing strategy can be as broad or as narrow as the law firm wants. However, it should always have these key elements:
- The law firm’s target audience’s identity, including where the audience is geographically located, income levels, professional details, gender, age, etc.
- A summary of the information the law firm wants to convey. This can be a specific practice, the firm’s services, individual attorneys, or even the firm’s overall mission and culture.
- Descriptions of how the law firm can help those in its target audience, what sets it apart from its competitors, and other unique aspects of the firm. These descriptions will become the firm’s messaging, branding, and overall persona.
The next step is to create a legal marketing plan based on the strategy. The plan is where the law firm identifies the specific tactics it will use to reach its target audience with its messaging and branding. Generally, much of today’s legal marketing is done online with tactics like websites, email newsletters, social media, content marketing, videos, and advertising. But the plan should also include offline activities, like networking, community involvement, and traditional advertising. The key is to pick the tactics that will be effective, doable, and within budget.
Successful law firms don’t create legal marketing strategies and plans, then brush their hands together and say “done.” They create a habit of regularly reviewing the strategy and plan to ensure they are being followed or to see if modifications are needed.
For example, a law firm identifies reaching potential personal injury clients through social media posts as a key part of its strategy plan. However, the firm has since hired two attorneys who focus specifically on representing people injured due to medical negligence. This should cause a shift in both the strategy and the plan to ensure the right target audience is learning about this capability. Instead, the firm decides to re-focus some of its marketing tactics to content marketing, knowing that this is the right approach to boost SEO and attract potential clients searching for help with their medical treatment-related injuries.
2. Consistency
There are many opportunities to create a habit of consistency in legal marketing. The first and most important consistent habit is to simply ensure that the legal marketing plan is implemented and continues. Set deadlines, create accountability, and use incentives when necessary to create consistent habits for those responsible for implementing legal marketing tactics.
A common law firm marketing problem is that attorneys put marketing assignments on the back burner. Perhaps, as part of a content marketing tactic that includes blogging, social media, and e-newsletters, an associate is tasked with drafting one article a month. But, every month, the article isn’t done. The law firm that prioritizes consistency as a habit can help that associate do the same by creating a system of reminders or tying the work to a required billable goal. Figuring out why something is not being done consistently and addressing that underlying problem helps create the consistency habit.
Consistency in branding is also vital for law firms. Successful firms maintain a professional and cohesive brand image across all platforms, including their website, social media, and printed materials. This helps in establishing trust and recognition among clients.
3. Measure for success
Understanding what works — and what doesn’t — in legal marketing is key to both the law firm’s success and ROI. Successful law firms have the habit of regularly reviewing the legal marketing tactics they are using to see if they are performing as desired and then adjusting as needed.
There is plenty of data available to help law firms measure the success of their digital marketing efforts. Website analytics show everything from the number of unique visitors to the words used in search engines that brought those visitors to the website. Meanwhile, social media and email marketing platforms provide a wealth of insights regarding who is seeing and engaging with the law firm’s content.
Successful law firms also listen to feedback and use it to improve or strengthen their service. Collecting and sharing client feedback is a very powerful marketing tactic that can be done in a variety of ways, including surveys, client satisfaction interviews, and reviews left online.
Where to Begin: Creating Good Legal Marketing Habits
Law firms that work with experienced and knowledgeable legal marketing professionals, like those at Scorpion, receive valuable assistance in creating and maintaining good legal marketing habits. Plus, digital dashboards, like those offered through Scorpion, help law firms make and keep their legal marketing efforts habitual!
Contact us today to find out how Scorpion can help bring these successful habits to life for your law firm.
