Many small- to mid-size law firms want to grow their business and serve more clients. However, your services are not designed to help every person with a legal problem; rather, your specific set of skills can assist certain clients more than others. As you consider how to grow your client base, it’s important to consider strategies for attracting more of the kinds of clients you hope to serve. Here are some tips for making your legal services more visible to your ideal client.
Find Out How Clients Are Finding You
Before you can start implementing a new strategy for attracting more of your ideal clients, you’ll need to determine how your current clients are finding you. Take some time to look at your current and past clients, especially those you served most effectively. Look for any patterns—do they tend to be a certain age? What are their common concerns? What types of legal solutions are they looking for? The more you can identify commonalities among your clients, the better you can develop a marketing strategy to speak to these concerns and needs.
Next, figure out how clients are finding your firm. Are the majority of your clients finding you online? Does your law practice thrive on word-of-mouth referrals? One of the most powerful strategies for attracting legal clients in your area is to follow local SEO best practices. As the search engine algorithm starts to view your website as trustworthy and your client reviews boost your authority, your website will rank higher among those looking for legal services in your community.
Create Client Personas to Market Your Services More Effectively
Many consumer-facing industries use client personas to define their ideal customers. Law firms that have taken the time to create client personas have found it easier to tailor their marketing campaigns to attract their ideal clients. To reach more of the people you are hoping to serve, you need to understand who they are. You can start by creating a few client personas to give you an idea of the types of people you are hoping to attract. Here are some tips for generating client personas for your law firm.
- Name each persona. Start with between three to four separate personas, and think of them as distinct individuals with various personalities, concerns, and legal needs.
- Define their characteristics. For each persona, write down their age, gender, location, occupation, and any other demographic information that helps to define them.
- List their concerns. As an attorney, your goal is to eliminate your client’s concerns and pain points. Write down the top concerns for each persona.
- Articulate their goals. What does each person hope to accomplish? One persona may want to exit their marriage with confidence and financial stability, while another may want to enjoy as much parenting time with their children as possible after the divorce is finalized.
It’s sometimes helpful to think about an actual client or two when creating each persona. The more specifics you can give, the more you can understand who these individuals are and how best to serve them.
Implementing Client Personas Into Your Marketing Strategy
Once you have a clearer understanding of who your ideal clients are, it’s time to translate this information into an effective marketing strategy. Take some time to review your current website through the lens of these client personas. Ask yourself how your clients would respond to the content, aesthetics, and navigation of your website. Are there any places where you can improve the client experience? For instance, you may want to make contact buttons more prominent or include an automated feature for potential clients to schedule an initial consultation at their convenience.
Use demographic information, such as age, to determine your ideal clients’ preferred method of communication. Older clients tend to prefer phone calls, while younger clients are more comfortable with email. Consider every touchpoint you have with new clients and assess whether you need to make small changes to meet their needs and make the onboarding process more comfortable for them.
Let Your Clients Know Who You Are
With so many law firms advertising their services online, it can be hard for potential clients to know which law firm will best serve their needs. As you use the client personas to improve your marketing strategy, consider revising your “About” page to show your clients who you are as a legal professional. Sometimes, seeing a photo of you and reading about your client-centered approach is all it takes to inspire a potential client to contact your firm. Showcasing your firm’s values helps those looking for legal assistance get a clearer picture of the personalized attention they would receive from working with you. By considering how potential clients would respond to your website and marketing materials, you can engage more of the types of individuals you are hoping to serve.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to take your law firm’s digital marketing strategy to the next level, call LegalRev today at (800) 893-2590.
