Robert Davis
Like many other businesses and firms across the country, a successful family law practice is built on a singular foundational element…
How you build and maintain relationships with your clients.
If you happened to catch our last post on why creating a world-class client experience is essential for building a successful family law practice, you will notice a common thread throughout:
Showing your clients how much you care about them and their case will make them abundantly aware that they are NOT just a number on a spreadsheet or a checkbox on your to-do list.
To effectively grow your family law practice, you need to be able to recognize…
- Where your clients are in the buying process.
- Where they spend most of their time (online and offline).
- What previous and existing clients are saying about you and your firm (online reputation).
- How you are communicating with previous clients, existing clients, and inbound leads.
What Is Your Client’s Buying Cycle?
In the marketing world, we recognize a systematic progression of phases that your clients go through in their decision to buy…
- Awareness: Your prospective client realizes “I have a problem.”
- Consideration: They start doing online research for “best family law attorneys in my area.” They get recommendations from friends and coworkers that they have confided in. They set up some initial consultations and meetings with you and some other firms in your area.
- Purchase: You make a stellar first impression and gain their trust, and they decide to sign on with you.
Experts also refer to this journey as the marketing funnel. As individuals move from the top of the funnel to the bottom, they move from awareness and consideration to taking action.
How to Use the Funnel to Win Clients Over
How do clients choose a family law firm? They choose the firm that…
- Dominates visibility at each stage of the marketing funnel.
- Has the best reputation (number and quality of online reviews, positive client feedback, word of mouth, etc.)
- Makes the best first impression by listening, communicating well, and responding quickly.
Here’s how YOU can get a leg up on the competition and generate more leads…
1) Be visible where it makes sense
Since it can take months or years for a lead or prospective client to move from the awareness phase to the point that they pay for your services, you NEED to be visible at every stage of the funnel.
In 2018, the average consumer saw somewhere between 4,000-10,000 ads daily.
Each additional impression that you can make with someone builds familiarity and trust in your brand and your firm.
If you see 5 McDonald’s ads for every 1 Burger King ad, which drive-thru are you going to on your way home from the office?
Taking Action:
Where does your client spend most of their time, both online and offline?
Do you have a presence in those areas?
Are you engaged on those platforms?
The key ingredient to getting more impressions (and leads) is staying in front of your target audience on the platforms and mediums that make sense for your firm.
2) Build your reputation
Being visible is critical, but all of the impressions you make are going to go to waste if you don’t have the reputation to back it up.
- Where are your clients looking for you? (Google, Yelp, Avvo, Manta, Facebook, other directories and listings)
- What are clients saying about you? (On these platforms and others, to their friends, etc.)
- What are YOU doing to build and showcase your reputation, on and off these platforms?
NOTE: The vast majority of clients carefully research reputation before they decide to buy a product or service.
In fact, almost 70% of clients will read 4+ reviews before deciding if they trust a business.
So what’s the Formula for Success?
More Targeted Impressions + More Positive Reviews = More Leads for Your Firm
Take Action:
Assuming your firm consistently delivers high-quality representation and client experiences, you’re likely to increase your overall average star rating if you attract a higher volume of reviews. So, make sure your law firm is easy to find and rate online. Set up profiles across numerous review sites (especially Google My Business), regularly monitor the feedback left for your firm, and quickly respond to all reviews, whether they’re positive or negative.
3) Be responsive
We have established that people are NOT going to pick up the phone and call someone whose reputation is in question.
Who would you call?
An attorney with 10 reviews and a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, OR one with the same number of reviews and a 4.7-star rating.
It’s a no brainer.
Similarly, there’s no point in squandering your time and resources on getting more impressions, gathering positive reviews, and generating more leads if you aren’t going to…
- Answer the phone immediately.
- Return missed calls quickly.
- Respond to emails as soon as possible.
When a potential client gets to the bottom of the funnel and decides to call you, they have made it to the point where they want a solution NOW.
If it takes you days or weeks to respond to their call or email, what are the chances that you are going to retain them?
Virtually Z-E-R-O.
In this moment of desperation—they will pick up the phone and call other family law attorneys in the area until they get an answer. The first to respond wins.
Which bears the question…
How’s your intake process?
If you want more leads and more business, you need to respond promptly.
Here are a few questions that will help you optimize your intake process so you don’t miss out on new leads:
- Where do your calls and emails go during the workday and after work hours?
- Who responds to them? (You, a partner at the firm, an office administrator, a virtual receptionist, etc.)
- How long does it typically take for you or your team to respond?
- Do you have communication standards or policies for new client/lead intake?
- How many points of contact do you make with a client each week?
Answer these questions and you will quickly identify the gaps in your intake process and how you can improve it.
How to Improve Lead Generation and Client Retention
Want to learn more about what it takes to generate more leads and retain new clients?
And if you have any questions about how you can improve your firm’s legal digital marketing strategy, (866) 344-8852 or message us here.
