Leverage these marketing strategies to bolster your law firm and gain better handling of your advertising campaigns, improve customer satisfaction, and reach new consumers.
If you want to learn more about how to apply direct marketing to your law firm marketing campaign, you can contact our experienced legal marketing team. Call us at Richard James, and have your Practice Mastered today.
Rule 1: Make sure there is a call to action.
Many legal firms make the same mistake: talking about all the pros of hiring them but not making an offer that demands a response. To better engage clients, you have to make a relevant “call to action” your potential customer can't ignore.
A call to action is required to measure and follow the result of each marketing action. One way is inviting clients to avail of the services or make a “purchase.” You may do this by giving deals and discounts or providing additional services on top of your usual offers.
Another option is to target lead generation. That option focuses on building a relationship with your prospective client.
An example of this would be having customers register or subscribe to your law firm. By piquing their interest, you can get their attention for further communication with them towards availing your services later on.
Make your firm stand out from the rest. Instead of vague promises and simply listing your credentials and achievements, give them an offer to consider. Capture their interest and avoid losing clients or having their opt-out.
Rule 2: Have a compelling reason for clients to respond now.
Almost-persuaded customers represent the hidden cost and failure in every advertising and marketing activity. The competition in the legal field can be intense. Thus, capturing the attention of your potential customer base is critical to your company's success.
Create urgency by using context. At times, simply reminding your potential customers about the statute of limitations provides the urgency that pushes them from being an almost-persuaded client to an actual one.
Rule 3: Make sure instructions are clear.
Most marketing failures are the result of unclear or non-existent guidelines. You must clearly state what consumers must do to receive your offer and what they can expect after contacting you.
Should they call you or schedule an appointment? Should they pay a visit? How can they get a hold of your contact information? How long will they wait after contacting you?
With a clear and direct call to action, clients will better understand the next step for them.
Rule 4: Track, measure, and be accountable.
Without data, you won’t know whether your campaign is a success or not. More data helps you make better-informed decisions. So keep track of everything and make sure your campaigns result in their pre-determined objective.
Among the critical metrics you should measure is conversions. Who among your leads converted into your clients? Who did not become customers, and why? The answer to these questions would help you assess and improve your strategy.
Rule 5: Target no-cost brand building
Building a brand is not wrong per se. However, spending a large amount of money on brand recognition does not guarantee success.
Branding can be a double-edged sword. If a negative occurrence becomes attached to your name, negative branding may damage your firm’s reputation.
For small firms, spending your budget elsewhere may be more profitable. Instead, you can invest your time and money in responding to customer feedback, thereby creating your brand as a bonus.
Rule 6: Don’t forget to follow up.
To move your business forward, you must follow up. You must have a strategy to maximize the return on your marketing investments.
Your law office must capture every visitor to your business – not only those who eventually book an appointment but also those who are just interested. Profiling your visitors helps you better understand your clientele and their needs.
Otherwise, it would be like having holes in your bucket where the water – representing your target audience – is drying out rapidly!
Who do you need to follow up on?
- Existing customers. Regularly keep in touch with them. If you don’t, they will forget about your firm.
- New customers. Profile their personal information and maintain communication with them. Get them to know more about your firm.
- Referrals. Get their details, and talk to them.
- Anyone who asks for information from you. You have their details.
What should a follow-up look like?
Basically extend, resell, and restate your call to action. Simply remind them, via direct mail for example, while recognizing that there are a variety of reasons why customers may not respond immediately. Give them a new deadline to think things over.
Give a “2nd notice” with a deadline.
This might be done in a lighthearted, serious or personal manner. Your conversion rates will be greatly impacted by an effective follow-up strategy.
Give a “third and final notice”.
At every touchpoint, offer context to the conversation and add value. Sometimes, a final notice helps drive urgency. It's a good idea to repeat the same subject line in each email loop.
Change the offer.
Find out how you could adjust the offer for them. And from there on learn how to propose the offer differently. They might not want your product but you might still have something else they might need.
Rule 7: Deliver a strong and appealing copy
Advertising is a battle between subtlety and grabbing attention away from your competitors. Amidst the competition for attention, whether in email marketing or social media, you must be able to stand out.
Don't waste extra money on an ineffective campaign. Keep them engaged and wanting more.
You must be able to get their attention and command a reaction. Your firm's copy should relate to your client's interests, thoughts and experiences to better engage them.
The four rules in writing your copy
Rule 1: Know the mind of your client.
Go beyond the usual features mentioned by competitors. Let your clients know what better offer they can get from your firm.
Rule 2: Be emotional, enthusiastic, and conversational.
Write as though you were chatting. Converse to them as you would with a friend.
Rule 3: Own it and claim it.
Declare what services you can deliver and claim the results. Back it up with past victories.
Rule 4: Don't just shout out the same message.
If you keep using a weak copy or when your texts get too long, you may end up drowning out your own message. Re-assess your copy and make sure it is easy to understand.
Rule 8: Don't be afraid to look like mail-order advertising
Let your ads look like ads. But remember that an advertisement's overall purpose is to not feel like too much of a sales pitch.
Direct mail marketing through ads can persuade individuals to click and take action quickly and directly. However, you should still assess whether they are doing their intended objective or not.
Don't just blindly follow any mail-order advertisement. Make sure yours have a headline, a brief product description or proposition, and clear response instructions. A discount can also be a plus factor.
A website should follow the same pattern. Never clog it with panels that offer too many options. Compare yours with a variety of advertising from various web sources as a reference.
Rule 9: What matters are Results.
In the end, it’s the results that matter.
Identify the common success factors from other successful campaigns and use them to create your own promotions. Let an experienced legal marketing team assist you in managing the ins and outs of your marketing strategy
If you want to learn more about what gives excellent results and successful campaigns, feel free to talk to us.
Rule 10: Be tough and strict on your firm's marketing diet
In the world of direct marketing, you need to fight tooth and nail to persuade potential clients and win against competitors.
When applying “diet” in your firm, you need to
- Be alert and resistant to fads and gimmicks.
- Build your marketing mind muscle.
- Start counting and measuring things.
- Get good tools.
- Purge your business of junk.
- Decide on a new marketing plan.
Contact us at Richard James, Your Practice Mastered™
You may be offering the best legal services in the country, but without an effective marketing strategy, you may miss out on reaching the clients who need you. Bad marketing tactics may lead to lesser clients for your law practice, no matter how solid your legal advice or skilled you are.
In this landscape, a direct marketing strategy is your best bet at attracting customers while getting a return on investment.
Dan Kennedy’s direct marketing rules can positively transform your entire marketing campaign. If you’re not sure how to implement these into your marketing tactics, please consult with us.
If you want to have your best month ever, contact our legal management consultant Richard James or schedule a 1-on-1 consulting today.
