In the ever-competitive legal sector, even well-established law firms can find themselves struggling to stand out and stay ahead in a crowded marketplace. If your marketing strategy hasn’t been reviewed in a while – or you are concerned that your marketing efforts might not be working, here are 7 tell-tale signs that your law firm needs to review their marketing strategy.
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You Aren’t Measuring Anything
One of the key signs that you are operating without a strategy (or without a clear strategy) is the lack of measurables that you are tracking. Depending on your law firm’s objectives, there should be a number of key metrics that you closely monitor month on month, quarter on quarter, to identify if your tactics are working. This could be enquiries for departments, website traffic, social media followers, email subscribers – what you measure will depend on your marketing strategy. So, if you aren’t measuring anything, or the metrics don’t mean a great deal to you, then you need to revisit your strategy.
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You Do the Same Thing Every Year
“But we’ve always sponsored the local parish magazine”. Many law firms fall into the trap of continuing to carry out the same old marketing methods time and time again. If they work – great. But are you measuring ROI? Are you focusing on what your clients want? Or are you wasting your efforts and budget? If you are sponsoring, advertising and holding the same events over and over, then that would suggest that you are operating with an outdated strategy. It’s fine to rinse and repeat what works, but make sure you are squeezing the most out of your tried and tested tactics, reviewing regularly, evolving and experimenting with new methods too.
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You are Reactive not Proactive
Are all your social media posts, email communications and website blogs a knee-jerk reaction to news – or even worse, something you have seen your competitors just do? Whilst reacting to ‘hot off the press’ legal updates and trends is useful; you should still have an underlying content plan that is born out of your marketing strategy. If you are operating without a plan, your marketing will be inconsistent, and your messaging will be very confusing to your target audience.
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Your Website Traffic is Declining
Declining website traffic is a clear red flag that something isn’t working with your digital marketing. There are numerous reasons for a drop in traffic, but as your digital ‘shop front’ it is vital that your website continues to attract visitors. Fewer visitors means fewer new enquiries. Perhaps it’s time to refresh your website, carry out some maintenance, review your keyword strategy or take note of the firms that are leapfrogging you in the Google rankings.
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You Rely on Referrals
All your work comes from referrals and introducers, so you don’t really need a marketing strategy. Pah! Referrals are great, but they should NEVER be your only source of business. Without a proactive approach to attracting new clients, you are at the mercy of someone else’s network. What happens if the stream of work from your accountant dries up? Or if the relationship you have with your local estate agent turns sour? Or heaven forbid, a couple of your key contacts retire or move on? Referral relationships should form a part of every law firm’s strategy but should not be solely relied upon for new work.
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You are Struggling to Recruit
Recruitment into law firms has notoriously been tricky for over a decade now. But having a clear marketing strategy that targets new clients AND new team members can revolutionise your recruitment process. Good lawyers will want to work for a firm that has a strong digital and local presence, and recruitment agencies will have an easier time finding candidates if you have a strong proposition and brand authority.
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Your Team are Unengaged with Marketing
If you have a marketing manager, team or agency who are struggling to get content and engagement from your lawyers, then they may not be ‘brought in’ on the marketing strategy. It is much easier to get people to engage when they know exactly why and what it will help to achieve. If you are a law firm marketing manager reading this and you have hit a wall with getting your ideas across – it might be time to review the overall strategy!
If any of these signs struck a chord, get in touch to discuss your law firm’s marketing strategy.
Marketing is essential for driving growth and staying ahead of your competition. A fresh pair of eyes, an audit and an honest review of your current marketing plans can make a world of difference and give your firm the strategic direction that it needs to see some return on investment.
Call Hannah Perryman, Senior Account Manager on 07523 568731 or email hannah@consortiumbiz.co.uk to arrange a discovery call.