Marketing for law firms – afterthought, strategic weapon or something in-between?

Linda Coppell, Linda Coppell Integrated Marketing

I’m often asked what marketing means for a law firm. Many think its placing an odd advert here and there, sorting out the legal directories and perhaps doing a little client entertaining. Although these can be useful as part of an integrated plan, marketing in the broader sense is concerned with the development and delivery of services and products and should form part of a firm’s long-term strategic planning process.
It involves maintaining relationships with existing clients and creating relationships with prospective clients. In particular, developing an understanding of:

why your clients buy your services and which services they buy
how and when they make purchasing decisions
the price they are willing to pay
the triggers that would make them buy more
cross-selling additional services they may not be aware of
competitive forces – particularly where client panels are in place
why they defect – and why they remain loyal to you

As clients’ needs change, so must law firms respond, adapt and evolve to maintain and grow in continuously changing market environments.
Where to begin?
Whatever the size and structure, if your firm’s marketing budget is to have maximum impact, it is essential to know where to focus it.

Begin with a succinct, concise, plan; setting out Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Targeted/Timely objectives and goals.
Don’t overcomplicate and don’t try to do everything all at once because it will inevitably fail.
Prioritise - focus on 2 or 3 key objectives first. You’ll then be able to assess marketing and business development opportunities and put an action plan in place. Most importantly, when those 2 or 3 objectives deliver measurable results, it’s then much easier to bring any sceptics in the firm along with you when it’s time to focus upon the next 2 or 3!
It’s also worth mentioning that for those firms with Lexcel accreditation this practice management standard requires you to develop a marketing plan that includes these SMART objectives for the next 12 months. They also recommend the plan be reviewed every 6 months.

Which marketing tools work for law firms?

You’ve prepared and prioritised your SMART plan. Now it’s time to assess the marketing and business development activities you will need to achieve your goals and objectives. As part of an integrated plan, choosing the mix that’s right for your firm will deliver results:
Which elements you use depend on the focus and size of your firm, how your marketing and business development teams are structured and how plans are developed. Additional business and client development activity which you may usefully consider to run alongside and integrate with your marketing plans include:

Content contributions to client’s own marketing collateral
Key account management programmes
Development of CRM/database of clients, referrals, targets and prospects
Bid, tenders and capability statements
Business development pipeline management
Differentiation strategies

Without an effective marketing infrastructure though, marketing of your firm, practice group or sector will be difficult. Think about what your firm will need to manage and implement the marketing activities of the firm. Depending on size, this may be a single manager, a full team structure, occasional consultancy support, a complete outsource solution, or a mixture of these.
Final thoughts
Marketing, business development and firm-wide projects should all work together to protect the future of the practice and be seen as important as short-term production and billable hours.

As David Maister says – What you do with your billable time determines your current income, but what you do with your non-billable time determines your future.
Find out more at Linda Coppell Integrated Marketing