Your clients may select your law firm but they'll stay with their solicitor

When someone chooses a law firm to use for a key event in their life, they are actually selecting the lawyer rather than the wider firm. 

It makes sense that, at a stressful, emotive or just difficult time of your life, you need someone you can trust to help you. However, there are some downsides to this being the case. 

Lawyers don’t always stay with the same law firm. They may move on to build on their career, or they may decide that they want to set up on their own. No matter the reason, there is always a good chance that the clients working with that particular lawyer (and have been a client of the law firm) will move with them. 

There is usually more loyalty towards the lawyer than the law firm. 

So, how do you try to keep clients loyal to a law firm rather than the lawyer they have worked with? It might be easier to do than you realise. 

Having a good website 

A good website should never be underestimated; It should be easy to find online and be regularly updated.   A website that is up-to-date, informative, and easy to use with valuable content will encourage valuable clients to use your services instead of choosing an alternative law firm.

Your website should convey a professional brand to ensure that your clients feel that they can trust and be loyal to your entire law firm instead of to individual lawyers. Below are some tips to assist with this:

• Provide valuable content: Share informative, engaging content that helps customers solve problems or learn new things.

• Personalise the user experience: Use data and customer feedback to tailor the website experience to individual users.

• Make information readily available: Make it easy for the user to find the information that potential clients need. Whether that is your contact information, terms and conditions, or details of the areas of law your practice

• Foster a sense of community: Encourage customer interaction through social media, forums, or other online channels.

• Be transparent: Clearly communicate policies and practices, such as your terms and conditions and payment and be upfront about fees and expectations.

• By focusing on these areas, a website can build trust and loyalty with its customers over time.

• Accreditations and membership details of any industry organisations, such as your SRA registration, family mediation council etc

• Client testimonials. Having a section or page full of your customer testimonials will provide peace of mind and confidence in your law firm.

• It is also wise to have a disclaimer on your website that the information published does not necessarily constitute legal advice.

Read more about the benefits of good web design here

Keep your clients informed. 

Along with the website being well-designed, it also needs to be informative. Therefore, your website should be user-friendly and have a logical structure. Furthermore, it should have details on all of the areas of law that you practice. Finally, your website should be easy to find and be regularly updated to ensure that your potential customers do not choose alternative law firms over yours because they were unaware that your law firm could help them with their legal issues.

Engaging with your clients on social media 

Social media plays an integral part in your law firm’s online presence. It enables you to interact with your customers and update them on what’s happening in your law firm. In addition, social media allows you to engage with your existing and potential clients.

Social media can be a powerful tool for law firms to increase customer loyalty in several ways:

• Share valuable content: By sharing informative and helpful content, law firms can establish themselves as thought leaders in their field and demonstrate their expertise to potential clients.

• Engage with followers: Law firms can use social media to respond to customer enquiries and complaints, as well as to engage with followers and build relationships.

• Build a community: Law firms can use social media to create a sense of community among their followers, which can help foster loyalty.

• Show personality: Rightly or wrongly, law firms conjure up negative thoughts in many people. However, social media allows law firms to showcase their personality and culture, which can help humanise the brand and make it more relatable to customers.

• Using social media effectively, law firms can build trust and loyalty with their clients and create a positive reputation.

These strategies can be an effective way to build a relationship with your clients and gain their trust. In addition, adopting an active online presence on social media can develop a sense of loyalty to your law firm as a whole rather than a single lawyer.

Email Marketing

Email marketing can be a powerful tool for your law firm to engage with your clients in several ways:

• Keep clients informed: Law firms can use email marketing to send regular updates and newsletters to clients, keeping them informed about the latest developments in their case or industry news.

• Nurture relationships: Law firms can use email marketing to nurture relationships with clients by sending personalised emails or offering valuable resources and information.

• Promote services: Law firms can use email marketing to promote their services to potential clients and highlight their expertise in specific areas of law.

• Collect feedback: Email marketing can gather feedback from clients about their experiences with the firm, which can help improve services and build loyalty.

• Stay top-of-mind: By sending regular emails, law firms can stay top-of-mind with their clients and increase the likelihood that they will return for future legal services.

Overall, email marketing can be an effective way for law firms to engage with their clients and build long-lasting relationships.

Conclusion 

If you need help refining your digital marketing and online presence, please contact one of our consultants for a free marketing audit or just an informal discussion about how we have helped law firms like yours.

About Overt Digital Media

Overt Digital Media is a digital marketing agency specialising in building modern websites and delivering affordable SEO services to law firms.

Based in Christchurch on the outskirts of Bournemouth, we have an enviable reputation for delivering tangible results and excellent customer service