5 tips for maximising the lead generation efforts of your firm
02 May 2023
Attract new business through your website
When potential clients are searching for a law firm, chances are the first thing they will do is check out your website. This brings with it two things to consider: 1. making sure they find your website in the first place, and 2. when they do find your site, ensuring it makes a good impression.
When it comes to gaining new visitors to your website, Google Adwords or PPC can be useful if you have the budget for it. This involves paying Google for advertisements within search results based on keywords. You pay a fee for each click on your advert, increasing your chances of attracting potential clients to your website. To feature in search results without paying for ads, you would need to look at implementing a strategy for search engine optimisation (SEO), which can be tricky and time consuming, however there is a wealth of help, advice and services available for you if you need it.
Once you’ve got visitors to your site, they need to be able to see clearly what you do and who you are (e.g. your team and history – see our blog for advice on this) to be able to make up their mind whether yours is the right firm for them.
Ramp up your social media activities
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) stipulate that in order to engage with potential clients through email marketing, all of your marketing contacts will need to have given their consent to be on your list (double opt-in). To ensure you keep audience levels high and interact with as many potential clients as possible, make sure you maintain your social media profile and utilise platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Followers of your company pages will be able to see regular updates and when they share your interesting or useful news, there’ll be no limit when it comes to extending your reach.
Encourage referrals
A word of mouth referral must have the best conversion rate of all potential client leads, so if you want to increase your chances of getting one then you’ll have to put some work into building up a good network and get obtaining some excellent testimonials and references.
Your social media profile, as mentioned before, will help build your network and business relationships and ensure that your name is out there to be passed on. Networking events and exhibitions will also present an opportunity to meet potential clients (or friends of potential clients!) and make a lasting impression.
Win new business from old
When it comes generating new business, start with the those who already know you, i.e. your past and present clients. These are people who trust you because they know you and received a good service from you last time. Get to know them better to see if you can generate additional work with them. Make sure you keep them informed of developments to your business through newsletters or social media. It will be much less expensive to market to your existing client base compared with trying to attract new clients by online or published advertising.
Become Lexcel accredited and stand out from the crowd
The Law Society represents solicitors in England and Wales and is recommended as a good place to start for people searching for legal services by many, including the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) and Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) among others.
The Law Society’s ‘Find a solicitor’ facility allows people to search for solicitors by specialty, location as well as other filters. Firms accredited with Lexcel have the Lexcel logo displayed next to their details, helping them to stand out from other firms who are not accredited. On their website, the Law Society advises the public: If you want peace of mind and reassurance when choosing a provider of legal services, look for Lexcel – the legal practice quality mark accredited by the Law Society.
If you ask for feedback using a customer satisfaction survey, you can ask your client’s permission to use any positive comments on your website. People love to read a review these days, especially in an industry where trust is key. Whilst you’re doing this, be sure to ask for referrals from all of your clients.
