As a successful law firm, you’ve probably got a database of clients you’ve worked with in the past and in addition to that list, you might have taken steps to grow a database with potential new clients. Both of these groups are people that can help grow your firm and contribute to future success.
The question is, now what do you do with your database once you’ve made it?
Remember that while people receiving communications from you might not have a legal problem at that specific time, odds are they could have one in the future and will need legal counsel. It could be next week, next month, or even next year. Or, they could potentially know of a friend, colleague, or neighbor who needs a lawyer in your practice area. You want your firm to be the first that comes to mind during this moment of need.
To be that firm, you need to use your database for legal marketing to remind people that you’re there, and how you can potentially help them. Here’s how to utilize law firm database communication to do just that.
1. Educate Yourself
Unlike many other industries, there are strict and detailed regulations on how law firms can advertise to people via email. These ethics laws vary from state to state, so the first step to effectively marketing to your database is to educate yourself on your state’s ethics laws to make sure you’re in compliance. For example in Missouri, firms are required to keep a record of their advertising for at least two years, and can’t advertise at all unless their office is staffed at least three days a week.
2. Educate the Reader
The point of your law firm marketing shouldn’t be to take a “hard sales” or pushy approach. Instead, you should focus on educating people about specific topics related to your practice area. If you’re a tax attorney, for instance, send them helpful tips on preparing for tax season or updates about new deductions. The information should relate to your services, but shouldn’t focus solely on your business. Your database will appreciate the information and recognize your firm as a thought leader in your area of expertise.
3. Communicate Regularly
It’s important that you develop a consistent schedule of messaging to your database to keep them engaged. A monthly email newsletter is usually effective, as its frequent enough to remind people you’re there, but not so much that they’ll view it as spam and unsubscribe. You might want to include local happenings involving your firm, legal tips, updated information about your business, and general information that people will find useful about your practice area.
4. Target Your Audience
Think about what kind of people are in your database, and what your audience probably wants to hear. If most of your database is an older demographic, you’ll want to adjust your messaging from the marketing tactics you were using to target millennials. You’ll want to target your database by interests, as well as the style of how they want to be communicated with. Again, a younger demographic may appreciate a more casual tone, while older people will likely prefer more formal language and possibly different types of information or content.
5. Engage Your Database
It’s not enough just to send out helpful information, or a monthly newsletter. The point of your law firm marketing should be to engage them in a way that brings them closer to being future or repeat clients. Include various call-to-action (CTA) points and options for people to take the next step. This could be “Call us now for a free consultation,” a button that directs them to download free resources, or social media icons to encourage them to follow you on Facebook. You can also encourage them to sign up for incentives or discounts that they can then pass onto friends and family to help grow your database further.
6. Grow Your Contacts
This brings us to the final point, which is growing your database. Your CTA buttons, links on your website, and sign-up forms will all encourage people to act in different ways so you can get people to supply their data for future marketing. Collecting these emails of potential clients and contacts in a systematic fashion will ensure that you are constantly working towards new business.
7. Enhance These Efforts with Radio
Take advantage of your local radio station’s offerings to enhance the above efforts and increase reach and frequency to your target demographic. A radio campaign can inform listeners that these resources are readily available and encourage them to sign up for your blog or request a consultation. This can improve your client database communication by complementing the current efforts and reinforcing the message.
Improving your law firm’s client database, and how you market to it, doesn’t have to be complicated and time-consuming. By taking some of the steps above, you’ll ensure that your target market has your firm at the top of mind when they do need your services.
