How to grow your law firm through ethical legal marketing
Emma Raimi-Zlatic •Affinity Program Manager at Clio •JD from the University of Houston Law Center •Founded an Attorney Recruiting Company
Agenda • State of law firm marketing and common mistakes • Ethics rules related to marketing and client communication • How marketing automation tools help law firms • Tips for creating a revenue-generating marketing funnel • Questions
The State of Law Firm Marketing An industry review of common practices and pitfalls
Consumers who don’t hire a lawyer 65 % 58 % 68 % of those who faced a sought a consult with communicated with a legal problem in the a lawyer they didn’t lawyer they did not past 2 years hired a hire. hire. lawyer. Source: 2018 Legal Trends Report
Source: Joint Legal Marketing Association and Bloomberg Law research study – April 2018
Where does the time go? Source: 2017 Legal Trends Report
91% of firms can’t calculate a return on their advertising investments, and 94% don’t know how much it costs them to acquire a new client. Source: 2017 Legal Trends Reports
Tracking Business Development / Marketing Source: Law Firms in Transition: Marketing, Business Development and the Quest for Growth, 3/2016
Incomplete Tracking of Referrals Source: 2018 Clio Survey N = 824
How do consumers find a lawyer? Source: 2017 Legal Trends Reports
Poll: How does your firm collect feedback from clients? a. My firm does not regularly collect feedback b. Casually or informally c. Email survey d. Dedicated Phone Call e. Formally In-Person
How do lawyers collect feedback from clients? Source: 2018 Legal Trends Reports
Feedback is sought too late Source: 2018 Clio Survey, N=1,061
Net Promoter Score On a scale of 0-10, where ten means “extremely likely” to recommend, five means neutral, and zero means “not at all likely,” how likely is it you would recommend this law firm? 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10
Formula for Calculating NPS
Better Client Service = Law Firm Growth Law firms that excel at client service enjoy: • 37% higher revenue growth • 48% higher profits per attorney • 33.1% higher client retention Source: BTI Client Service A-Team 2018: Survey of Law Firm Client Service Performance
Factors Impacting Likelihood to Recommend? Most factors related to Ease and Responsiveness Source: 2018 Legal Trends Reports
Responsiveness Expectations 1-2 hours 4-8 hours 80% of clients expect an is how clients define is what lawyers immediate response immediate think is appropriate to texts and emails Source: ‘ Why Attorneys Are Never Responsive Enough ,’ BTI Consulting, October 25, 2017
How do you choose a lawyer? Source: 2017 Legal Trends Reports
Poor Communication 42% of the time, law firms take three or more days to reply to a voicemail or web-generated form fill from a prospective client Source: ‘ ABA Benchmark Study on Law Firm Intake Process ,’ ABA Law Practice Division, February 2, 2016
Poor Communication 35% 50% of callers to a law of messages firm didn’t get to weren’t returned actually speak to a within two days, person and many weren’t returned at all Source: ‘ ABA Benchmark Study on Law Firm Intake Process ,’ ABA Law Practice Division, February 2, 2016
Ethical Rules
MRPC Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services. A communication is false or misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading.
MRPC Rule 7.2: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services: Specific Rules (a) A lawyer may communicate information regarding the lawyer’s services through any media. (b) A lawyer shall not compensate, give or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services except that a lawyer may: (1) pay the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications permitted by this Rule. (2) pay the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service; (3) pay for a law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17; (4) refer clients to another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional pursuant to an agreement not otherwise prohibited under these Rules that provides for the other person to refer clients or customers to the lawyer, if: (i) the reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive; and (ii) the client is informed of the existence and nature of the agreement; and (5) give nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be a form of compensation for recommending a lawyer’s services.
MRPC Rule 7.2, Comment 3 Comment [1] This Rule permits public dissemination of information concerning a lawyer’s or law firm’s name, address, email address, website, and telephone number; the kinds of services the lawyer will undertake; the basis on which the lawyer’s fees are determined...; a lawyer’s foreign language ability; names of references and, with their consent, names of clients regularly represented ; and other information that might invite the attention of those seeking legal assistance. Comment [3] Paragraph (b)(1) allows a lawyer to pay for advertising and communications permitted by this Rule, including the costs of print directory listings, on-line directory listings , newspaper ads, television and radio airtime, domain-name registrations, sponsorship fees, Internet-based advertisements , and group advertising. A lawyer may compensate employees, agents and vendors who are engaged to provide marketing or client development services , such as publicists, public-relations personnel, business-development staff, television and radio station employees or spokespersons and website designers.
MRPC Rule 7.3: Solicitation of Clients (a) “Solicitation” or “solicit” denotes a communication initiated by or on behalf of a lawyer or law firm that is directed to a specific person the lawyer knows or reasonably should know needs legal services in a particular matter and that offers to provide, or reasonably can be understood as offering to provide, legal services for that matter. (b) A lawyer shall not solicit professional employment by live person-to-person contact when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s or law firm’s pecuniary gain , unless the contact is with a: (1) lawyer; (2) person who has a family, close personal, or prior business or professional relationship with the lawyer or law firm; or (3) person who routinely uses for business purposes the type of legal services offered by the lawyer.
MRPC Rule 1.18 : Duties to Prospective Client (a) A person who consults with a lawyer about the possibility of forming a client-lawyer relationship with respect to a matter is a prospective client . Comment [2] Whether communications....constitute a consultation depends on the circumstances. For example, a consultation is likely to have occurred if a lawyer, either in person or through the lawyer’s advertising...specifically requests or invites the submission of information about a potential representation without clear and reasonably understandable warnings and cautionary statements that limit the lawyer’s obligations, and a person provides information in response. In contrast, a consultation does not occur if a person provides information to a lawyer in response to advertising that merely describes the lawyer’s education, experience, areas of practice, and contact information, or provides legal information of general interest.
Automating Law Firm Marketing
Measuring Marketing KPIs • Lead Source • Number of Prospective Clients • Conversion Rate • Click-through rates • Value Per Case • Matters Reports • Billable Hours • NPS
Tools for Automating Marketing & Communication • CRM & Client Intake Software: ex. Clio Grow • Email Marketing: ex. MailChimp • Social media management: ex. Hootsuite • Virtual Receptionist • Live Chat • Appointment Booking • Surveys / NPS Score • Reports & Referral Tracking *Ideally all of these work together
Communication Tools Virtual Receptionist Tools Automated Email Campaigns Live Chat Services Text Communication Online Contact Forms
Website Contact Form CRM Case Management Software
Streamlined Intake & Forms E-Signatures & Forms E-Signatures & Forms Online Intake Process Appointment Booking & Scheduling
What Clio Grow does: Streamlines the client intake process Make the client intake process more efficient—and personal Use custom intake forms, e-signatures, and document automation to retain new clients with ease. Automate tasks, so you can focus on what matters most Streamline day-to-day tasks like email follow-up and eliminate duplicate data entry, so you have more time to grow your firm. Know which matters and clients drive your success Use advanced data reporting to identify your firm’s most valuable referral partners and clients.
Reporting Tools Website Tracking General Reporting Case Management & CRM Reports Custom Reports Productivity Reports
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