Typical Mistakes in Legal Marketing

Neglected branding

Law firms often still have a very generic appearance. They hide behind restrained branding because they want to avoid standing out too much. They lose their visibility, their identity. Clients and talents have no chance of remembering these law firms in the long term. The appearance disappears into a uniform mishmash.

Solution: Develop the courage to tackle the project. Re-branding builds on what you have already achieved and makes your brand fresh. Only with a strong brand will your communication also contribute to your business development. This will increase the return on investment of all your marketing measures.

Find out more: When is it time for a re-branding?

Unclear positioning and target group approach

Unclear positioning usually leads to an unspecific target group approach. If the law firm itself does not know exactly who its blog posts, social media channels and events are aimed at, the target group will not feel addressed either. A lot of investment in marketing, little return.

Solution: Clearly define your positioning and highlight your expertise and specialization. Identify your target group precisely and develop marketing messages that are tailored to their needs and requirements.

Poor online presence

The website has long since become the most important piece of the marketing puzzle. Law firms and lawyers like to say that they still acquire clients mainly through referrals. That may be true. Nevertheless, all the people who received a referral were also on the law firm's website first. Things can still go wrong here. Poor websites can quickly deter targets today - or even discourage others from making a referral!

How often do you book a hotel or restaurant that has a bad website?

Solution: Invest in a modern and user-friendly website. Show what you can do, choose an appealing design, optimize the page for search engines.

Lack of strategy and success monitoring

The lack of a clear marketing strategy and systematic monitoring of success leads to high costs. Resources are used inefficiently. This often means that (senior) partners also have to deal with the details of communication. This quickly adds up to a few expensive hours... In addition, without regular analysis of the measures, their success remains uncertain. As a result, the law firm misses opportunities to improve its marketing success.

Solution: Structure and planning bring clarity. This accelerates the implementation of communication measures. It increases efficiency and effectiveness. Develop a clear marketing strategy with defined goals and action plans. Regularly monitor the performance of marketing activities and analyze the results to maximize success through adjustments.

Lack of use of content marketing

No or hardly any content marketing? A missed opportunity! Today, potential clients search for information and solutions online. If you don't use content marketing, you make it impossible for your own target groups to find your law firm online.

Solution: By providing valuable content such as blog articles, videos or guides, your target groups will find you online. They recognize your expertise and build trust. Invest time in creating high-quality content that addresses the needs and questions of your target group. Use the available channels to increase your reach.

Find out more: 8 particularly effective marketing techniques for law firms!

Lack of integration of online and offline marketing

We often see it: the Christmas card looks completely different from the PowerPoint slides. The LinkedIn profile doesn't match either of them and the email signature is yet another different one. How are the target groups supposed to match? Here too, the inconsistent application of branding (usually due to a lack of a branding strategy!) results in a lot of wastage. The money invested in the communication media does not bring the expected return.

The content of the channels is also often not managed consistently. The positioning is blurred. Instead of clearly addressing the target groups, everyone is confused and no one feels they are being picked up.

Solution: Link the two worlds. Design, content and planning should be managed centrally - at least at a strategic level. It helps if you focus on the target groups and think in terms of campaigns.

Neglect of relationship marketing

Law firms like to focus on acquiring new clients. However, maintaining existing clients is often forgotten. One problem lies partly in the compensation models, which reward the acquisition of new clients much more than the sale of additional projects to existing contacts. As in every industry, the same applies in the legal market: it is more expensive to win new mandates than to retain existing clients and increase their turnover.

Solution: Maintain a close relationship with existing contacts. Invest time in customer service and retention. Clients who are really enthusiastic about your work will not only come back, but will also recommend you to others - priceless! As a partner in your law firm, you should also question the compensation model. It may be worth changing it in favor of client relationship management.

Conclusion

Avoiding mistakes in legal marketing is crucial to avoid costly consequences. This includes clear positioning and addressing target groups, a strong online presence, consistency and a well-thought-out strategy and success monitoring.