Marketing, for a long time, stood relatively unchanged. There were print ads, radio ads, and TV ads. You might see a few businesses handing out flyers or cold-calling, but other than that, marketing was simple, even for lawyers. You placed your ad and you waited for the responses to come flooding in. Since the internet took over our lives though, things have changed. Traditional methods of advertising are falling by the wayside and business owners are being asked to adapt to a new environment.
The Facts
For lawyers, it used to be that the best advertising you could do was simply connecting with your clients. Since most people were finding their lawyer simply by asking someone they knew, the best bet for your business was to network effectively; go to community events, take the time to talk to your clients, build a referral base. This was the way that lawyers were generating some 65% of their business.
The Current Stats
We are no longer living in the same world. Now the internet is the most popular for people to find their lawyers. That doesn’t mean they’re not getting online referrals (such as google ratings), but rather that they’re not going to their connections within the community for that information as often. They are still doing it 29% of the time though, just 9% less than the portion of the population that’s finding you on google.
Directories Are No Longer Enough
The other key to this data is that getting listed in a directory isn’t actually as helpful as it once was. There was a time when being listed in a few directories would be enough to keep a small firm with a steady flow of clients. Now people are only going to those resources a small percentage of the time.
What It Means For Lawyers
Some people might look at this data and conclude that it’s time to go entirely digital with their marketing strategy. That’s not exactly what you need to do; instead, you may want to simply build a more integrated campaign. Just because people are finding you online doesn’t mean it’s through your website. They might be finding you on the online yellow pages, or some other online directory.
What’s Next For Your Law Firm
After looking at these stats, you should be thinking about how you can increase your online presence. If they’re googling law firms like yours, you want to be the one that they find. No matter what you’re doing though, make sure you’re covering all angles, not focusing on just one method of connecting with potential clients!
