Recently, the journalist Marcelino Abad published an article in Cinco Días entitled ‘Tell me what law firm you are and I will tell you how to attract clients on the street and on the Internet’, in which our Director of Communication and Business Development, Diana Jennen, together with other experts in legal marketing, analysed aspects such as the use of social networks, SEO and the location of the office to generate business.
The following are the reflections of the Communications Director of Gericó Associates as a result of this article.
Large law firms, both national and international, have the advantage of having strong brands, recognition in the market and, therefore, this has an impact on their ability to attract large clients.
Corporate clients who want to carry out certain complex transactions usually turn to the same law firms: on the one hand, to national firms such as Garrigues, Cuatrecasas, Uría Menéndez, Gómez-Acebo & Pombo or Pérez Llorca, or to international firms such as Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Freshfields or Latham & Watkins, among others.
In this way, they have a solvency that minimises the client’s risk. Certain medium-sized firms have the advantage of having partners from large firms, who have all the knowledge and practice of dealing with large clients, but with more competitive fees.
As the digital world is becoming more equalised, many mid-size firms are developing more aggressive digital strategies to bring in some of their new clients through digital channels.
The way to reach B2B and B2C clients changes substantially, also adapting to each specific client profile.
Legal marketing automation in the legal sector
Many medium-sized law firms implement digital strategies based on specific campaigns adapted to cases with a large number of affected parties. Some examples of this in recent years have been the cases of asbestos, floor clauses, revolving cards and the car cartel, among others, circumstances in which some firms such as Arriaga, Bufete Rosales or CCS Abogados have been able to position themselves well.
Another approach that is becoming increasingly relevant today is marketing automation in the legal sector (bots, automated emails, automated social selling, etc.).
In the case of the legal profession where the client is the citizen, these strategies can work. However, in the case of corporate law it becomes more complicated.
The main point of risk is the depersonalisation of automated answers and solutions: Can a bot with pre-programmed answers or artificial intelligence really build trust with the potential client? The main benefit of its implementation is to be able to collect contact data, as well as filtering the needs for the subsequent more personalised attention to the potential customer.
The marketing and business development strategy is always adapted to the firm. Its size, areas of specialisation and target audiences determine the channels, messages and actions to be implemented.
Naturally, large firms such as Garrigues, Cuatrecasas or Uría Menéndez have a solid reputation that allows them to invest a larger proportion of their budget in indirect attraction actions, that is, maintaining their positioning.
In the case of small firms, the spearhead of their strategy is to overcome the limitation of “word of mouth” as the main channel of potential clients and the strengthening of their reputation in the market.
Does the location of the firm influence the attraction of clients?
The location is key in terms of accessibility and reputation of a law firm, as it is a reflection of its corporate identity, and the type of client it is targeting has a clear influence on its choice.
A good strategy when choosing offices involves knowing how to determine the area that best fits the profile of our target audiences.
Despite the fact that the client contracting legal services is increasingly accustomed to being visited by the office and not the other way around, it is true that location continues to be an important element in terms of accessibility and reputation, and the type of client to be addressed influences the client’s choice.
A clear example of this was the strategic move made by Pérez-Llorca in the United Kingdom, leaving the City to set up in Mayfair, an emblematic district of the British capital where most of the major international funds have their headquarters.
Lawyers, in the media and networks
When a law firm chooses a strategy to achieve an expert positioning in the media, it is not carrying out a direct action to attract business. This is a common mistake for law firms.
The number one objective of this type of initiative is to generate trust through expert positioning and, therefore, for this notoriety and visibility to be converted into influence and reputation.
Nowadays, and even more so after the boost in online networking activity following the health crisis, social networks are a very effective tool when it comes to attracting clients.
Depending on the profile of each firm’s potential client, one social network or another is of greater relevance. It is important to maintain a regular weekly activity and include content that favours the positioning of the networks’ algorithms, such as audiovisual content, posts with close and “human” content and that favour the personalisation of the firm’s image.
The main objective of social networks as a communication tool for a law firm is to create a brand image, generate notoriety and gain visibility, which has an impact on the firm’s reputation.
However, it is true that in our business development department we use LinkedIn as one of our tools to arrange meetings very effectively between our clients and their potential clients.
Prior to this, of course, is good strategic planning to define markets, objectives, messages and action plan.
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Gerico Associates is the first legal marketing, communications and business development consultancy for law firms in Europe and Latin America. If you need advice for your law firm, please contact us.
