Helping Law Firms of All Sizes Reach Their Top Goals (Part 1 of 2)

Believe it or not, an overwhelming majority of law firms of all sizes consider themselves to be successful or very successful (85% of firms surveyed). Even with all the reported success, law firms still have set lofty goals for themselves.

Top Five Law Firm Goals and Priorities

Here are the top 5 goals that law firms have overall:

• Enhancing their reputation in the local community (46 percent).
• Increasing or improving business development and marketing (45 percent).
• Being considered the best of the best (42 percent).
• Providing better service to their current clients (39 percent).
• Growing while maintaining quality (39 percent).

Here at Legal Productivity, we are obsessed with helping law firms realize their potential, so we’ll break down each goal and show how you can take steps to reach them.

In part one of this two-part series, we’ll share valuable tips and advice on the top two goals and also provide you with additional resources corresponding to each topic.

Enhancing Your Reputation in the Local Community

One quick and easy way to build and enhance your reputation in the local community is through the use of social media. Twitter in particular is filled with tons of local professionals who share thoughts, news, and latest trends. For those people in your community, see what links are being shared, join the conversation, and get yourself out there. Follow users and have others follow you.

Another opportunity law firms have to enhance their community reputation is by engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility. Devote a portion of your time and resources to give back and improve the lives of the people around you. This can include donating time and/or resources to local organizations, host a food or clothing drive in the office, etc. Search for organizations in your area or check out handsonnetwork.org to see what’s available in your zip code.

Additional Resources:
Corporate Social Responsibility: How is Your Firm Giving Back?

Increasing or Improving Business Development and Marketing

Your firm is your brand. When it comes to marketing, the goal is to increase brand awareness. Consider the benefits of a firm website and useful content. Potential clients say that content is key to finding and validating prospective firms. This content should be thought-leadership or solutions-based content in the form of a firm website blog or separate topic-based site (like legalproductivity.com or themaclawyer.com). This content can also be dispersed through email newsletters that keep your client list and your firm’s bottom line growing.

Social media should also be used to spread the word about your content. Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook are the top channels used by law firms to promote and expand their brand. You can also pay to boost occasional posts on the channels for a small fee. Doing so will get your content to the right people and and it’s a great way to add followers and establish yourself as an expert in your field.

While marketing entails establishing touchpoints with potential clients, business development is about making those client interactions meaningful and then building upon those relationships. There is no better technology available to assist with this than a reliable Legal Practice Management software (or LPM).

LPMs like Rocket Matter allow attorneys to offer exceptional client service and communication through client portals, document management, and online payment offerings. They also offer advanced reporting, gaining insights into how the firm uses its time and resources.

You’ll come to find that marketing and business development are two sides of the same coin. Market yourself to the masses and gain your clients’ trust, and use your expertise and insights to keep and strengthen that trust to retain and gain more clients.

Additional Resources:
Legal Practice Management: How to Address the Top Challenges Faced by Today’s Small Firms
Law Firm Marketing: Build Your Brand With Content, Social Media and SEO