Increasing your leads, attracting more paying clients, and boosting your revenue are all important objectives you need to accomplish for your law firm. You may have some strategies in mind for achieving these goals. However, the question remains, who should you collaborate with to make it happen?

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How can you choose the most suitable legal marketing partner for your practice? Is external support truly necessary? This guide comprehensively answers these questions and guides you toward optimizing your digital marketing efforts.

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The Importance of Marketing in the Digital World

Building a robust online presence for your law firm is essential to stay ahead in the digital age. Research suggests that around one-third of prospective clients search for legal services online. As a result, firms that need a sound online marketing strategy may lose up to 33% of their potential customer base.

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An expert marketing agency will know how to assess your law firm's needs by learning your goals and digital footprint in your market. Additionally, they can incorporate data driven marketing strategies into your law firm's business model to attract more clients, expand your enterprise, and bolster revenue. While word-of-mouth referrals remain a powerful method for gaining clients, digital marketing provides a broader reach, allowing legal practitioners to connect with more potential clients. 

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Legal professionals can establish a more substantial online presence through digital marketing techniques, increasing the ease with which potential clients can discover their services, ultimately contributing to tremendous success.

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Mistakes to Avoid When Evaluating Your Marketing Needs

• Paralegals or legal assistants are not marketing experts, and it's not reasonable to expect them to handle your law firm's marketing needs without experience or training. Effective marketing requires a lot of time and effort, and it's best to leave it to trained professionals. Doing so will help create a stress-free work environment for your staff.

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• When searching for a marketing agency, avoid choosing the first one that appears in your Google search. Take the time to shop around and interview several agencies to find the one that is the right fit for your law firm's unique needs and goals.

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• As an attorney, it should be evident that hiring your competitor's marketing agency is a conflict of interest. Therefore, avoid such a scenario and opt for an agency that will work solely with your law firm, ensuring that you receive their undivided attention and expertise.

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The Truth About Most Marketing Agencies

While the legal industry is highly competitive, most law firm marketing agencies regrettably have yet to pass the bar (pun intended). There are several reasons why most marketing agencies today either don't live up to expectations or are simply terrible.

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• Law firm marketing is exceptionally challenging: It is difficult for legal marketing because so many firms invest heavily in their marketing efforts. Marketing strategies such as discounts or special offers aren't effective in legal marketing. There is a high barrier against gimmicky marketing, so you can't expect a standard marketing campaign to yield impressive results.

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• It's easy for anyone to set up a marketing agency: Nowadays, all someone needs to create a company is a domain name, website, and email address. They can send cold emails to lawyers telling them there are issues with their website, and they will eventually get a response.

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• Can be expensive: Many marketing agencies often target legal professionals because they have a higher income and are equipped to pay higher marketing fees. Since attorneys have a higher income, this puts attorneys and law firms at risk of being targeted more often by lower quality marketing agencies.

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• Lawyers have limited marketing knowledge: Attorneys have full schedules and rarely have time to learn advanced marketing principles. This lack of time can lead to lawyers getting burned by marketing companies who talk a big game about driving them leads but in the end fail to produce.

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Why Should I Hire a Marketing Agency?

As an attorney, your focus should be on delivering exceptional client experiences. Hiring a legal marketing agency is a smart choice when considering the potential returns on your investment. By collaborating with an agency, you gain access to a wealth of expertise and knowledge that can be highly beneficial in executing successful marketing campaigns. 

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The best marketers possess an in-depth understanding of the legal industry and the latest marketing trends and techniques. This knowledge can streamline your marketing efforts, making them more efficient, and result in increased growth and revenue for your firm. In essence, partnering with a reputable legal marketing agency is an excellent approach if you are seeking long-term success and a significant return on investment.

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What To Look For When Hiring A Marketing Agency

Selecting a digital marketing agency to partner with your law firm is a crucial decision that demands careful consideration. As you research potential marketing agencies, you must consider several critical factors. Ideally, align with as many of these factors as possible to cater to your law firm's marketing results and future goals.

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1. Find law firm industry experts: You should confirm that the potential marketing agency has a specific focus on legal marketing rather than marketing in general or for another industry. 

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• Examining its website is one effective method to confirm a marketing agency's specialization. Specifically, you should look for blog articles and case studies directly related to law and law firm marketing. This research will allow you to determine if the agency has a sound grasp of the legal industry and how it relates to marketing.

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• Researching past clients and testimonials is an excellent way to gauge the agency's performance in previous legal marketing campaigns. These examples will give you an insight into the results that the agency has delivered to other law firms.

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• Ask legal-specific questions when interviewing the agency to assess their legal industry knowledge. The quality of your questions can determine if the agency understands the legal space and can provide the necessary expertise to help your firm achieve its marketing objectives.

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2.  Research evidence, case studies, and reviews: When selecting a legal marketing company, be aware that anyone can claim to be an expert, so inquire about the agency's proven past success to evaluate their competence and ability to meet your goals.

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• Before seeking out a marketing agency, define your specific objectives. Are you looking to increase website traffic or generate leads?

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• Once you have established your goals, ask the agency for examples of how they have helped other law firms achieve similar objectives.

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• By requesting and examining these examples, you can better gauge the agency's ability to meet your unique goals and requirements and determine if they can deliver the results you expect.

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3. Understand the scope of services: To make the most of your partnership with a digital marketing agency, you must fully understand their expertise and the services they provide for law firm marketing. Although you may have identified specific focus areas, it's typically advantageous to collaborate with a "full-service" marketing agency that can handle all aspects of your digital strategy, such as the following:

• Designing your law firm's website
• Executing a content strategy
• User experience testing for your website
• Optimizing online listings such as your Google Business Profile
• Managing a Paid Search Ads strategy, especially local search ads.
• Offering competitor research
• Innovative marketing strategies

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4. Will you trust the process? It's not only about the services and skills a marketing agency offers - it’s also about the agency’s character traits and if your personalities mesh well. Since you'll be communicating with them on an ongoing basis, it's essential to feel comfortable asking questions and trusting in their processes.

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To gain a better understanding of the agency's process, consider the following questions to ask your potential agency:

• How responsive are you when we have an issue or a question, and how do you prioritize communications with your clients?

• Will we have a dedicated point of contact who will be familiar with our law firm's specific needs and goals?

• What services will we have access to, and how can they be customized to meet our unique requirements?

• To what extent will we need to be involved in the marketing activities, and can the agency cover all our marketing needs?

• In the event of any issues, what is the agency's resolution process, and how do they handle challenging situations?

• How frequently will we receive reports on the effectiveness of our marketing efforts, and what metrics will be tracked to measure success?

• How quickly can we expect a return on our investment, and what is the typical timeline for seeing measurable results?

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By posing these questions, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the agency's approach, how they work with their clients, and how their processes align with your expectations. These questions will help determine if they fit your law firm's marketing needs.

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Final Thoughts

Executing data driven marketing strategies and managing a website can be overwhelming. At Lab Coat Marketing we know from experience that the best marketing strategies require consistent experimentation and targeted action. It's challenging to keep everything moving when you're already busy meeting clients and working on casework. Partnering with a digital marketing agency can be a quick solution, but it's easy to end up with an expensive agency that underperforms without first doing extensive research.

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However, by understanding the main factors to consider when choosing a marketing partner, you can make an informed decision and free up time to focus on the aspects of your business that only you can manage. Contact us today to see how we can help you get started and achieve your marketing goals through a scientific marketing approach.