Have you looked at various law firm websites recently? I have, and one thing is clear - despite the different names, logos, locations, etc, many are similar in the way they present information and are structured. For example:
Most simply list the various practice areas their staff cover. The backgrounds of key legal staff (mainly partners and associates) are included, focusing on their specialism and experience. The vast majority don't have a compelling offer that would get prospects to contact them immediately. By this, I mean they don't have information that would stop someone in their tracks...i.e. a free book, report or service offer with given guarantees. Many websites are 'self-focused' and not 'problem-focused'. They focus too much on how the firm does things, but do not have information on the typical problems clients face and what the desired outcome would be if the problems were eliminated. Many don't use their websites effectively as the first step for lead generation activity. What surprises me is that there are many that don't have a means of capturing contact details and, quite possibly, don't therefore have a system in place to communicate and follow up with prospects.If this is the situation you are in, the end result is twofold:
You make it hard for prospects to select you based on the information they get from your websites. When there is little differentiation between you and your competitors, price becomes the key selling point. Competing on price is not as good as competing on value. Sure, price is important but if you have created a position of authority within the minds of prospects and clearly articulated the value and results of what you offer, then you have more leeway to keep prices at levels you want. Your law firm/practice is not growing as fast as it possibly could because you are not positioned as a leader that prospects would want to know or buy from. Basically, you are missing out on attracting a lot more money to your practice.So, here are four simply steps you can take as a legal services professional to increase the value you provide prospects who are looking for specific information and help. Other strategies can then follow on from these.
Find out the questions your prospects/clients are asking themselves and create a report or book that people can download which contains the answers to the questions being asked. This should also give readers a glimpse of the results they get if they take certain action(s). Provide readers with the opportunity to 'opt-in' and give you their contact details so that you can communicate further with them and point them to more information or special offers you have. The only way to get people to 'opt-in' is to make sure you have something they think is valuable and which makes you stand out amongst your peers. Behind this opt-in, you have to map out the communications you will make with your list so that you move them towards the end of your sales funnel - where they actually ask you for your legal services. Redesign your website so that it builds your authority and helps you develop trust with readers. Blogs are great, but if you want to use your current website, think about how you can regularly add articles that focus on how to solve many of the key problems readers have. If you then syndicate these articles on various article directories /websites that link back to yours, you improve your search engine rankings before you start spending money on more expensive SEO strategies. Once found by prospects, you just have to make sure you retain their attention by doing points 1 - 3 above.There are more strategies legal services professionals could use to improve their websites. I have only listed four, because I know how difficult law firms find it to start if the whole process seems too comprehensive and difficult.
Law firm websites need to evolve from being platforms that simply list the services on offer, and experience the senior team has. They need to inform, develop trust, provide a means for people to sign-up for regular information.
Think about how prospects currently look for information and select lawyers. They are used to searching for information before they make any decisions, and will still go online even if someone makes a recommendation about your services. Take advantage of this, and grow your legal services practice.
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