Why should client care be your priority in 2024 and how can your digital marketing help?
By Dan Hodges, Head of Account Management, Conscious Solutions
Client care is an essential part of any law firm’s service provision. It helps retain clients, reduce complaints and build trust between your firm and those clients. Therefore, it should be an integral part of your firm’s strategy for 2024.
In this article, I discuss the importance of client care, why you should make it a priority for 2024 (which is hopefully not news to you!) and how some quick wins in your digital marketing can complement client care in 2024.
1. Happier clients = more business
It should be no surprise that the happier your clients are, the more likely they are to return to your firm if they need help with something else. So, the ability to provide client care is an essential skill for every team member.
Creating a positive experience for your clients from the moment they enquire to the moment the case closes and long after should be high up your list if you want clients to instruct you again.
2. Technological enhancements
Technology is rapidly developing, and nearly everyone will use some form of technology to research products and services they are considering buying. That means your client care across several channels is essential.
Having a website is no longer enough; you need a website that answers your clients’ questions, is easy to navigate when taking them through the research and sales process and makes it clear and easy for them to get in contact.
In addition, you need to think about your online reputation as any negative reviews might put off some clients and, you need to ensure your website is search engine optimised, so it is showing up in Google above your competition to get someone to your website. The landscape is becoming more complex, but with technological advancements also come bigger opportunities for more work.
3. Increase in competition
It is likely that you are not the only local firm in your city specialising in your area of law, and you are certainly not the only firm in your county specialising in your area of law. So, if other firms in your area and nationally can provide the same services you do, how do you set yourself apart from the competition? Exceptional client care is one of the only ways your firm can choose not to compete on price.
4. Risk management
Excellent client care doesn’t just leave a positive, lasting impression on your clients; it also helps to minimise the chance of negative feedback, which can cause problems for your firm.
5. More referrals
Finally, happy clients mean more referrals. Your clients are much more likely to recommend you to another company, a friend, or a family member if they have been happy with the service they have received.
So, how can your digital marketing support client care in 2024?
Digital marketing can help your firm to provide valuable and helpful information to clients, create a streamlined process for contacting your firm for work in the most stress-free way possible and help to create a relationship and familiarity with your firm.
But to do this, you must ensure your clients are at the centre of your marketing, whether it’s your website, emails, social media accounts or general online presence. To do this, you first need to understand what it is that your clients want.
To get feedback on how your clients (or employees, which can be just as important) are currently finding your digital marketing efforts and whether they are engaging with them, have a look at our Law League service. Law League has client and staff feedback surveys which identify the true strengths and weaknesses of your firm whilst benchmarking your performance against others.
Once you understand how your firm is performing and what might be missing, you can start to implement digital marketing strategies that have the client in mind and really meet their needs.
Our quick wins for creating client-focused digital marketing in 2024
Make it easy for clients to contact you
Your clients want their queries answered, and they want them answered quickly! I’d recommend having your solicitors’ details on the website so they can be contacted directly, implementing functions like live chat and enquiry forms so queries can be submitted 24/7 and ensuring your main phone number is easy to find on every website page.
Think about what you share
Don’t just create content for the sake of creating content. There is so much noise on social media so make sure the content you are sharing is valuable – this could be infographics, top tips or how-to videos. For example, if you are a conveyancing firm, you could write a blog post on “ten things you need to prepare before selling your house” and then share these ten tips as posts on social media.
As well as social media, think about the content you have on your website, too, as you don’t want a website that includes too much information, which makes it difficult for someone to find what they are looking for. If something is outdated, remove it; if something has changed, make sure you update it.
Hosting webinars or Q&As
One way to go above and beyond and stand out from your competitors is by hosting webinars or question-and-answer sessions where you can understand what clients need help with and provide answers to their questions. Hosting these informative sessions is a great way to stay in contact with your clients, as well as giving you opportunities to repurpose this content in the form of blogs, social media videos and posts, and client-only sections of your website.
Showcase your successes
A great way to show that not only do you care about your clients, but you achieve the best results for them is to include a case studies page on your website. This helps clients to understand the types of clients you work with to make their decisions in the buying process a little easier. If they can see that you received a positive outcome for a person in a similar situation or business like theirs, they are more likely to contact your firm. And, once their matter is settled, they might be inclined to get involved in a case study themselves if they found the process to be as it was described to them.
Find out what they’re searching for
If you know what your clients are searching for, you can create tailored content towards these queries.
About Conscious Solutions
If you need support creating a client focused website, they have over 19 years of experience in building websites for law firms to help them become more successful online. Contact Conscious Solutions at sales@conscious.co.uk or 0117 325 0200.
Dan Hodges is the Head of Account Management at Conscious Solutions who help law firms to become more successful online with their 19 years of experience of digital marketing in the legal sector. Dan has over 16 years of experience in the legal sector ranging from business development to practice management and strategic planning. Dan has worked with over 300 law firms helping them get a better understanding of how they can become more successful online.
