Your Client's Journey Begins With Marketing

• Author: By Jack Newton
• Pages: 25-25

What do you think of when you hear

the words “law f‌i rm marketing”? They

might conjure images of billb oard ads,

faces on bus stop benches, or online

advertisement s, but there’s something

else that law f‌i rms should be think ing of

f‌i rst when it comes to marketing —the

client journey.

The client journey is the sum o f all of

a client’s touchpoints wi th a law f‌i rm as

they work to resolve their leg al issue,

both with the f‌i rm and beyond. To think

about the client journ ey is to think about

your clients’ experien ces from the begin-

ning to the end, from t heir point of view.

Often, the client journey star ts well

before a client f‌i rst contact s your f‌i rm.

First, they’ll rea lize that they have an

issue that they need le gal help for, i.e.,

they need a will, they nee d a divorce, or

they need to retain co unsel for an impor-

tant trans action. Then, t heir f‌i rst point

of contact with your f‌i rm might come

via an ad, a referr al from a friend or col-

league, a listin g from a directory, or via a

Google search result . To give an idea of

how clients might get th eir f‌i rst impres-

sion of your f‌i rm, according to the 2019

Legal Trends Report, 59% of consume rs

surveyed sought a referr al from some-

one they already knew whe n looking for

a lawyer, while 57% searched for a law-

yer through their own mea ns, and 16% of

consumers surveyed did b oth.

Regardless of how they rea ch out, f‌i rst

impressions matt er. If the experience of

f‌i nding you, learning about you, and con-

tacting you is dif f‌i cult, that will only color

your client’s experience neg atively later

on—or worse , it could be enough to

stop them conside ring you at all.

To provide the best f‌i rst impres-

sion—and to have the best chance o f

being hired, gett ing positive reviews

and receiving referr als—law f‌i rms must

take a client-cen tered approach to law

f‌i rm marketing. They must develop deep

empathy for their clien ts at every sta ge

of the journey to create t he experience

they’re truly looking for.

This doesn’t mean law f‌i rms need to

“wow” their clients . It means they need

to get intently cur ious about what’s really

going through a client ’s mind when they

start look ing for a lawyer, and meet-

ing their needs at th at stage of the c lient

jou rney.

Start by put ting yourself in your client s’

shoes. Use langu age they’ll underst and,

and your marketing mess age should

resonate with the ch allenges they’re

experiencing at this phase of their cli-

ent journey. Also make sure you have the

basics taken ca re of: for example, d o you

have your phone number, email address,

and/or a “contact us” form promine ntly

displayed on your website, so t hat cli-

ents can eas ily contact your f‌i rm to f‌i nd

out about your service s? Are the services

you offer listed in de tail on your f‌i rm’s

website, so potent ial clients know they ’re

in the right place? Do you have pric-

ing information on your site , so clients

can prepare for how much your ser vices

might cost? Almost 4 0% of Americans

can’t cover an unexpected exp ense of

$400, af ter all, and the co st of dealing

with a legal issue is likely to be higher

than that — of fering payment plan s and

supporting cred it card payments are t wo

easy ways you can help make your legal

services more access ible

Of course, marketin g and business

development happen beyond your web-

site as well. Are you aski ng past clients

to leave reviews online, so pote ntial cli-

ents can feel re assured when they loo k

you up?

By thinking about m arketing as a key

phase in the client jour ney, law f‌i rms can

better provide the info rmation that the ir

potential client s are looking for, develop

strong client relatio nships from the sta rt,

and deliver service t hat results in more

positive reviews, more referr als, and

more business. In ot her words, develop-

ing deep empathy for your c lients might

just be one of the bes t investments your

f‌i rm can make.

In my new book, The Client-Centered

Law Firm, I discuss t he full client journey

in detail, as well a s practical tip s for map-

ping the client journey and p roviding legal

clients with the b est possible exper ience.

You can purchase a copy, or preview the

f‌i rst chapter for free, at clien tcentered-

lawf‌i rm.com.

SPONSORED COLUMN

www.clio.com

Jack Newton is the founder of Clio and a pioneer of cloud-based legal technology. Jack

has spearheaded efforts to educate the legal community on the security, ethics, and

privacy issues surrounding cloud computing, and is a nationally recognized writer and

speaker on the state of the legal industry. Jack is the author of “The Client-Centered Law

Firm,” a #1 bestseller that’s the essential book for law f‌i rms looking to succeed in the

experience-driven age, now available at clientcenteredlawf‌i rm.com.

Your Client’s Journey Begins With Marketing

By Jack Newton