How to Create a Documented Marketing Strategy for Your Law Firm

A solid marketing strategy is essential for any law firm looking to grow its client base and achieve sustained success. Without a clear plan, it’s easy to miss opportunities, waste valuable resources, and fail to meet your firm’s goals. By creating a documented marketing strategy, your law firm can outline clear objectives, stay on track, and adjust tactics for better results. Here’s a step-by-step guide to building an effective, results-driven marketing strategy like the kind that we create a Marketing Boss.

Key Components of a Marketing Strategy

A documented marketing strategy provides structure and direction. Here are the essential elements that will keep your efforts focused and effective.

1. Overview of Case Goals by Case Type

Every law firm handles a variety of cases, and each case type requires a tailored approach to meet its unique objectives. Setting goals by case type can be as simple as deciding how many cases you would like, per case type at your law firm with a table like this:

Case Type	Monthly Goal	Quarterly Goal	Annual Goal
Personal Injury – MVA	100	300	900
Personal Injury – Slip & Fall	30	90	360

As you set these goals, take into consideration what you have been able to sign up historically. Your historical data can serve as a baseline so that as you increase or modify your marketing efforts you can track what works. 

Once you have these case sign up goals you can explore setting marketing goals accordingly. 

Here’s how to set clear, measurable marketing goals for common case types:

• Personal Injury: Focus on generating leads quickly since cases are often time-sensitive. A goal here might be increasing online inquiries by 25% in the next quarter.
• Family Law: Prioritize brand trust and visibility. For example, aim to improve organic search rankings for key terms like “family lawyer near me.”
• Corporate Law: Build long-term client relationships. Set goals for securing contracts with a set number of new business clients annually.

When defining goals, align them with your firm’s larger objectives, such as increasing revenue, improving client satisfaction, or expanding practice areas. Ensure these targets are measurable, so you can assess progress along the way.

2. Messaging Strategy

Your messaging strategy should align with the goals set for each case type. The right message will resonate with your target audience and inspire action. Here’s how to craft an effective messaging framework:

• Identify Pain Points: What legal challenges does your audience face? For example, a personal injury client may be seeking fast and fair compensation, while a corporate client may need proactive risk management services.
• Refine Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP): Highlight specific benefits that set your law firm apart, such as a track record of winning tough cases or offering transparent pricing.
• Tone and Voice: Use language that matches the emotional and professional needs of your audience. For instance, adopt a compassionate tone for family law clients and a more authoritative one for corporate clients.

Ensure all marketing content, from your website to social media posts, reinforces this messaging.

3. Marketing Channels and Best Practices

An effective marketing strategy requires the right mix of channels. Here’s a breakdown of the most impactful platforms for law firms that you can incorporate a part of your documented strategy:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize your website with keywords like “best personal injury lawyer in [city]” or “affordable divorce attorney.” Publish helpful blog content answering common legal questions to boost rankings.
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: Run targeted Google Ads campaigns for high-intent search terms, such as “hire criminal defense attorney.”
• Social Media: Use platforms like LinkedIn for corporate law and Facebook or Instagram for family and personal law. Share case studies, client testimonials, and quick legal tips to engage your audience.
• Email Marketing: Send targeted newsletters to nurture leads. For instance, you can share updates on legal changes that might impact existing or potential clients.

Pro Tip: Use a marketing calendar to plan and diversify your campaigns while ensuring consistency.

4. Customer Service and Sales Strategy

An often-overlooked component of marketing for law firms is the integration of customer service and sales into your strategy. Start with a robust attribution system to track which channels are generating leads. Knowing whether a website inquiry came from a Google Ad or an SEO blog post allows you to identify which efforts are driving results and ensures team accountability. From there, focus on developing an effective customer service strategy to convert those leads into clients. Train your team to respond promptly and professionally, answering questions and guiding potential clients through the decision-making process. Once you create a seamless link between marketing campaigns and client conversion efforts, your firm will see better returns on investment and stronger client relationships. 

Tracking KPIs to Achieve Sales Goals

Tracking the right metrics is crucial for evaluating the success of your marketing efforts. For law firms, the following KPIs should be at the top of your list:

• Lead Conversion Rate: Measure the percentage of website visitors or ad interactions that turn into inquiries or consultations.
• Website Traffic: Monitor the volume of visitors to your website and which pages are performing best.
• Client Acquisition Cost (CAC): Calculate how much you’re spending to attract each new client and find ways to improve efficiency.
• Engagement Metrics: Track email open rates, social media engagement, and session duration on your website to gauge audience interest.

Automated reporting tools can make tracking these KPIs seamless, enabling you to make data-driven decisions that improve ROI and bring you closer to achieving your sales goals. Here is an example of how you can track KPIs per channel. The example below is for a website but you should do this by each marketing channel.

	Jan	Feb	March	April	May	June	July
Sessions
Average Session Duration
Engagement Rate
Chats
Forms
Calls
Leads
Qualified
SignedUp

Calculating your Client Acquisition Cost (CAC) per platform is an excellent way to understand where your marketing budget is most effective. However, attribution can get tricky. For example, a potential client may see your law firm on a billboard and later click on a digital ad that costs you $100. This overlap makes it difficult to assign full credit to one channel. To tackle this complexity, consider using multi-touch attribution models to analyze the influence of various channels on the client’s decision. You should also calculate your overall marketing spend against total leads or sign-ups. By looking at the big picture, you can identify trends, improve efficiency across your marketing efforts, and ensure you’re making the most of your budget. Here is an example of what that can look like:

	Jan	Feb	March	April	May	June	July
Total Ad Spend
Total Leads
Cost Per Lead
Total Sign Ups
Cost Per Sign Up

Automating the Lead and Customer Journey

Automation is a game-changer for law firms, making it easier to manage the lead and customer lifecycle while saving time. Here’s how to streamline the process:

• CRM Systems: Use tools like Clio or HubSpot to track and manage leads, interactions, and client progress.
• Email Automation: Set up workflows that nurture leads automatically, such as sending a welcome email after an inquiry or reminders for consultations.
• Chatbots: Integrate chatbots on your website to answer common client questions and guide potential clients to the next steps.

For example, if a client fills out a contact form on your website, your CRM system can trigger an automated email thanking them for their interest, while also assigning a follow-up task to your team. This creates a seamless experience and maximizes your chances of converting leads into clients.

Share Your Strategy With Your team

A documented marketing strategy is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity for law firms aiming for consistent growth and success. By setting clear goals, crafting effective messaging, leveraging the right marketing channels, tracking essential KPIs, and automating the lead and client process, you can position your firm as a leader in your market. Start small if needed, and build your way to a comprehensive strategy that delivers measurable results.

Regardless of how detailed your strategy is, you should make it a point to share it with your team. You don’t have to review the entire thing with everyone but make sure that each member of your marketing team knows how many cases you want to get for each case type so they can keep an eye on the prize and can understand how they specifically can help you get there. Imagine how much of a strategy your social media manager can be about how he/she creates your content if you explain that you are looking for mostly MVA cases. They will know to focus content on that case type. 

Take the first step today by defining your goals and exploring the tools that can help you bring your strategy to life. Your firm’s growth is only a plan away.