3 ways your small law firm can meet today’s legal client needs

There’s no doubt that the evolving digital landscape has changed how legal clients search for information online. When it comes to contacting and hiring an attorney, legal clients in particular contemplate a handful of factors before making a decision.

Each year, FindLaw conducts the U.S. Legal Consumer Legal Needs Survey, polling over 2,000 U.S. adults who had a legal need in the past year. One consistent finding from these surveys stands out: Legal clients act fast. In fact, 56% of respondents to this year’s poll said they acted within a week or sooner of realizing they had a legal issue. How can you as an attorney quickly and thoroughly meet their needs?

This blog post delves into three key expectations of today’s legal clients and how small law firms can refine their marketing strategies to attract new clients.

Providing better service to clients

There’s a time-honored saying in business that the best client is one you already have. Repeat clientele are a superb way to safeguard the long-term success of your law firm, and satisfied clients are likely to spread the word about you, leave positive online reviews, and generally act as your advocate.

What counts as client service, let alone good client service, depends on your practice area. That being said, the end of the year would be an excellent time for any law firm to take a hard look at the whole of a client’s journey — from intake to conclusion of a matter — and ask yourself where it can be improved. It’s very likely that there are some pain points you don’t know about simply because you have not thought of them. For example: when you send an invoice, would it be clear to a non-lawyer why they are being billed this way, or could you better describe the reason for the charges? When a matter is over, do you make an effort to maintain a connection to the client, such as by sending a holiday card? These are the types of little things that go a long way and can help you provide better client service.

Leverage online reviews

People turn to reviews to know about others’ real-life experiences with specific services and products, including experiences with law firms. FindLaw’s survey shows 82% of legal clients used online reviews when searching for an attorney online. Additionally, nearly 40% of respondents reported that online reviews were their main source of information when deciding who to contact.   

Your law firm’s next steps:  

Take a look at your firm’s online reviews, specifically on your Google Business Profile. How many reviews does your firm have? And what’s the nature of those reviews? Would they help a potential client evaluate and choose your firm over a competitor? When it comes to online reviews, it’s not just about quantity — quality also matters.  

Take steps to not only encourage more current and former clients to provide online reviews, but also prompt them to leave reviews that are more detailed. For example, send clients emails about providing reviews with specific links to where they can leave their feedback. Include prompts to encourage them to leave substantive and helpful reviews, such as: 

• How did our law firm communicate important information to you? 

• What areas could our law firm improve in?  

• Would you recommend our law firm to your friends and family?  

Show your expertise through online videos

Videos are a cornerstone of the digital age. Pew Research shows that eight in ten U.S. adults report using YouTube, making it the most widely used online platform among Americans. It makes sense then that one in six respondents to FindLaw’s survey who sought legal information online searched for online videos, with YouTube (79%), social media (69%), and law firm websites (58%) being their main viewing sources.   

Your law firm’s next steps:  

Adding video to your marketing mix can help you gain a competitive edge. There’s also a lot of flexibility in what you can record and where you can post — quick and simple legal content works well on TikTok or Facebook Reels while longer-form videos may be more suited for YouTube or LinkedIn. Legal clients like to see the person they could be working with, so it’s OK to record yourself on your phone to give your content a personal, relatable touch.   

Regardless of how long your videos are, remember that your job is to make complex legal questions and topics simple and easy to understand. Make sure to use language that’s conversational and not loaded with legalese. Additionally, be mindful of the impression you want to make when selecting the setting you record in and the tone of voice you use.  

Use SEO to attract legal clients

It’s not surprising that nearly all respondents to FindLaw’s survey who contacted an attorney (97%) used a search engine, with Google being the dominant player. But how do you capture a search engine’s attention? This is where SEO comes into play. With a tailored strategy to increase your firm’s visibility on the web, your website’s content can rank higher in search engines and among AI search tools.  

Your law firm’s next steps: 

A crucial component to being found on the web is understanding how legal clients search for information. What questions are they asking? What topics are they seeking more information about? Once you determine these needs, use your legal expertise to craft or optimize content on your website that visitors can find value in. Most legal clients search for information on their phones, so ensure your website is mobile-friendly with a click-to-call feature enabled. 

It’s also important to consider local SEO, which can significantly increase the number of people who are looking for your services in your area. Make sure that your Google Business Profile and Facebook pages are claimed, that your address appears correctly and consistently everywhere on the web, and invest in paid search tactics like pay-per-click (PPC) ads to drive more traffic to targeted pages.    

Your law firm may also want to consider getting help from an SEO professional who understands the intricacies of search across the web. More than ever, search engines like Google are drastically changing their algorithms and incorporating AI features in an attempt to display results that match a user’s intent. An SEO expert can constantly monitor your firm’s content and make adjustments to key SEO components.  

Learn more key insights and trends about legal consumer clients and how they make decisions, then reach out to a digital marketing expert at FindLaw to start growing your firm.