Attorneys and law firms have witnessed a series of changes across the legal industry, and one of the most significant is a transformation in law firm business development areas. This transformation is majorly influenced by a trend in the market. It shows that prospects of law businesses are now able to choose and connect with their preferred attorney or law firm via any widespread web-based network or platform offering a large pool of professional attorneys or legal experts.
These platforms are found across the web in the form of new-gen websites helping law businesses and their prospects connect with each other. Considering the growing popularity and demand of these listing platforms that are setting a new trend, law firms are revamping their business development (BD) ideas to keep up with the game.
What do prospects actually expect nowadays?
They don’t seek a master of all jacks but a professional legal support provider with specialization according to their need
Improving the online aspects of a law firm is as crucial for business development as improving offline functioning
Competitive pricing and add-on client services are not sufficient; law firms are in sheer need of a strong plan covering the overall legal business development strategies
Law firms capable of aligning their BD strategies with these market trends and conditions are more likely to obtain unprecedented growth in the years to come.
Why should law firms have a business development plan in place?
As a law business owner, your BD plan will help lay the foundation for your law firm’s sustainable growth and expansion. It works as a framework to set things in motion and that also systematically. For example, you would be able to focus on strategy implementation and evaluate the firm’s growth in previous months so that you can take appropriate actions in time.
An effective legal business development plan will require your time, your attorneys’ and other employees’ opinions, and extensive data about your law firm’s performance over a period of time. However, since it would not be as easy as it sounds, here are the top BD strategies for law firms to obtain success in 2022.
Top Business Development Ideas for Law Firms to Succeed in 2024
1. Go live with a well-designed website
In today’s world, where digital adoption is increasingly spreading across business sectors and industries, it is becoming necessary to build a well-designed website for your law business. As it will mostly act like the first touchpoint, it will have a difference in how a potential customer learns about your business. An unorganized, poorly designed-website would not grab the attention of many. According to Google Research, customers will make a decision within a few milliseconds of reaching your website about whether to check more pages or not. Therefore;
Make sure to use high-quality images and videos – around 60% of consumers would pay more attention to search results that include images – source
Ensure your service offerings are clearly defined – 94% of consumers say one of the most useful features of a website is its easy navigation – source
2. Establish strong relationships with clients
An old saying suggests that the best approach to acquiring new clients is to ensure that you provide excellent services to your current clients. According to the 2020 Legal Trends Report, someone looking for an attorney will likely trust recommendations from friends or their loved ones before they look for their review online reviews, social handles, etc. – source
In order to ensure you get the maximum possible referrals from your current clients, you need to prepare and implement a client-centric strategy to establish and maintain strong client relations, both during and after their case. Your aim should be to deliver an exceptional client experience.
3. Maintain operational efficiency
To keep up with high efficiency, you need to consider tracking how your staff works and how many working hours are spent on which aspect. For example, you might be surprised to find that your attorneys spend more time on administrative tasks rather than less time on case-related tasks or vice versa. Here, help your staff ensure smooth functioning to maintain operational efficiency as high as possible.
Set clear instructions about your staff members’ responsibilities across the spectrum of operations. A well-synced team with complete awareness of their roles will ensure your law business operations remain efficient.
4. Plan for hiring new staff
As your law business grows, you will experience a need to hire more legal professionals to meet clients’ needs. However, you might have found it challenging to make a decision at the right time, not being able to decide what’s the best time to hire. To help you improve your decision-making, here are a few signs showing you may need to hire new people;
- Your law firm is too preoccupied to take on new clients
- Service quality is continuously reducing
- Your staff works overtime due to workload, facing burnout
- You are unable to focus on business development as you are busy fulfilling an attorney’s absence in your law firm
If you are dealing with the above-discussed situations, there’s a high chance that you need to hire staff; determine your firm’s requirements in advance and plan for hiring new staff.
5. Find where outsourcing can help
There are many instances where you need not hire a full-time employee, whereas you can simply use legal process outsourcing services to get support with some of the most tedious and time-consuming operations that drain your in-house resources fast. That way, your outsourcing partner firm will work as an extension of your team, reducing their workload and enhancing your law firm’s capacity.
By outsourcing some part of a process or an entire process, you allow your in-house staff to focus on other core business areas that need more attention and that can positively affect the overall business development for law firms.
6. Focus on branding & marketing
You must establish a brand out of your law business. For this, it is important to ensure your brand elements are consistent. For example, you are using one logo on the website and across publications. There are limitless opportunities to improve your brand, from becoming a sustainability-promoting, no-paper law firm to having it featured in a local newspaper or magazine. This is just a small example.
You may also invest in digital or traditional marketing depending on your needs and your target audience’s demographics. Your marketing and branding efforts count when it comes to using them for law firm business development.
7. Ask clients to submit their valuable reviews
Positive reviews on business listings and review websites such as Google, Yelp, or BBB can not only help you enhance your online brand image but also have a direct impact on legal business development.
Even if a client wishes not to mention their name on the review, they can actually post as an anonymous user on some business review websites. You may also offer your attorneys some incentives for getting positive online reviews from satisfied clients.
8. Add new services to your portfolio
This is a challenging but very effective strategy you can use for law firm business development; however, it cannot be done overnight. For example, you might not have sufficient resources to start offering a new line of legal services, and thus, it requires planning and investment.
You may begin by determining the gaps, such as shortage of resources or skills required to enter the new market; find if you have the relevant and industry-standard technology tools to provide new services effectively and proficiently. Adding new services and new clients reflects your business development strategies are performing well.
If you have not worked on business development strategies for your law firm, you most likely usually remain busy managing your core roles and responsibilities, having less time for marketing and business development. If so, get complete support from legal support world experts with your law firm’s back-office operations to get more time for legal business development.
We are a global provider of legal process outsourcing services, helping attorneys and law firms enhance capacity and efficiency, streamline operations and functionality, and optimize legal processes, adding value to their bottom line and playing our part in their business development and success. To learn how we can help your law firm, reach us at +1 646 688 2821 or send an email to [email protected]
