9 Sales Promotion Ideas to Help Your Law Firm Attract New Clients

Growing your law firm can be a difficult undertaking. The Internet has made some things easier for business, but it has also created increased competition for resources and success. An online presence is a must for the modern law firm. Moreover, when you do it well, you can use marketing and promotions to drive impressive growth for your firm. 

Take the legal clients of video site Crisp—they’ve seen a 300% increase in ROI and an increase in case value of 2-10 times, and that’s just because they implemented a video marketing strategy online. 

Of course, it can be hard to figure out where to start and what you need to do. Sales promotions are a dime a dozen for e-commerce brands and other businesses, but you can’t really “discount” legal services or offer specials on your representation in the same way another business might. There are still ways that you can promote your law firm and get attention, and especially get the attention of new clients. 

Here's what you need to know. 

1. Utilize social media marketing 

Some law firms and lawyers feel that social media is too impersonal or just doesn’t have the same marketing value that it may have for other industries or businesses. Those people couldn’t be further from the truth. Modern social media marketing is one of the best ways you can promote your law firm and draw in new clients. Whether it’s through thought leadership and information sharing or just by connecting with people through social media promotions and specials, it will help you boost your client base and more. 

2. Offer signup or consultation exclusives 

While it might seem easier for other brands to use this promotional idea, it’s effective and a good strategy for law firms, too. You should have a free consultation in place already, but you could also offer newsletter signup discounts or specials, free hours of work, and so forth. Think about what would most benefit your clients here and make it a part of your promotional strategy. 

3. Create a virtual webinar or presentation to give to potential clients

This is a great way to help position yourself as a thought leader in your industry and to showcase everything that your firm or legal practice has to offer. These presentations should be short and offer a lot of value for what they entail. You can create these in programs like PowerPoint or use YouTube to create videos, webinars, and more. 

4. Utilize reviews and testimonials 

If you want to use your existing client base to cultivate new clients and leads, consider putting their testimonials to work. People will offer these free in some cases, but when you incentivize them, it’s going to benefit everyone even more. Perhaps you’ll offer people a discount on their bill, free consultation for their next legal need, or some other promotion for their help in the form of a review or testimonial. This can improve your brand image and make your existing clients feel valued, too. 

5. Use autoresponders for email marketing and follow-up

You have a lot on your plate, including communicating with existing clients and keeping them in the loop. While there are some emails you’ll want to send yourself, most of them can be set up in an autoresponder so that they’re ready to go and you don’t have to do a thing. Email marketing and follow-up are essential to your practice. If you’re still doing it by hand, you need to get with the times and use the tools available. 

6. Utilize inbound marketing and SEO to position your firm as an expert 

Creating and promoting educational content is a great way to get the attention of new and targeted clients. Essentially, you want to set the tone by presenting yourself as an expert on the topic at hand. You’ll need to promote these tools both on your website and on social media platforms, as well as other places online. Use your blog, too, and make sure that everyone knows you’re the expert. It’s one of the most cost-effective lead generation tools and it does more than just generate business—it builds your reputation. 

7. Make word-of-mouth work for you 

Word-of-mouth is still one of the best sources of business for a law firm. Therefore, you’ll need to make sure that you utilize this as part of your promotions as much as possible. Offer referral specials, family and friend discounts, discounts for social media mentions, and so forth. The more you can get people talking, the more you will gain from their conversations about the best law firm out there. 

8. Try using local marketing with digital campaigns 

Law firms are prime targets for local marketing. Not only do clients need lawyers experienced in their practice areas and licensed to practice in the state of residence (or the state of the legal matter, in some cases), but they need people who are familiar with the local and state laws, as well as how court proceedings go, and so forth. Digital marketing gives you a unique opportunity to market to local audiences using SEO and other paid search marketing efforts. 

9. Enlist the assistance of legal virtual receptionists to handle intake and more

Our last tip is probably one of the best on the list because it frees up your time and resources while making sure everything is handled by the pros. You can outsource to receptionists that can create a custom strategy to assist you every step of the way, too. 

While you’re busy with clients and running your firm, who is taking care of your lead intake, appointment scheduling, and other needs? Instead of trying to do it all yourself, you can partner with a team like Smith.ai, where you’ll find dedicated virtual receptionists to offer assistance with outbound sales and support, promotional marketing and outreach campaigns, and even legal client intake, lead qualification, and so much more. 

To find out just how much Smith.ai can do to streamline your law firm’s operations, schedule a consultation or reach out to us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.