Law Firm Marketing Agency
Personalization is a trend we see in many other industries, but law firms have been slow to embrace it. Study after study proves that tailored marketing communications are far more effective than generic appeals—so what gives?
On the one hand, lawyers are experts at personalization. Lawyers are incredibly skilled at remembering the specific details of each and every case. On the other hand, lawyers have to be very careful not to divulge sensitive information. It’s a tricky balance, even for the most experienced attorney.
Is it time for law firms to embrace personalization? This article explains what personalized marketing is, four things a firm needs in order to successfully implement personalized marketing, and one thing to bear in mind.
What is personalized marketing?
Personalized marketing is customizing your marketing efforts to address individual people or segments. It is achieved by using data insights and software to deliver targeted information to carefully selected customer profiles.
The opposite of personalized marketing is mass marketing, where a single advertisement addresses a wider audience.
Think about it this way: Every one of your clients is a unique individual. You adapt your interactions to each unique client while providing the same caliber of service to everyone.
Today, people expect to be treated like unique individuals when they’re being marketed to as well as when they become customers or clients.
The foundation you need to succeed at personalization
To personalize your law firm marketing, you will need a few key data points and tools:
1. Comprehensive knowledge of your buyers and their buying journey: You must understand what a prospective client needs at each step of their attorney selection journey. This knowledge can help you craft empathetic and useful messaging that speaks directly to their needs.
2. Data: A CRM is key! You can only serve up personalized messages if you have data related to someone’s communication preferences, location, name, and history with your firm. Make sure you adhere to local regulations about data collection, data retention, and privacy.
3. The right technology: Invest in marketing automation software to help you deliver the right message at the right time. Make sure your software gives contacts an easy and obvious way to opt in or out. HubSpot and Salesforce are two good resources for personalized marketing.
4. Strategy: Personalization can be downright creepy if you’re not careful. Be thoughtful about when you utilize personal information in communications. For instance, using someone’s name is probably a nice touch but bringing up a sensitive personal issue from a prior case is inappropriate.
Building up this infrastructure can take time but the rewards are manifold. More leads, higher retention, brand affinity, increased revenue—these are just a few of the benefits you might experience after implementing a personalized marketing campaign.
Alert! A word of warning
Attorney marketing is highly regulated. Before you craft a strategy, consult your state’s advertising guidelines about personalized marketing. Attorneys must be very careful when it comes to sharing privileged information with any third party that facilitates personalized outreach.
Review and next steps
Personalized marketing is an extremely powerful tool that many law firms have yet to implement. While crafting the strategy and building the infrastructure for personalized marketing requires an investment, the ROI of personalized marketing is very high.
Here are the four foundational elements of personalized marketing:
- Knowledge of the buyer and buyer’s journey
- Data
- Technology
- Strategy
Interested in learning more about personalized marketing for your firm? Ask Omnizant’s expert marketers to develop a strategy and recommend tools that can support your marketing goals.