In nearly every advertising avenue, law firms are competing fiercely for the same clients. On TV, other law firms are airing on the same shows. Every other billboard alternates between firms. Google Ads are all generic and hoping for quality prospects to click. Ranking organically is a fierce competition to rank, stay ranked, and attract the clicks. And the list goes on… You get the idea.
With similar messages in similar mediums, most of the marketing efforts are all posturing for the same clients. In many cases, this results in the cost-per-acquisition increasing or the inability to compete without a large budget.
Is there an alternative?
Yes. And it’s already being employed across an array of advertising mediums.
How to Stop Fighting for the Same Clients
In SEO, some vendors will pursue search terms that aren’t directly related to someone searching for a law firm. Perhaps an individual researching back pain was in an accident and they haven’t connected the dots.
The idea is that you want to find people who haven’t decided, “I need to call a lawyer.” This can be done by showing up in places where your competition isn’t or showing up in the same places with alternative messages. The person who knows they have a case is very different from the person who doesn’t. How are these people different? The person who knows they have a case is likely to take action swiftly. They’re the person typing in search phrases like,“car accident lawyer.” These people may already have a friend or colleague they intend to call. If they don’t, they might call the person who has the most billboards in the area. Or maybe they reach out to a dozen different law firms going down through the Google results and copy-pasting the same info. The person who doesn’t know that they have a case or realize the extent to which they do is not in research mode. They might know lawyers, but they haven’t contacted them because they do not think they need a lawyer. They might be in a situation where they assume that everything is behind handled without realizing the extent of their problems.
You want to get in front of people who may never hire a lawyer. Why? Because these are the people who aren’t going to contact a dozen firms. They’re the ones who don’t realize the extent to which a lawyer can help. This means if you present a solution, you’re the only one doing so.
Here are some examples…
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Example #1 – A parent dies, leaving their estate to the children. One is the executor. Another is frustrated by the way that sibling is handling the process but assumes that they’re just out of luck. Some might think to go look for a lawyer while others never even consider that a lawyer could help… Or that the lawyer could get paid from the estate funds.
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Claim your Free Law Firm Strategy Session
Example #2 – An oncologist detects a mass that they know will become breast cancer. The doctor orders a mastectomy because they know it’ll become cancerous. However, the insurance refuses to cover the surgery, saying that it is not medically necessary and classifying it as cosmetic. The individual doesn’t realize that a lawyer can act on their behalf, get access to the care they need, and punish the insurance company for bad actions.
Example #3 – A parent in a nursing home gets injured. The adult child may not know the full extent of what happened or to know how to tell if this was negligence. Additionally, they are told that the parent is receiving care and is recovering, so it may seem like the situation is “handled.” These people may not know that a lawyer can help ask the appropriate questions and ascertain certain documentation to know if there is a potential case.
Example #4 – A woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Who would think that her use of talcum powder for hygienic purposes could be the source of her condition? For decades, many doctors have told patients that the idea that baby powder is harmful was debunked years ago. It’s not until she sees an ad that she realizes that a pharmaceutical company knew about the risks decades ago and was counting the days until their profits would diminish as the market grew savvier and more suspicious. Who knew a lawyer could help get her funds to cover medical costs and possibly more?
Example #5 – A motorcyclist has insurance and assumes that, should an accident happen, they’ll be covered. However, some receive shocking surprises when an accident happens and the individual involved doesn’t have insurance. The biker is left to cover their medical bills through uninsured motorist coverage. However, the state minimum requirement is $25,000 and their medical bills exceed $100,000. What if you could educate bikers on why they should increase their UM coverage and continue to market to them over time? You can build trust with this market and be the go-to firm if (and when) a reckless driver injures a biker.
How do you reach these people?
It is vital to this conversation to recognize that the above examples are all of people who are not actively seeking a lawyer and aren’t receiving mes-sages that connect with their circumstance. Whenever you’re looking to spend your marketing dollars, you need to be aware of your mindset. This will fuel both your decisions about where to invest and how to evaluate those investments.
Yes, it is always about getting more cases in the long run. If you need cases today to keep the lights on, the above strategies are unlikely to provide an immediate lifeline. These can make for a viable six- or twelve-month plan.
In order to reach these people, you need to get in front of them before they realize they need a lawyer. You can do this on traditional mediums so long as you’re supplying a message that isn’t exclusively about the here and now. It’s fundamentally about educating people about the scenarios in which an individual might need your specific services. You must connect their problems to a future you can help create.
Facebook Gives You Direct Access to Your Ideal Prospects
Facebook gets you into people’s private lives like no one else can. Facebook knows more about your prospective clients than you can ever dream of knowing. As a result, Facebook advertising provides lawyers an avenue with finding prospective clients, educating them, and moving them to take action.
Facebook advertising is about getting in front of people who need your help, even if they don’t realize it yet. If you’re using Facebook to find people who know they need a lawyer and to position yourself as that lawyer, you’re fighting an uphill battle. Facebook thrives when you can identify strategies to get in front of your prospects before they know they need you.
This doesn’t mean Facebook is the only medium in which you can use the above concepts. What if you could use Reddit or Quora to the same end, getting in front of prospects before they understand the extent to which a lawyer can help?
At the end of the day, identifying a winning strategy is going to require getting in the minds of your prospects. You need to ask yourself: what scenarios may a person be in that precedes them thinking, “I might need a lawyer”? What types of problems occur that create circumstances in which lawyers are rarely pursued?
Asking, pursuing, and answering these questions will allow you to reach the underserved. There are people out there who have cases. They have no idea. They see generic billboards, but don’t call anyone. They aren’t searching on Google. They are scrolling on Facebook. And your ads can get in front of them with a message that resonates with where they are at today. You can connect with the individual. And with a sophisticated marketing process, you can nudge these people on a journey where you can help them achieve a little more peace and security in their future. ◆
