In the 1990s, law firms started marketing their services. At first, nobody really had a clue how to do that. Marketing professionals from other industries tried their best to figure it out. Also, initially, the ability to market legal services was restricted.

But the biggest problem was that smaller firms just didn’t have the budget to employ someone to figure it out at their expense.

So, big firms recruited marketing people, and over time, by trial and error, they learned the best practices for legal marketing.

Small firms just muddled along. And most of them still do. Skilled legal marketing professionals are in short supply, and small firms can’t afford to employ them anyway.

That’s why smaller firms are missing out on projects they’re well qualified to handle. Because big firms have beautifully presented pitches with a myriad of client testimonials and legal directory rankings, they impress.

As a small law firm, wouldn’t you want to be able to compete on an equal footing?

What if I told you that there is a way to put you and your firm on the map without breaking the bank?

Since 1994, I have been involved in law firm marketing. First in the UK, then in South Africa. Twenty years ago, I joined a medium-sized firm to increase their profile on a shoestring budget. So, what did we do?

I looked at what lawyers do already. They read, and then they write. They study the latest case law, weigh in on new legislation and its implications, debate the impact of ground-breaking judgments, and write opinions for clients. Why not turn all that into articles?

And that’s what we did, and I got these articles published in business publications. Regular columns in newspapers followed and, voilà, these marketing efforts began to gain traction.

Then we tackled submissions to legal directories, added some small events, got media coverage, and the firm’s footprint increased.

As a result of our directory submissions, some lawyers were ranked in their practice areas. That immediately made them more marketable. As the firm kept on growing, so did the marketing team. They prepared stunning pitches and handled all other legal marketing activities.

What’s your main obstacle to achieving growth and stability?

You may be a two-lawyer firm or a start-up. Or you may have a team of six or eight lawyers with expertise that matches that of lawyers in bigger firms. But it’s unlikely that you have in-house marketing support in any of these scenarios. And you don’t have the time to spend hours on the internet researching the best practices for a firm your size and in your niche.

For new and smaller law firms, it can seem like a formidable task to establish a thriving practice. It’s a competitive market. You may well have a few clients on board already, but the ongoing challenge is to retain those clients and to grow your client base.

The most cost-effective solution

Marketing is one of the most important aspects of business survival. The key is to know which marketing activities are right for a firm of your size. You want to improve your firm’s visibility and stand out in a crowded market with targeted, effective marketing techniques. Establishing trust and credibility will boost client acquisition. You need strategies to retain more clients, enhancing your firm’s growth and stability.

You may not be able to employ an experienced legal marketer, but you probably have secretarial or admin staff with the capacity to learn the marketing basics.

The most cost-effective solution is to upskill your existing team with the skills and knowledge to manage basic marketing tasks efficiently. With the right guidance, they can do what I did for that firm twenty years ago, just faster.

Marketing doesn’t have to be a process of trial and error. My article, Start the year with a marketing plan, gives you some ideas on what you could do. But your practice areas and your niche in that sector will determine the marketing activities that will give you the best returns. And that’ll vary because each firm is unique.

All you need is some guidance from an experienced legal marketer to provide your staff with basic legal marketing skills.

If you’re interested in finding out how to do that, have a look at our training pages.