As a small law firm or solo attorney, focusing on your marketing strategy is going to be imperative. The larger law firms in your area likely have considerable marketing budgets at their disposal. Despite the fact that you have an overage of free time and a shortage of cash flow, you are going to need to set aside a portion of your budget for marketing if you hope to beat out the competition and obtain the leads you need for your business to be successful.
Money solo lawyers and small law firms make the mistake of taking on more roles than they can handle. Unfortunately, you may not have the time, experience, or understanding of legal marketing that is needed to craft, implement, and analyze a strong marketing strategy.
At some point, you will have to ask yourself, when is it time to hire an agency to help with your marketing?
How to Know When it’s Time to Hire a Marketing Agency
Many law firms are hesitant to hire a marketing agency to handle their marketing efforts because they are worried about the high costs. Major law firms in your area have massive budgets to spend hiring top of the line marketing agencies to handle their efforts. But if you are a small or solo law firm, you may be worried that your marketing budget is too small to go up against that of your biggest competitors.
However, it is not necessarily the amount of money that you have to put towards your marketing budget that matters. If your content and other digital marketing efforts align, no matter what your budget is, you could still come out on top.
With that being said, when you are spending the majority of your work day in court or with clients, taking the time to devote to your marketing efforts can prove to be more of a challenge than you might have thought. In your time away from the office, the last thing you want to do is focus on your law firm’s marketing or create carefully crafted content for your website and social media pages.
Once your law firm has reached this point, it may be worth your time to reach out to a reputable marketing agency for help.
Where Are Your Current Clients Coming From?
When your time is limited, and you have yet to hire a marketing agency to handle your law firm’s efforts, you can make the most out of the marketing time you do have by focusing on where you get the majority of your clients.
If the majority of your clients are coming to you through your social media pages, instead of focusing your marketing efforts on pay-per-click advertising, you might want to start creating blog posts that you can share on your social media, and directing your marketing efforts there.
Reasons Why Hiring a Marketing Agency is Right for Your Law Firm
Solo and small law firms are often unsure whether working with a marketing agency is the right choice for them. Your business’s entire future can depend on how well you market yourself.
When you are going over your law firm’s goals, and specifically your marketing efforts over the next year, hiring an agency can help your law firm grow. Some of the more common benefits reported by law firms who choose to work with marketing agencies include:
- Someone else taking the time to focus on your law firm’s marketing
- Your marketing efforts will remain consistent
- Your marketing efforts are ongoing, even while you are meeting with clients or are in court
- Your marketing efforts are focused on areas that are going to produce the greatest ROI
- You moved to a new geographic area or began working a new practice area and need to grow brand recognition
- Figuring out how to stand out in an ultra-competitive legal market
Although you may think you can save money by handling your small or solo law firm’s marketing, you could be doing more harm to your business by attempting to take on more than you can handle. You should be focusing on working with clients and preparing your cases for court. If your marketing strategy is lacking, you should not be surprised if your law firm does not receive the leads it needs to be successful.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your business is to get help where you need it. A respected marketing agency can help set your law firm up for success by analyzing the market, determining who your target client is, and preparing a marketing strategy that shows potential clients your law firm is the one to choose. Take charge of your marketing plans by contacting a marketing agency for help when you need it most.
