Making the Most of Referrals
By Katherine Hollar Barnard, Firesign
For law firms that want to attract and win matters from the small business sector, there’s one primary marketing lesson: Referrals reign supreme.
The adage that “people hire lawyers, not law firms” may be more true with this demographic than any other, according to a survey by Firesign.
Indeed, when a specific legal problem (or opportunity) arises, small business owners and managers turn to their networks, by a wide margin: 63 percent will ask colleagues and friends for a referral, and 31 percent will ask another lawyer. To understand the dominant role of referrals in this buying cycle, consider that the closest runner-up response, using a search engine to find a subject-matter expert, was used by only 9 percent.
But the referral may not close the work on its own: A large number of these potential clients conduct due diligence on the lawyer recommended to them. In the Firesign survey, more than half (55 percent) said they review search results for the lawyer’s name; 44 percent review search results for the lawyer’s firm. (And one note of caution: A not-insignificant amount (18 percent) scan the lawyer’s social media profiles.)
When asked to rank the material that mattered when screening lawyers, small business leaders largely favor the lawyer biography; 92 percent factor it into their selection process. In addition, 83 percent of respondents trust online reviews, and 72 percent value law firm content. (Note: In our last installment, we noted that small business prospects’ interest in law firm content nearly doubles from the time before a legal issue surfaces to after; that article shared tips for creating content that resonates during this lawyer scouting phase.)
Assuming due diligence on the referral goes well, nearly half – 46 percent – of small business operators will consider just one lawyer for their problem. And they act fast, with 60 percent hiring a lawyer within one week.
What does this mean for legal marketers?
Six degrees of separation. Most of your small business prospects will ask their networks for referrals: How visible are your lawyers to the audiences that matter?
Actions:
● Coach lawyers on how to build effective referral networks.
● Incorporate referral marketing into your individual and practice development plans.
● Track referrals into and out of the firm to identify and build upon your most important relationships.
Cyberstalking happens. Once a client is referred to a lawyer at your firm, what will they see? How can you make the most of these recommendations?
Actions:
● Perform routine audits of the page-one results on Google and Bing for your lawyers and law firm.
● Ensure lawyer biographies are accurate, relevant and memorable.
● Watch your online reviews; be proactive and vigilant with your online reputation.
● Keep lawyer training on social media up to date, and watch public profiles to ensure they are fresh and not controversial.
● Create content that reassures them you have handled a problem like theirs; show you have a process and a track record.
Match the speed of small business. Again, most entrepreneurs and small business leaders want to have a fast, limited search for a lawyer. Given that many of these clients may have personal stakes in their companies – financial and otherwise – they may also show a heightened sense of urgency (and anxiety). How does your intake process help (or hurt)?
Actions:
● Audit your intake process: Where are the bottlenecks and possible delays?
● Provide training for frontline staff, such as receptionists, to empower them to expedite queries from potential clients.
● Emphasize responsiveness in business development training; develop and share a firmwide standard for response times.
This is Part 3 of a series, Startups and Small Business: Actionable Intel for Legal Marketers. In our next article, we will explore the importance of media relations.
To learn more about how small businesses scout and select lawyers, check out Firesign’s report, From Referrals to Recon: How Small Businesses Hire Lawyers.
Katherine (Katie) Hollar Barnard is the managing partner of Firesign | Enlightened Legal Marketing, an agency that helps law firms and legal service providers build their brands and bottom lines. She can be reached at khb@firesignmarketing.com.