Business development for your law firm is an ongoing project. No matter how good (or bad) business is going you should do a check up on your business development efforts at least once a year. At Smokeball, we evaluate our business development on a quarterly basis. Review your business developments as part of your regular schedule.

Exploiting Your Niche

Even if you consider your law firm one that can handle many different types of cases in a variety of practice areas, you should take the time to uncover what your niche is and how you can exploit it fully.  Ask these questions:

• What are you and your staff of lawyers best at? The type of clients and cases that seem to automatically find their way to your firm are mostly likely part of your natural niche market.
• What are your clients asking for? Those legal services that your clients request the most are probably part of your niche market. Keep track of the calls and inquiries you receive and make a list of what potential clients are asking for. Examine that list after a few months and you’ll get a better view of the market that’s mostly likely part of your niche.
• What are you most excited about? A niche market isn’t just about the market, the numbers, and what your clients want. It’s also about where your focus and energy naturally rest. If you can focus on a niche that you have a passion for, it’ll be easier to grow your client base.

Networking Efforts

For most attorneys, implementing a strong networking strategy is a challenge because of the time commitment involved. But if you’re smart and plan effectively, you can get the most out of just a little amount of networking.

• Identify organizations and events most closely aligned with your niche market. Join the organizations on your list and keep event dates in your calendar even if you haven’t committed to attending yet.
• Develop a contact database that you use to keep track of new contacts.  One of the pitfalls of most attorneys’ networking is that they simply don’t follow up with contacts consistently. Transferring your contacts’ information into a simple excel spreadsheet or database will allow you to keep track of who you contacted and when. You can even setup reminders for contacting them in the future.
• Connect online with face-to-face meetings. If you’re doing a lot of your networking online to find clients, make sure you have a clear path to getting face-to-face meetings.  Because online contacts receive so much information in their email and social media stream it can be easy for them to overlook something you’ve sent them. The sooner you can make an in-person connection the less likely you will get lost in the stream of information.

Marketing Plan

You can’t get clients if you’re not visible. At its foundation, a good marketing plan is about making your law firm visible in the right way to the right people.

• Brand your law firm. Review the branding message of your firm. Does your tagline and current marketing material reflect what you want to say? Is it really accurately describing your law firm? Will clients agree that the marketing message is authentic once they’ve done business with you? If you feel that your branding message no longer aligns with your law firm’s mission or image, it’s time to change it.
• Target the right audience. If your niche market or target client has changed in the past year, you may need to change where you’re looking for clients. Make sure that you’re visible in the places online and offline that your target client is likely to visit.
• Make a schedule. Whatever marketing tactics you plan to employ, create a schedule for the year. Determine what you’re doing each week and schedule that activity into your daily task list.

Reviewing your business development efforts will help you get the clients you want.

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Lynn Luong is the Digital Marketing Manager for Smokeball, a case management software that increases productivity and efficiency for solo attorneys  and small law firms to become more profitable.  Lynn has over 8 years of experience in marketing with a focus on digital by developing successful strategies and managing many areas of marketing.