Identifying and reaching a target market isn’t just for the big law firms, it’s for the small ones too and the solo-practitioner. The fact is that no one can market their legal services to everyone even if they are open to selling to anyone interested.  When you think about a target market, what you’re really considering is how you will spend you marketing dollars and what segment of the population you will actively try to reach. But to do that you’ll need to know how to identify a well-defined target market. At Smokeball, we thrive on targeting solos and small law firms because we know our software is the best for that specific market.

What Is A Target Market?

A target market is a small segment of potential customers that you will market to directly. This customer segment should be neither too small or too big.  

Target market example: A bankruptcy attorney may be open to selling her services to as many debtors as possible but when it comes to marketing she may decide to focus on homeowners in foreclosure.  During a housing crisis “homeowners in foreclosure” may be small enough to consider a target market but big enough to provide a sustainable income for a solo-practitioner or a small law firm.

Figuring out what population segment is your target market will require at least a little digging on your part.

Emulate The Competition

One of the easiest ways to identify your target market is to study and emulate your direct competitors when appropriate. For example, if you’re a criminal law attorney, you might study the marketing campaigns of more successful criminal law attorney’s in your area.  Ask yourself:

• Who are they targeting with their advertisements?
• Are they providing legal services similar to yours?
• Do they focus on more than one target market?
• Is there is target market that they’ve overlooked?

For your purposes, it may be wise to study only those target markets that you believe are most relevant to the legal services you provide.  Also, consider the possibility that your competitor is overlooking a target market because it’s too small and not profitable enough for them due to their size or ideal client profile. So ask yourself, is your law practice the right one to serve the overlooked target market?

Study Your Customers

If you’ve been in business for a few years, it may be time to analyze your current clients.  What qualities do they all have in common that may inform the reason behind why they do business with you?  Ask yourself the following questions:

• What type of legal services do they buy from you?
• What is their demographic background—age, race, sex, income—and any other demographic info that you think is relevant to determining why they fit (or don’t) into a target market.
• What is it about your current customer’s history or status that you believe influences their willingness to work with you? For example, if you run an immigration law firm, do your clients choose you because of your extensive experience, positive reputation, expert status, your proximity to their job etc?  All of these things (and more) can influence why a person is willing to hire you as an attorney.

Once you identify your target market, you open the door to increased revenue and an opportunity to effectively expand to new markets.

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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.