Marketing plans are nothing more than organized approaches to promoting your law firm. Many people avoid making them simply because they don’t know how to get started. All they need are your goals, who you are contacting, and the methods for attracting new clients. Once you have a marketing plan, you must accompany it with a realistic budget that allows you to execute it. Budgeting incorrectly will lead to your plan failing to deliver results and overspending. (Effective marketing doesn’t have to be expensive.) Regardless, a systematic approach to planning and budgeting will help you prioritize your resources and measure your initiatives’ success (or failures).
The Key Components of a Marketing Plan
The best marketing plans begin with specific and attainable goals. Instead of getting more clients, reframe the goal by stating that you want to grow your referrals from professionals and former clients by 10% over the next six months. The goal dictates the strategy. For example, if you seek referrals, you will likely shy away from social media advertising and pay-per-click (PPC) because those focus on cold leads.
A better strategy for increasing your referrals would be to get 100 more subscribers to your firm’s newsletter by the end of the following year. This same firm may realize they don’t have a newsletter, which will be added to the marketing plan. (Notice that these goals are both measurable and time-bound.)
Remember, goals dictate strategy. Strategies include email newsletters, blogs, social media posts, and video content, which are lead-nurturing tactics. Choose channels that make the most sense for your target audience and focus on consistency. For example, if your audience is active on LinkedIn, prioritize building a strong presence there.
How Much Money Should Go Into Marketing?
Most small law firms intent on growing should spend about 7-10% of their annual revenue on marketing. Established businesses may pay slightly less (5-7%)—and people working on building awareness may go higher than ten. To keep it simple, we tell people to stick to 10%.
When creating your budget, consider all costs. Marketing expenses include digital advertising, website updates, content creation, and software tools. Platforms like Google or Facebook often make up a significant portion of a marketing budget, but don’t overlook the costs of email platforms, graphic design tools, or freelance services like blog writing or video production.
Even if these numbers scare you, don’t dismiss marketing. When people come to us and ask about the most effective, bang-for-your-buck marketing strategy, we don’t say blogs, social media, or videos. We tout the newsletter. You can reach your entire network for less than $100 a month. This keeps you at the top of your mind and drives referrals so that you will see a return on this. Email marketing (including newsletters) has one of the highest ROIs because of minimal investment. Even if you aren’t ready to jump to spending 10%, at least get started with a newsletter.
Spend Less, Get More
Content marketing should be the foundation of any marketing plan. It will strengthen every other form of marketing you use. Schedule a time to talk with our Business Development Manager so we can market your firm based on your goals and resources. Start attracting better clients and getting more referrals now.
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