Do you run a law firm and want to promote it? If YES, here is a sample law firm business marketing plan template, strategies and ideas to attract clients.
Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a law firm. We also took it further by providing an in-depth sample law firm business plan template. In this article, we will be analyzing and drafting a sample law firm marketing plan backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for law firms. So put on your marketing hat and let’s proceed.
A Sample Law Firm Marketing Plan Template
1. Our Present Business Situation
The name we chose for our law firm is Jefferson & MacArthur Law Firm LLP and the business is legally incorporated under the law of the united states of America. We make bold to say that we have all the necessary business license and permits to operate in the United States of America.
What is more, our office is located in Inc. 268 13th Street, Suite 1110 Oakland, California 94612. We have thus successfully equipped so well and we have our office and we are set to run a standard law firm. We have hired the required numbers of employees needed to run a standard law firms and we have experienced hands that will help us achieve our goals as a law firm with the aim of becoming one of the leading law firms in the United States of America.
As things stand we are set to open our door for full operations to the general public, but we will officially launch the business on the 4th day of January, 2016. We will organize a dinner on the day we are going to launch our law firm.
2. Our Product and Services
Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP proposes to offer a variety of services within the scope of the law industry in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our law firm is to make profits from the industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and ambition. Our business offering are listed below;
- Arbitration & Mediation
- Business Formation
- Business and Commercial Transaction
- Collections and Credit Matters
- Commercial Real Estate
- Construction
- Corporate Governance and Compliance
- Creditor’s Rights
- Employment
- General Counsel Services
- Immigration
- Insurance
- Real Estate Consultancy and Advisory Services
3. Our Mission and Vision Statement
Our vision is to provide our clients with skilled legal advice in a timely and efficient manner. We strive to handle each matter with accountability and responsiveness, as if we were representing ourselves. We focus our attention on the legal aspects of our client’s business so that our clients can focus their attention on the success of their business. Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
Our mission is to provide professional and trusted legal services that assist businesses and non-profit organizations in operating sustainably. We provide expert legal counsel in combination with our own business backgrounds, and deliver valuable services in a timely and cost-effective way.
Our Marketing Goals
We are going to offer varieties of services within the scope of the law industry in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our law firm is to make profits from the industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and ambition. Our marketing goals are guided by our company’s vision and it is to provide our clients with skilled legal advice in a timely and efficient manner.
We strive to handle each matter with accountability and responsiveness, as if we were representing ourselves. We focus our attention on the legal aspects of our client’s business, so that our clients can focus their attention on the success of their business.
We have been able to critically examine the law market and have analyzed our chances in the industry. We have also been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to startups in California.
Here are our marketing goals:
- To generate a minimum revenue of 500,000 US dollars within the first 12 months of operations
- To generate a minimum revenue of 1,000,000 US dollars in our second fiscal year of operations
- To generate a minimum revenue of 2,500,000 US dollars in our third fiscal year of operations
We aim to achieve the followings from our marketing efforts:
- To build a law firm that will compete favorably with the leading firms in the United States of America and to be listed among the top 15 law firms in the United States of America. ( within 10 years of operations)
- We aim to achieve a sustainable growth at the rate of 20% annual revenue generation
- We want to build a self – sustaining law firm that will contribute to the growth of the United States of America.
4. Our Marketing Budget
No doubt that if we intend generating the income we have set as our target within the first three years of operating our law firm and to achieve our goal of building a law firm that will compete favorable with other leading law firms in the United States of America, we must be willing to invest in marketing our business. In view of that we have set aside a marketing budget of 50,000 US Dollars for the first year of operating the business.
Subsequently, we will budget between 5 percent and 12.5 percent of our annual income towards marketing and promoting our law firm / legal business. In future, if there is any need to increase the budget in order to explore other means of generating more income, we will gladly do that as directed by our business developer / marketing consultant.
5. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Our Target Market
Although Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP will initially serve small to medium sized business, from new ventures to well established businesses, but that does not in any way stop us from growing to be able to compete with the leading law firms in the United States of America. We hope to someday merge or acquire other law firms and expand our legal services beyond the shores of the United States of America.
As a full service business law firm, Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP has a variety of practice areas to help startups grow. While we works with a variety of organizations and industries, Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP will also specialize in working with startups, real estate investors, and contractors, manufacturers and distributors, banks, lending and financial institutions.
Our target market cuts across people of different class and people from all walks of life, local and international organizations as well. We are coming into the industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the highly placed people and companies in the country and at the same with the lowly placed people and smaller businesses. In other words, our target market is the whole of the United States of America and subsequently other parts of the world.
Below is a list of the people and organizations that we have specifically design our products and services for;
- Banks
- Businesses and Entrepreneurs
- Individuals
- Families
- Blue Chips Companies
- Corporate Counsel
- Manufacturers and Distributors
- Real Estate Owners, Developers, and Contractors
- Research and Development Companies
- Employees
6. SWOT Analysis
Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP hired the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist the firm in building a solid law firm that can favorably compete in the highly competitive law industry.
Part of what the business consultant did was to work with the management of the firm in conducting a SWOT analysis for Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP;
- Strength:
Our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that can go all the way to give our clients value for their money. We are well positioned and we know we will attract loads of clients from the first day we open our doors for business.
- Weakness:
As a new law firm, it might take some time for our firm to break into the market; that is perhaps our major weakness.
- Opportunities:
The opportunities in the law industry is massive and we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.
- Threat:
Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a law firm operating in the United States are unfavorable government policies, and global economic downturn. There are hardly anything we could do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.
A close study of the legal industry reveals that the law firm market has become much more intensely competitive over the past seven years. As a matter of fact, the supply of legal services has significantly exceeded demand. In other to position to take on the market, most law firms have begun to merger or acquire other law firms.
Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP might be a new entrant into the law industry in the United States of America, but the management staffs and board members are considered gurus. They are people who are core professionals and licensed legal practitioners in the US. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.
Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be amongst the best within our category (startups law firm) in the industry – meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our objectives.
7. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP is established with the aim of maximizing the profits in the law industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract clients on a regular basis. Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP we generate income by offering the following legal services for individuals and for organizations;
- Arbitration & Mediation
- Business Formation
- Business and Commercial Transaction
- Collections and Credit Matters
- Commercial Real Estate
- Construction
- Corporate Governance and Compliance
- Creditor’s Rights
- Employment
- General Counsel Services
- Immigration
- Insurance
- Real Estate Consultancy and Advisory Services
8. Sales Forecast
As long as there are people living in the United States of America and business starting and growing in the U.S., the services of law firms will always be needed. We are well positioned to take on the available market in the U.S, and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first month or operations and grow the business and clientele beyond Oakland, CA to other states in the U.S. and even the global market
We have been able to critically examine the law market and we have analyzed our chances in the industry. We have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection are based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to startups in California. Below is the sales projection for Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP, it is based on the location of our law firm and the wide range of legal services that we will be offering;
- First Year-: $500,000
- Second Year-: $1,000,000
- Third Year-: $2,500,000
N.B: This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry,
9. Our Pricing Strategy
Hourly billing for legal services is long – time tradition in the industry. However, for some types of work, flat fees make more sense because they allow clients to better predict legal costs. As a result of this, Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP will charge our clients a flat fee for many basic services such as; business formation and document drafting and review.
At Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP we will keep our fees below market rate for all of our clients by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to disadvantaged individuals, nonprofits, cooperatives, and small social enterprises. We are aware that there are some clients that would need regular access to legal advice and assistance; we will offer flat rate general counsel services that will be tailored to take care of such clients’ needs.
Our Unique Selling Point; What Makes Our Law Firm Superior to Our Competitions
Our unique selling point as a law firm lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that can go all the way to give our clients value for their money. We are well positioned and we know we will attract loads of clients from the first day we open our doors for business.
Another competitive advantage that we are bringing to the industry is the fact that we provide professional and trusted legal services that assist businesses and non-profit organizations in operating sustainably. We also provide expert legal counsel in combination with our own business backgrounds, and deliver valuable services in a timely and cost-effective way.
Lastly, we are a client-focused business law firm that provides broad-based experience at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pocket of our clients. We will offer a complete range of legal services to our local, state, national, and multi-national clients and we will ensure that we work hard to provide the legal services and counsel needed by our clients to accomplish their business goals and objectives. That perhaps will give us advantage over our competitors.
Benefits Our Client Stand to Gain When They Patronize Our Law Firm
Jefferson and MacArthur Law Firm, LLP is established with the aim of maximizing the profits in the law industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract clients on a regular basis which is why we have been able to work on business policies that will benefit our clients.
As a matter of fact, during our feasibility studies and market surveys we discovered that one of the ways of growing our legal business and to thrive is to continue to meet and even surpass the expectations of our clients whenever they hire our legal services.
These are the benefits that a client stands to gain when they patronize our legal services:
- We will offer special discounted rates to disadvantaged individuals, nonprofits, cooperatives, and small social enterprises.
- As against hourly billings for legal services which is the practice in the law industry, we will charge our clients a flat fee for many basic services such as business formation and document drafting and review.
- We are aware that there are some clients that would need regular access to legal advice and assistance; we will offer flat rate general counsel services that will be tailored to take care of such clients’ needs.
- Professionalism and excellent customer service delivery of the highest order from our highly trained staff members.
10. Guerrilla Marketing Strategies for Our Law Firm
- Creating Brand Identity for Our Law Firm
It is a fact that any business that wants to grow beyond the corner of the street they are operating from must be ready and willing to utilize every available means (conventional and non – conventional means) to advertise and promote the business. We are quite aware that boosting our brand awareness will a go a long way to endear our law firm to the available market in the United States of America.
We have been able to work with our consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market. First and foremost, we want our brand to be visible and well communicated which is why we have decided to work with different class of people in the society. All our publicity materials and jingles are done by some of the best hands in the industry.
Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise our law firm;
- Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to stake holders in the United States of America
- Advertise our law firm in magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio stations et al
- Promote our law firm online via our official website and all available social media platforms
- Adopt direct mailing coupon marketing approach
- List our business on yellow pages / local directories (both offline and online)
- Position our billboards, signage / flexi banners at strategic places
- Encourage our loyal customers to help us make use of word of mouth to promote our law firm
- Sponsor relevant TV programs, Radio programs and community based programs.
- Offer Pro Bono services as part of our community social responsibility
- Brand all our official cars
Strategic Marketing Alliance with Our Competitors in the Legal Industry
When it comes to forming strategic marketing alliance with other players in the legal industry, there are loads of opportunities. As a matter of fact, it is now becoming trendy in the legal industry for smaller law firms to merge with bigger law firms and for bigger law firms to acquire smaller law firms; mergers and acquisitions. Many law firms all over the United States are coming to the conclusion that the bigger the better for them.
For example, a law firm that is just starting out can look towards merging with a bigger law firm that is well positioned and recognized in order to form strategic marketing alliance. So also a larger law firm can look for a smaller law firm that has huge potentials to acquire or to form strategic marketing alliance with. It is a way of increasing revenue generation.
11. Our Client Retentions Strategies (Ways to Improve Our Customer Experience)
It is easier for businesses to survive when they have steady flow of business deals / customers patronizing their products and services and also when they are able to retain at least a minimum of 60 percent of their clients; repeated business is a major factor in growing a business. We are aware of this which is why we have decided to offer a wide range of legal services.
We know that if we continue to deliver excellent legal services, there will be steady flow of income for the organization.
We are in business simply because we want to make money and we know that we cannot make money without having customers to patronize our legal services hence we have been able to map out strategies not only to win customers, but also to ensure that we retain them and make them our loyal customers.
These are the ways we intend utilizing when it comes to improving our customer experience so that we can create a good impression and generate repeated businesses from them:
- We will make provisions to give out discounts to our customers from time to time whenever they patronize our services
- Aside from rendering our services at a highly competitive prices in the legal industry, we will also make available flexible payment options
- Make use of effective customer relationship management (CRM) software to effectively manage our clientele base.
- Ensures that we carry our clients along when making decisions that directly affect them.
Possible Ways We Intend Offering Incentives to Our Customers / Clients (Bonus, Discounts, etc)
From our feasibility studies and market research, we were able to pin point some of the strategies that will help us secure and retain clients as a new entrant into the legal industry; one of such strategies is to offer mouth – watering incentives (bonuses, discounts and rebates et al) to our loyal customers from time to time.
In view of that, we have documented some of the possible ways we intend offering incentives to our customers in our business plan document and we hope to review them in order to continue to outsmart our competitors in the legal industry.
We will ensure that we give out up to 50 percent discounts to loyal customers who are known to spend a certain amount as determined by our management team annually in patronizing our legal services.
We will also give out gifts / souvenirs to corporate clients and individual clients during special celebrations such as Christmas seasons, New Year, Independent celebrations, Thanksgiving celebration and Easter celebrations et al.
- After Sales Service or Customer Support
The nature of legal services does not give room for after sale services which is why we usually go all the way to provide excellent services to our clients whenever they patronize our legal services.
As regard customer support services, we will ensure that we maximize our customer relationship management software applications so as to keep in touch with all our customers to make sure we carry them along when we have any information that we know will benefit them and also to make sure they are satisfied with our services and to give them the opportunity to lodge their complains if they do have any.
Possible Questions We Intend Asking Our Clients during Our Market Survey
These are the 10 possible questions we are going to put forward when conducting marketing survey on our customers / clients:
- When was the last time you hired our legal services?
- Are you comfortable with our contract terms and conditions?
- If you are not satisfied with our contract terms and conditions, what areas would you want us to work on?
- Aside from our law firm, have you ever engaged the services of another law firm / attorney?
- If yes, what is the name of the law firm?
- Are you comfortable with our price structure and the flexibility in our payment options?
- If you are to change one thing about our law firm, what would that be?
- How would you want us to communicate to you when we want to pass useful information about our law firm that will be of great benefit to you or someone you know? Through letters, text messages, e – mail, or via mobile apps (BBM, twitter, 2Go, WeChat, WhatsApp et al)
- Can you comfortably recommend the services of our law firm to your organization, family members, friends and colleagues?
- Are you satisfied with our customer service delivery? If no what areas would you want us to improve on?
12.Actionable Marketing ideas for Our Law Firm
Cost Effective Ways We Intend to Advertise / Promote Our Law Firm without Using the Internet
Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on when it comes to advertising and promoting our law firm in the market place without the aid of the internet;
- Place adverts on local TV stations, Radio Stations and Newspapers / Magazines
- Sponsor relevant community based programs
- Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations in the United States of America and Canada
- List our law firm on yellow pages / local directories (offline)
- Ensures that all our official cars are well branded
- Encourage the use of word of mouth by our loyal customers to advertise and promote our law firm
- Attend chambers of commerce meetings with the aim of networking and promoting our law firm
- Design and freely distribute unique car stickers to promote and advertise our law firm
- Offer pro bono services on a regular basis.
Low Cost Ways We Intend to Advertise / Promote Our Law Firm on the Internet
Beyond every reasonable doubt, the internet is known to be the biggest platform when it comes advertising / promoting any business / brand and one good thing about adverting on the internet that is far cheaper than other conventional advertising platforms. This is why we will ensure that we explore all available means on the internet platform to promote our legal business.
Here are they ways we intending leveraging on the internet to advertise / promote our legal business:
- Leverage on social media platforms such as; Instagram, Facebook , Badoo, Snap chat, YouTube, Twitter, Google + et al to promote and advertise our law firm
- Make use of mobile apps to promote our law firm
- Design an interactive corporate website and use the platform to promote our law firm
- Place adverts on high traffic websites
- Engage in blogging and make use of the platform to promote our law firm
- Leverage on direct email marketing strategy and bulk SMS to advertise and promote our law firm.
Creative Marketing Ideas Specific to Our Law Firm’s Legal Services
One of the creative marketing ideas that we intend adopting as a law firm that is a new entrant into the legal industry in the United States of America is to regularly offer pro bono services to individuals who are in need of legal services but due to one reason or the other can’t afford legal fees. We will ensure that we are involved in advocacy for the less privilege and also leverage on any opportunity to appear on relevant TV programs and radio programs.
We will also ensure that all our employees are directly or indirectly involved in the sales and marketing of our legal services. We will create provision for our employees to earn commission when they bring in business deals for the organization. We will also encourage freelancers to work with us; whenever they refer clients to us they will earn a percentage of the deal.
Lastly, we will leverage on the power of the media to market our services using both online and offline platforms. We will work hard to ensure that we get repeated business from any business deal we execute and also we will encourage our customers to refer our trucking services to their friends, family members, colleagues and corporate organizations. Part of our strategy is to reward loyal customers and to leverage on word of mouth marketing from satisfied customers.