Employment law marketing tips to kickstart a commercial client base
The trend of law practices shedding the general and focusing on a niche such as employment law marketing is gaining popularity and that is likely to continue for the reasons discussed in several blogs here on marketing for lawyers and elsewhere.
Employment law marketing strategies are typically focused on gaining and retaining private clients or commercial clients or a mix of both.
I was speaking recently with two partners from different firms. One is based near Norwich and the other in the Bristol area and both of them are feeling exhausted working predominantly with individual or private clients. i.e. the employee.
They both list the same reasons for feeling fed up with the grind of private practice. Employee clients can be unreliable, high maintenance and ultimately they tend never to return after you have won their case for them .....and it gets worse!
Both solicitors said they were finding it increasingly difficult to find new clients and they put it down to increased competition. There is no doubt that there is increased competition and with the introduction of the Legal Services Act it is obviously going to get more competitive so my advice would be to do something about it now while you can steal a march on your competitors. The company I founded in 2004, focuses on employment law marketing to gain commercial clients and from there we create and target sub niches, such as social enterprises and/or manufacturing firms.
Many law firms are wondering whether a switch to a commercial client base could be more lucrative and provide a steady stream of clients and better work / life balance.
If this is the situation you find yourself in, then rather than switching completely to a different client type I would suggest developing a commercial client base alongside your private client work just to see how it goes. You can turn away requests for private work when there are sufficient commercial enquiries coming in. But how do you go about getting new commercial clients, I hear you ask?
In my view, it is essential to start by developing a product ladder or range of services for the commercial client market. An employer or HR manager is unlikely to run into your open arms to purchase contracts of employment just because the local paper has published a feature on your new direction, and even if by some miracle they did then you will definitely need more than one service to offer them if you want to keep them. Here is a link to our report for employment lawyers and it gives more tips on 'creating a product ladder' as part of your employment law marketing strategy.
In today’s competitive environment, employment law marketing strategies need to sparkle to catch the attention of lucrative clients. You can start by designing a product ladder of services that range from no commitment, one off purchases such as compromise agreements, right through to full commitment, wrap around services for every day staff management. It’s easier than you think. Take a look at our HR Web Service and see how even smaller employment law departments can provide a retainer based, wrap-around service for SME clients.
Tags: HR Web Service, Product Ladder, Law marketing, Commercial v Private clients, Legal Services Act
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I recently spoke with Lara King of BBC Radio Humberside on the subject of Employment Law. Click on the Play button, above, to hear the interview.