Law Firm Marketing: How to Develop Referrals

Developing referrals is important for just about every law firm, and has the added advantage of being both low-cost and high-reward. To build a solid list of referrals, you will need to:

Classify – the two primary categories for referrals are current clients and strategic partners. Examine your client database to identify clients who have already sent you referrals, those that are happy with your service and are most likely to refer and those that might need some added attention or incentive to become a good source for referrals. Look at your database again and think about other businesses that your clients also patronize – that will provide you with potential strategic partners.

Inform – it will be important to inform your referral sources about the kind of clients you want, so they will be able to refer potential clients that are a good fit for your firm.

Inspire – be sure to reward referral sources for sending you potential clients with a free consultation or a gift card.

Follow Up – the most important thing to do is to follow up with referrals as soon as you are provided with a lead. If you don’t, your sources will likely stop sending you referrals. Also, be sure to keep your referral sources in the loop on how the new relationship is progressing – a quick, periodic email update will do.