Marketing campaigns to generate leads are a significant investment for many law firms. In return, they expect their law firm marketing ROI tactics to produce higher client conversions and be worth the investment of time. Unfortunately, some firms lack the lead capture capability to nurture leads, wasting their marketing spend.

For high marketing ROI, a law firm must-have tools and resources in place to effectively capture leads and convert them into clients. Here are 8 tips to boost law firm marketing ROI.

What is ROI?

ROI is a performance measure that evaluates the efficiency and profitability of an investment, such as marketing spend. Usually, ROI is calculated by dividing the benefit of the investment – such as leads generated – by the cost of the investment.

In some cases, ROI can be a complex calculation that considers many investments of time, effort, and money. Realistically, a lot goes into a conversion, such as attracting a new lead or signing a client, but it’s best to focus on the specific and measurable benefits with the costs for a simple ROI result.

1. Set a Standard for Law Firm Marketing ROI

Calculating ROI can be complex, but there are acceptable ranges for what an ROI should be. This provides a standard to measure future efforts against.

Your law firm marketing ROI strategy should try to set a target prior to the marketing spend, then see if the campaign reflects that target. If expectations and ROI don’t match, it’s time to reevaluate the ROI calculation, the marketing efforts, the intake process, or all three.

2. Find the Right ROI Calculation Method

Law firms should calculate ROI using the following method:

Total the investment:

Investment = Implementation Cost + Cash Cost

Calculate the net annual savings:

Net Annual Savings = Annual Savings – Annual Expenses

Calculate the ROI:

Annual ROI = Net Annual Savings / Investment

This is a standard calculation, but some firms may lack the raw data necessary or have too much uncertainty. In these cases, the marketing ROI can be simplified by creating test groups to remove as many variables as possible. Use “like-for-like” comparisons to see which efforts yield results and which don’t.

3. Hire Intake Specialists

Law firms can be busy places, so it’s possible for new leads to get lost in the shuffle. Receptionists often have long to-do lists and can’t dedicate the time and attention to nurturing leads.

Prospective clients reach out to a law firm and expect a quick response and expert consultations. If that doesn’t happen, they’ll keep searching for a firm that caters to their needs. Intake specialists can ensure each client is given the attention they need in a professional and efficient way, boosting the marketing ROI all around.

4. Provide Immediate Responses

Legal troubles can be stressful, so clients calling a law firm want a live response that eases their concern and gives them peace of mind about the process. When a client calls a law firm and gets a dedicated team to handle their case consultation, they no longer feel the need to shop around for another firm.

Professional legal call centers can give prospective clients a response within 30 seconds, or fewer than three rings. They also offer live outbound calls in response to website inquiries. This response time shows prospective clients that they’re valued, boosting the chances for conversion.

5. Implement After-Hours Support

Marketing campaigns can generate high call volumes, quickly overwhelming a law firm’s team. Worse yet, if calls go to voicemail after hours, the client is likely to continue calling firms until they find one to help.

Law firms should always have a dedicated answering service for after-hours support. These trained professionals can handle the overflow and field calls to nurture leads, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every prospective client will receive an instant response, no matter the time of day or night.

6. Keep Track of Leads

Lead tracking is likely part of the intake process, but it’s important to follow up and give every prospective client the care and attention they want. Lead tracking helps law firms follow through with leads along each phase of the customer journey, from initial awareness to conversion. The information from lead tracking can also be used to follow up at critical points and set up appointments and consultations.

Lead tracking can reveal flaws in the current intake process as well. Law firms can evaluate the intake process and identify areas for improvement, both for the larger goal and to enhance the client experience.

7. Create Convenient Contract Delivery Methods

The delivery and signing of a contract is a crucial step in converting a lead. Ideally, all qualified leads should be signed on the initial call, or they may seek help at competitors’ firms.

Convenient contract delivery methods solve this problem by sending fee agreements through text, email, or conventional mail to get documents signed quickly. This not only benefits the client and provides a stellar experience, but it increases conversion rates for the firm.

8. Embrace Legal Technology

Many tools are available for law firms to track profitability, manage client relationships, and monitor expenses, such as marketing investments. Legal technology offers powerful tools, such as expense tracking and reporting to keep up with expenses from anywhere, on any device. Legal technology may also feature client management to track and optimize the client relationship for better service and increased efficiency.

Workflow management may be included, which can help with client response protocols, client intake procedures, and lead nurturing. Depending on the features of the legal technology, law firms can take a lot of mystery and time out of the lead generation process.