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Market research and personal experience tell us that online reviews matter. A recent study focusing on legal services reported that around 84% would not hire a lawyer who had less than a four-star review average. Only around 8% of the respondents said that online reviews did not matter to them when seeking a lawyer. Many attorneys struggle to acquire positive reviews from even their most content clients, while the few and rare disgruntled ones eagerly leave negative reviews. Gaining future clients and maintaining your law firm’s quality reputation depends on a steady flow of happy online reviews, but how can you make this happen? Here are 5 ways to increase the flow of 5-star reviews for your law firm.
Earn Happy Reviews
It may seem obvious, but before you can accumulate a universe of 5-star reviews, you must have satisfied clients. Besides your skills, personality, and hard work, there are many components that influence client satisfaction. If you want to keep the quality reviews coming, here are three key factors to examine.
Be Accessible and Responsive
To a lawyer, a client may be one more case, but to clients, their pending legal situation may feel like life and death. When your client contacts you, it is essential that they feel that they can typically reach you. If you miss a call, get back to them as soon as possible; try to get back to them within 24 hours or less. Follow up consistently with key information about the case, and take turns making contact with your client; do not make your client always contact you first.
Connect Personally
From day one, it is crucial that you treat your client with a sense of dignity, respect, and a bit of compassion. Be professional, but not cold. Try to connect with your client personally by taking a courteous interest in their personal and work life, which will help you understand them more.
Update Your Practice
Every law firm should have a professional, well-designed website, and modernizing the business should be a consistent priority. Take advantage of the increasing amount of digital tools available to replace paperwork, such as App4Legal software. Younger clients will especially appreciate the ability to hand in and update documents online, rather than submit paper forms.
Profile Yourself on Lawyer Review Sites
Online reviews can mean almost as much to potential clients as a personal referral. In order to gain reliability and establish a good reputation online, it helps to secure a positive, well-traveled profile in the places where people are shopping for lawyers.
Google Business Profile
Generating a profile on Google Business Profile makes your law firm look bona fide and trustworthy. Here you can offer future clients information about your services, hours, and contact information as well as offering satisfied individuals an easy spot to leave a review.
Avvo
Avvo designates a rating to every practicing lawyer, covering 97% of attorneys in the U.S. This rating is not simply based on client satisfaction; instead, the rating is centered on how transparent each attorney has been when divulging their profile to Avvo. Unfair as it seems, Avvo works and is the top site for attorney and law firm reviews. Maintaining a full, decisive profile here can help you gain solid standing with potential clients.
You cannot ignore Facebook, and establishing a positive profile here is easy. Since so many people use it already, Facebook offers a logical place for clients to leave a review when they have been happy with your services.
Yelp
Yelp is a popular site for many types of local businesses, and it is completely free. User-friendly for consumers, Yelp is a spot where you can share photos, details about your practice and it’s a popular venue for consumers to leave a review for your law firm.
Lawyers.com
Lawyers.com is a premium ranking website for businesses in the legal realm, and it offers a direct link for future clients to contact you. Establish a thorough profile here, and they may be more likely to do so.
NOLO
Nolo gives you a variety of marketing options after you finish your basic profile. You can publish articles here, buy ads, and it is another place for your clients to leave their reviews.
Make Law Firm Reviews Easy
It seems unfair that even though you have dozens of happy clients, it is usually the unhappy customers that leave their feedback. It is important to make it effortless for every satisfied client to write a review for your law firm, and here are three ways to facilitate the task.
Ask Them
Make it a priority to ask every client to leave their positive feedback, letting them know how vital their feedback is to your business.
Remind Them
You will be more likely to gain a review for your law firm when you offer clients more than one reminder and opportunity to do it. You can display a link in your email signature, along with a plug to let clients know how valuable their positive feedback is. Automated email gives repeat nudges to write a review without seeming too overbearing. Instead of a long string of text, you can shorten those email links using the information found on this Youtube video.
Be Consistent
Although Google algorithms are mysterious and unverifiable, sources hint that consistent client ratings and review counts are factored into the Google ranking strategy. Gather steady reviews for your law firm, because consistency matters.
Use Online Review Services
There are paid online services available that can streamline reviews for your law firm, and these companies can provide serious advantages when it comes to managing your online reputation. Differing in price and services, some of these review management tools include BirdEye, Podium, Grade.us, and ReviewTrackers.
Why Are Reviews Important for Law Firms?
To understand “How do I get more reviews for my law firm?”, it can be useful to learn about the importance of gaining reviews for law firms. Below, you can find out more about this.
Gain Social Proof
Often, individuals choose a law firm to work with based on reviews that advise them to do so. This type of social proof plays a significant role in driving sales for law firms and may ultimately determine whether someone chooses your firm or decides to opt for a competitor instead. If a potential client notices that your firm has mainly 5-star reviews, it is likely they may think that working with you is worthwhile. Due to this, it is important to gain as much feedback from previous clients as possible, as this is likely to encourage future clients to ask for your services.
Enhance Visibility
Gaining more 5-star reviews for your law firm can also enhance your firm’s visibility. On most review websites, when you get more reviews, this pushes your law firm’s listing higher up on the site’s search results. This is due to the review website’s algorithms recognizing your law firm’s level of authority.
Build Trust
When people look for a law firm to work with, trust is a significant factor. People want to work with someone they can trust to effectively handle their legal issues. Every time you gain a positive review, this improves your law firm’s credibility, which helps you to build trust with potential clients.
Improve Brand Reach
Gaining reviews also encourages others to discuss your firm’s services online. When this happens, your law firm’s online presence improves, and so does your brand reach. Try to encourage your clients to leave reviews on multiple review websites, as this can enhance your brand’s reach even further.
More Sales
Most people recognize that gaining more reviews leads to increased sales. As per a study by Harvard University, improving your online ratings can boost your sales by 5%-9%. This means gaining more and better reviews is worthwhile due to it having a positive effect on a firm’s revenue.
Strengthen Client Relationships
A common misconception is that it is only necessary to reply to negative feedback from clients, but this is not the case. By responding to all reviews, you can improve your client relationships, regardless of whether the feedback is positive or negative. Reviews allow you to positively reinforce clients’ experiences by thanking them, while also recognizing that you can improve things further. When responding to all reviews, it is important to personalize each response, as this helps clients feel valued and makes them more likely to work with you in future. Moreover, responding to all reviews may attract new clients, as many people like working with businesses that are open to receiving feedback.
Foster Growth
Law firms that know the answer to “How do I get more reviews for my law firm?” are likely to recognize that looking at reviews for law firms is a great opportunity for improving their business. By observing your previous clients’ experiences through looking at reviews, you can gain valuable insights into your clients’ wants and needs. For instance, if you identify a recurring problem by looking at your reviews, this can suggest that a change is necessary. As a result, reviews can help you may key improvements to your firm that lead to enhanced growth.
Reviews Matter For Your Overall SEO Strategy
Gaining quality reviews for your law firm can inform potential clients, boost your online rankings, and set you apart from your competitors. Make it simple and smooth for every client to leave a 5-star review by offering them more than one opportunity to do so. You can ask for a review at your final in-person meeting, and in further wrap-up emails. Your law firm may want to offer incentives or consider investing in an online review management system, which will track those valuable reviews and make it easier for you to respond. Reward your clients by saying thank you for taking the time to leave their kind comments, and respond gently to any negative feedback you receive, because a gracious attitude can showcase your professionalism. Above all, offer stellar client service, because this will make it more likely for your clients to leave their 5-star reviews. If you want to develop a strong overall SEO strategy along with your 5-star reviews, contact us today at Support@LawQuill.com or visit us at www.LawQuill.com.
