Building Trust with Your Clients: The Role of Marketing in Legal Ethics

It is not a secret that with rising uncertainties, people have trust issues, especially when they need legal services. A recent survey in 2021 done on 1000 customers shows that nearly 80% of people consider trust a crucial factor in making buying decisions. People still turn to those who provide valuable information and build trust. The role of marketing in legal ethics plays a major role in shaping your professional outlook.

Role of Marketing in Legal Ethics

There was a time when lawyers refrained from promoting their services. However, in 1977, the Supreme Court in Bates V. State Bar of Arizona found restricting guidelines on attorneys unlawful. As of now, law firms can advertise their services, but they have to follow the regulations of the American Bar Association. 

According to the first law, truthful, legal advertisement is allowed. Law service providers should provide valuable information regarding legal assistance instead of pretending to be the best. The role of marketing in legal ethics helps to build trust with clients.

How does the role of marketing in legal ethics help to build trust with clients?

Attorneys who want to gain customers’ interest have to follow ethical marketing. This involves optimizing the website content, data security, informative posts, and engaging display ads. Unlike business companies, law firms must maintain high responsibility standards while marketing their services. Simply put, they need to stay accountable and maintain transparency. The role of marketing in legal ethics is about being honest and providing valuable information to clients.

Common Unethical Marketing Practices To Avoid

Attorneys have to be mindful while practicing ethical marketing for law firms. According to rule 7.3 (b) of Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, they should avoid the following:

• They cannot contact previous or existing clients irrelevantly. 
• They should never send periodic emails or spam someone’s email inbox. You must value customers if they say, “Take me off the email list.”
• Never make any misleading or false information. 
• Do not claim to be an expert and set unrealistic expectations in your online marketing ads.

Building Trust with Authenticity

Authenticity is the basis of law firm marketing. Law firms must be extra cautious to avoid portraying themselves as insensitive and opportunistic. You don’t need to include a strong CTA to sell your services here. It gives a straightforward message to your reader; you’re selling services instead of providing some useful information. The role of marketing in legal ethics involves being authentic and empathetic to build trust with clients.

Authenticity is about showing your values, and yourself, showing empathy, and listening actively to the client’s needs. You can cultivate trust with your audience by being honest with yourself and your readers. When you are transparent and authentic, readers can easily sense you are trustworthy. The role of marketing in legal ethics is to demonstrate authenticity in all interactions.

Delivering Value to Clients

Well, it doesn’t seem very important, but it helps go a long way with clients. If someone contacts you for legal services, acknowledge them as a person, not a client. Be sure to reply to their queries promptly. 

Even if you don’t know what information they are looking for, ask what they expect. If you show them empathy, clients will likely trust you instantly—timely communication with clients and making it a priority. The role of marketing in legal ethics is to deliver value and prioritize customer satisfaction.

To deliver to your client through marketing efforts, here are a few tips:

• Listen to what exactly your customer wants from you. 
• Be honest and stay truthful with your services and claims. 
• Try to provide them with solutions instantly with no false promises.
• Show your elite clients that for you, the client’s satisfaction matters.
• Provide different options available to get the answer to the problems
• Give personalized plans and be respectful.The role of marketing in legal ethics is to provide value and build a strong client relationship.

Transparency in Legal Marketing

Transparency is a crucial aspect when it comes to building trust with clients. As a law firm, you’ll be agreed that law is complex to understand by common people. The best advice for clients looking for legal services can be about moral judgments. At that time, you need to be transparent and help the clients learn about the solutions they need. The role of marketing in legal ethics involves being transparent and honest with clients.

Also, remember that each legal case is unique on its own. The outcome of each case may vary according to the circumstances. If your client already knows past results, they believe in you. That is why transparency is essential for law firms to deliver the best services. The role of marketing in legal ethics is to maintain transparency and manage client expectations.

Transparency can be obtained in different ways, such as:

• Allow your customers to view documents related to their cases.
• Showcase them law firm policies.
• Keep all the essential information in one place or document from where clients can easily access it.
• Give contact addresses where clients can easily connect to enquire about case-related queries.
• Be clear about the procedures and policies you provide them.

The above practices will help to achieve transparency with customers.

Client Testimonials and Reviews

Testimonials and reviews help show your expertise. A positive review from your previous client helps customers feel confident and trusted about your services. A recent report shows that 99% of customers look for positive reviews before shopping online in 2021. The numbers will increase in 2023. That’s why reviews play a crucial role in building trust with clients. The role of marketing in legal ethics is to showcase client testimonials and build credibility.

To ask for client reviews, here are the simple tricks-

• Ask in a personalized manner about your client experience to them.
• Interview your client or record videos after the success of the case.
• Ask them via email or SMS. 
• Co-write testimonials with your potential clients.

Once you collect testimonials and reviews, share them on your website in case studies, videos, or simply in a review format. Simply review your writing processes on the website so clients can easily share their experiences with you. Also, check all state regulations of review collection and share with clients in a legal format. The role of marketing in legal ethics is to utilize client testimonials to enhance trustworthiness.

Building Trust through Community Involvement

Community involvement in law marketing helps to improve relationships with people and build brand awareness. Similar to social media marketing, law firms need to emphasize community involvement. With the right community involvement in marketing, you will likely stand separate from competitors and improve customer trust.

Moreover, you are likely to reduce dependency on paid advertisements. The role of marketing in legal ethics includes community involvement to enhance reputation and trust.

For instance, if you have law services related to trading rights, create an awareness program that informs your audience about trading laws, the legal rights of traders, and upcoming law enforcement. If you’ve strategically done community involvement marketing, you can elevate your presence and build customer trust. 

Examples of Community Involvement Initiatives

Some of the common examples of community involvement initiatives are as follows:

• Sponsoring Local Events: Advocates can sponsor local events such as bike racing to cater to audience attention. 
• Scholarships: You can offer scholarship programs to budding lawyers from universities and legal firms. 
• Giveaways: Conducting surveys or running giveaways is another best option for community involvement in marketing. 
• Local Event Presence: This is, again, an interesting practice for community involvement initiatives. You can participate in local educational events to help learners learn about new law rules and others. Here you get the opportunity to show your expertise.

Tips for Incorporating Community Involvement into Your Marketing Strategy

Here are a few tips that will help to incorporate community involvement in marketing strategy for law firms- 

• Create an open platform to express yourself. It could be your social media channel or live event online or offline. 
• Plan different activities and giveaways on various social media platforms where your audience can actively engage with you.
• Start hosting local events. 
• Create some mix of useful information, including serious matters and light legal matters.
• Provide printable material with engaging notes. The role of marketing in legal ethics includes community involvement to build trust and credibility.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the role of marketing in legal ethics plays a crucial role in winning your client’s trust and is an excellent way to nurture a strong bond in the long run. Always stay truthful and let your customers know what services you can offer them. Inform them timely about the case progress and reinforce value. Collect the feedback from clients and know about their experience. Use it to boost credibility and gain the trust of potential clients.

A solid content strategy backed by your knowledge and expertise will work wonders. To know more, check out our blog- Should You Create a Content Marketing Strategy for Your Law Firm?