New Year, New Strategies: How to Refresh Your Law Firm’s Marketing Plan

A new year is approaching, and with it, companies are taking a closer look at their marketing plans, what worked, and what needs adjusting. The new year is also a time when many law firms have fewer inquiries and have a little extra time to plan for the upcoming year. If you have this extra time, now is your firm’s best chance to refresh your marketing plans and ensure you’re doing all you can to reach new potential clients well. Here are some strategies you can use to give your marketing a fresh start. 

Set New Goals 

Before you begin revamping your marketing campaigns, start with your goals. You need to look at your goals for the past year, determine which ones you met and which you did not, and then set new goals for the coming year. Your goals will drive all your marketing efforts, so spend some time evaluating what you want your firm to accomplish in the coming year. 

When setting goals, make sure you set goals you can measure. This means you can tell if you accomplished the item or not. Looking back on your goals for last year will help you fine-tune your goals for the coming year. 

Nurture Existing Campaigns 

Before you start looking for strategies to bring in new clients, take some time to nurture the clients you already have. Check your client relationship management system to see where your existing clients are in your marketing funnel. Then, fine-tune your marketing messages to move them along the client journey. 

It can take time to organize your existing leads and personalize communication to each one’s specific stage in the client journey. Having a clear outline in your CRM will help but take some time to ensure these leads are being nurtured along their journey toward becoming clients. 

As you work to nurture your current campaigns, remember that your clients aren’t just emails and phone messages. They are people. Strengthen those relationships so those clients become marketers in and of themselves. Consider sending a holiday card from your firm or some other item that shows appreciation to your clients and their support of your firm over the years. This type of relationship-building can lead to word-of-mouth referrals as the new year starts. 

Redefine Your Branding 

Do you need a new branding message? This is a great time to launch it. People expect to see something new and different in the new year, so new branding won’t necessarily confuse your target audience. 

Start by looking at the past year and determining if you have any big wins or other accomplishments you want to highlight. Were you invited to speak at an important event, or did your firm win some awards in the local or legal communities? Once you identify these, highlight them on your LinkedIn profile and website. 

Then, consider areas where you can position yourself as a thought leader. Start planning content you can use in the new year that will solidify this brand. Create written and video content you can use on your blog and social media pages for your new marketing campaigns that fit your new branding and imaging. 

As you think about your brand, make sure you have your 2025 goals in mind. Whether that is to add a new area of legal service, grow your client base, increase revenue, or increase your reputation, your branding should reflect those goals. 

Refresh Your Websites 

Once you have your new brand and image in mind, you can refresh your website. Here are some areas to take a closer look at: 

• Contact information: Make sure your contact information is up-to-date and matches your contact information on social media and business directories. These signals are essential to your local search engine marketing, so refresh and correct them if needed. 
• Images: Refresh and update your images so your page has a fresh, new, updated look. If possible, weave in local images that will signal to your site visitors the service area you’re targeting. 
• Content: New content that is search engine optimized will improve your message to site visitors and improve your rank in the search engines. Consider hiring a writer who can revamp your content or use one of your team members to do this. 
• Accessibility: Accessibility means making the website adaptable to the needs of viewers. First, this starts with making it mobile-friendly so that more people can access it on their phones or other mobile devices. Second, it includes ADA compliance, which means it is accessible for those using adaptive devices due to hearing or vision losses. 

Plan Your Blog and Social Media Posts 

The start of a new year gives you a chance to start your plan for your blog and social media posts. While sometimes you have to pivot as the year progresses to cover current hot topics, you can sketch out a basic plan for the first few months of the year. You can also write and schedule some of your blog posts if you have any downtime. Starting the year with fresh content that’s ready to publish will help guide your marketing plan forward. 

Automate Your Email Marketing 

Take time to walk through your email marketing and client funnel to ensure everything is working properly. Find areas where you can add automation. Not only will this improve your customer service, but it will also streamline your procedures in-house so you can spend more time helping your clients. 

Start this process by writing fresh emails or editing your existing automated emails to better reach your audience. Check that all of your emails match your branding efforts. Keep the voice and message consistent. Run tests to see what is and is not working, ensuring that your email funnel moves people where they need to be. Add eSignatures and automated workflows that make it simple for people to take the next action in your marketing funnel.