If we take into account the assets professionals and entrepreneurs are leveraging for asserting their authority, transforming their vision into a reality, building intentional relationships, attracting strategic opportunities, and creating trust with prospects and customers, very few assets seem to be as crucial as reputation. The cyberspace or the digital world seems to be overcrowded hence, it is of pivotal importance for any law firm to necessarily implement effective strategies for building and protecting their online reputation if they wish to sustain and gain phenomenal success.
Whatever appears on Google’s first page would be having a direct impact on a law firm’s ability to attract clients and generate revenues. By developing a positive and robust online reputation using top-ranking web properties, law firms would be mitigating the risks of negative web content that adversely affect their brand in the long term. Your law firm should use whatever good reputation online that you have built purely as an effective insurance policy. You could build your brand online if you start engaging with all your clients and prospective litigants regularly. Showing that your law firm is focused on serving a meaningful and authentic purpose would be critical to establishing a good online reputation.
As per https://www.inc.com, brand recognition is much more than simply market share and media penetration. A business must necessarily devote attention to shaping clients’ perceptions of them, most importantly. The online reputation would ultimately determine conversion rates more than or just as much search engine rankings. Your firm’s online reputation is an integral part of your overall revenue management stratagems that would be creating impressive profit margins.
Unfortunately, some attorneys believe that the online reputation of their law firm would not be impacting their core offline profession or business. They are assuming that they would be getting a bulk of their new clients via referrals hence; their online reputation is certainly not a potential business driver. Often they think that only negative reviews could be impacting their overall online reputation to a certain extent hence, they oversee or neglect opportunities for cultivating a robust and positive online reputation. Often some attorneys who realize the importance of online reputation management may end up wasting their time, money, and efforts on inefficient and ineffective reputation management strategies.
In the case, you have a tough time managing the online reputation of your law firm; one of the reputation management myths could be responsible for holding you back.
Myth #1: I have no reason to bother about the online reputation of my law firm
A study conducted in 2016, revealed how to select local businesses, and consumers are used to researching online. Around 84 percent of all the people seem to trust and rely on online customer reviews almost as much as personal recommendations. We understand that even though, a potential client has been referred by a family member, close friend, or a coworker, he would be researching about your law firm online before making the final decision about getting in touch with you. People are used to doing the same these days while looking for a dentist or doctor or some other local service.
Your potential clients could be browsing through customer review sites such as Yelp, Google My Business, and Avvo to check the customer reviews online pertaining to the recommended law firm. Negative or positive reviews on these reputed sites are sure to influence the first impression regarding your law firm. Positive reviews online could be instrumental in motivating and encouraging potential clients to choose you over your competitor. However, if they cannot locate any positive reviews online regarding your law firm, or if they can find only a very few positive reviews, the prospects may at once choose your competing law firm if they are having more positive online customer reviews.
Myth #2: I should pay attention to just bad or negative reviews for effective ORM for my Law Firm
Negative online customer reviews and ratings play an important role. If somebody has tarnished your brand reputation by posting a defamatory or false review, the plausibility and veracity of the review would not be taken into consideration as potential clients are at the very first stage of forming their initial impression of your law firm. It is important to keep monitoring online review sites and checking for any negative reviews so that you get the opportunity to respond promptly to such negative reviews instead of waiting for months or weeks when it could be too late and you may have lost precious business already.
Mitigation or absence of negative reviews is just not enough. You must realize that positive reviews could be impacting the decision of your potential client to employ the services of your law firm. As per the findings of a study 74 percent of the people surveyed admitted that positive reviews help them in trusting a local firm more. Moreover, the study further reveals that 54 percent of these people who were surveyed would visit a firm’s website only after meticulously reading positive customer reviews. Remember positive customer reviews would make or break your business. Positive customer reviews online would be inspiring your potential client to seek your services over your competitors. Experienced attorneys have admitted that they have witnessed this happen numerous times. They believe that if your law firm boasts of a stellar online reputation, you would be attracting potential clients.
Myth #3: I must focus on customer reviews appearing only in law-associated websites
We understand that there are numerous law firm directories and review sites to opt for. The intention is to identify the key sites to focus on and choose from. You need to identify the sites that are frequented by your potential clients.
There are many law firm review sites and directories to choose from. The key is choosing which sites to focus on. Which sites do potential clients regularly visit? Which sites will help a potential client decide whether to choose your law firm over a competitor?
Myth #4: Customer Reviews Are Enough to Make My Law Firm Successful
Online reviews are surely important in creating your online reputation. No wonder the LawLytics system seems to have an in-built reviews module that would be helping you in publishing positive reviews with only a few clicks on the official website of your law firm. You must partner with a reputed ORM company New York to help your law firm with efficient online reputation management.
While online reviews seem to be immensely beneficial and important, you must keep in mind that there are other important tools in your overall marketing toolbox. Creating compelling and authentic content on your law firm’s website could be one of the most effective stratagems for boosting the online presence of your law firm and engaging potential clients.
Conclusion
Your law firm’s ORM is of vital importance. A positive reputation could help in attracting and engaging new clients. Remember negative reputation could discourage potential clients to get in touch with your law firm.
