5 Ways To Show Your Value To Prospects In Your Marketing

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There’s this seemingly-endless debate going on about flat-fee pricing, value billing, and the end of the billable hour in the legal world.  And there’s there are great arguments on both side of the fence (at least, I’m not going to choose sides today).

The crux of the argument is that people want to be able to pay an amount that they deem fair for their legal services.  Nobody wants to get ripped off, right?

But the pundits and legal bloggers are missing a crucial element, and it all begs the question.  How does a consumer of legal services actually know in advance whether they’re being charged a fair fee?  You guessed right, gentle reader – the answer is in the way your market your law firm.  In fact, fellow blogger Stan Phelps discusses this in his recent post, Is Value The New Black?

When you show value to your prospects even before the hiring decision is made, that decision becomes far easier.  The prospect can see tangible value and can make the decision as to whether that value is equal to the legal fee to be charged.  In the absence of such tangible value, there’s very little the prospect can look to in making the decision of whether to hire your law firm or the one down the street.

How can lawyers show value to prospects through their marketing?  Here are 5 ideas:

1. Create A Content-Rich Blog. This will give your prospects a non-threatening way to see what you know about their problems, and the solutions you offer.
2. Distribute A “How-To” Guide. Telling prospects how to accomplish a small solution and solve a problem (such as what to do when the bill collector calls) show them that you’re willing to help, and gives them valuable content that they can refer to.
3. Compile And Hand Out Testimonials. You go into a doctor’s office and there is a booklet filled with nothing but kind words from other patients and the doctor’s colleagues.  Your “social proof” radar goes off immediately, and that doctor becomes the de facto expert.  It doesn’t matter how long you have to sit in the waiting room because THIS is the doctor for you.
4. Show A Case Study. Put together an entire case file (with your client’s permission, of course) and walk a prospect through every step of it.  If you’re marketing your bankruptcy practice, for example, show off the entire petition and schedules.  Detail the debt load, income and expenses, the whole thing.  Let the prospect see how much sweat equity you put into the case to highlight exactly what they can expect from you.
5. Offer A Taste Before Serving The Meal. Invite the prospect to get their credit report reviewed at no cost, and give them specific advice about what’s wrong and why.  Most consumers can’t read a credit report (many lawyers can’t, either), so this will establish value quickly.

There are more ideas, of course.  It’s up to you to decide what’s a good fit for you practice.  But by showing value in advance of the hiring decision you can eliminate price-shoppers and focus instead on those people who are looking for a lawyer with the expertise they need to get their problem solved.

Photo courtesy of Will Lion.

Related posts:

1. 3 Easy Ways to Grow Your Marketing List
2. Marketing For Prospects, Not Clients
3. Getting Your Prospects Emotionally Engaged
4. 5 Ways To Capture Ideas For Your Legal Marketing Efforts
5. What Is Content Marketing?