Law firms should always strive for high ratings from their clients. If your law firm does not emphasize the need for client reviews and strives for high ratings from your clients, you make a colossal mistake.
High, verifiable ratings by your clients help drive new clients to your law firm. Millions of people search on the Internet every day, looking for the perfect law firm and attorney to take care of their legal matters in the best way possible.
Getting high customer ratings is not a tricky marketing strategy and one of few marketing techniques that costs you nothing but to be courteous to your clients and provide the highest level of customer service possible.
When someone is searching for an attorney and law firm to service their legal needs, they are likely to search for posted and verifiable reviews first. If your reviews are low, that person will probably look elsewhere for an attorney who displays exemplary customer service.
Getting higher customer ratings is not a difficult thing to accomplish. You simply make a client your number one priority and serve that client’s needs with excellent customer service.
Excellent customer service always significantly boosts that law firm’s marketing goals. Those marketing goals should include the percentage of case wins accredited to that law firm’s highest rating.
Client Reviews vs. Verified Client Reviews
As an attorney, you may not have thought about the difference between a client review and a verifiable client review. It is vital to understand the difference.
One type can build up your law firm, and the other can tear your law firm down. It is not unheard of for a law firm to buy fake reviews.
The public and Google are keenly aware of fake reviews, and you cannot fool the public or Google by buying fake reviews. When potential clients find out your reviews are fake, they will move on, and you lose credibility and potential clients, in addition to your ranking on Google.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Researchers in recent surveys find that nearly 80% of the populace rely on online reviews to tell them how well a company treats its customers. Online reviews are a significant indicator of whether a potential customer chooses that business or continues to search for a company with higher reviews.
Surveys on business ratings indicate that over half the population reads as many reviews as possible and weighs the pros and cons of doing business with that particular law firm.
Surveys also note that individuals are more willing to spend their money on goods and services where there are excellent reviews.
People hesitate and usually walk away from a business with less than excellent ratings by prior customers. Generally, a rating of three is as low as a customer considers.
Good reviews are what the future and potential clients look for in an award-winning law firm with seasoned and experienced attorneys. If there are too few reviews or the reviews are poor, the person undoubtedly will search elsewhere for a law firm.
How Does a Law Firm Get a List of Excellent Ratings?
A law firm can expect an excellent rating if the attorney served that client well and gave them exceptional customer service. The attorney must remember to ask the client if they will spend a few minutes and post a review about their experience with the firm.
All the research done on reviews shows that company ratings are necessary for building a client base and bringing in new clients. However, how does a law firm get these vital reviews at a four or five-star rating?
Getting higher ratings seems like an uphill climb, but it does not have to be. When an attorney fills that client’s legal needs beyond expectations, they are more than happy to leave an excellent rating for their attorney on their website.
An attorney should never neglect to post a comment about a client rating as soon as possible. It makes no difference if the rating is excellent or not so good.
The rating deserves an answer or response. One thing you never do is to send a standard answer in response to a client’s question or review. Make your response sound personal and individualized.
If the rating is not so good, the attorney must get with the client to resolve the issues, and the attorney must submit a post to that effect.
When the attorney fails to meet their client’s expectations, it hurts their future client base and lowers the review. It is up to the attorney to fix whatever went wrong, if possible. We also know that you cannot make some people happy no matter what you do.
Some attorneys may feel a bit uncomfortable asking their clients to post a review of them. However, this is part of building and maintaining a business and increasing profit. Asking prior clients to leave reviews about your law firm is business only.
Remove the Stigma of Feeling Uncomfortable Asking for Reviews
After legal service is rendered by any law firm, it is standard practice to ask the client if they would kindly leave a comment on the firm’s website and rate the firm’s service to them.
Most businesses get ratings because they ask clients to post a review of their services to them. People rarely do this on their own. If they happen to give a review and you never ask them to do that, it is good, especially if they leave you a high rating.
It is not OK to ask the client to be sure to leave a four or five-star rating.
Most people do not know where to post their reviews, so it is OK to give the client a list of recommended review sites such as,
- The law firm’s website
- Google My Business – GMB
- Avvo
- Yelp
Remember that Asking for Reviews is all about Business
- Let your client know that reviews are vital to your law firm and ask them if they would mind taking a few minutes to write a review of that law firm and attorney.
- Let clients know that their opinion matters.
- Never pressure the client into writing a review.
- Ask for only a word or two on how that law firm serviced their needs. Tell the client there is no need to write a long, lengthy review.
- Clients do not like to spend much time looking for the exact place to write a review. It is helpful to tell your clients that your firm will send them an online request with a link to where they can leave a review.
- It is best to keep this process quick and easy for the client.
- Your firm should have an automated system offering a review request. We can help provide you with one if you need it. An automated system is easy, quick, and appreciated by any client.
Google monitors if users have too many reviews coming in at one time. Two or three reviews a month is a perfect amount to strive for, thus raising no red flags.
How to Handle Negative Reviews
No company likes to read negative reviews from a customer. However, it is vital to take note of these negative reviews and answer them promptly.
- Never take a defensive stand.
- Never ignore the review and hope it goes away. One negative comment could cost your law firm a decrease in ongoing profit. One negative comment could mean the loss of a few dozen new clients.
The chances are high that potential clients considering contacting a specific law firm will change their minds after reading a negative comment. Customer service should always be cared for in an utmost manner.
The more excellent reviews you gather will smooth out the one or two negative reviews. If most of your reviews are excellent, most people overlook the few negative reviews. One bad review will demand several excellent reviews to average your end result.
For example, a two-star rating may bring your two five-star ratings down to a three-star rating. We will monitor these reviews.
The more excellent ratings you gather, the less noticeable a lousy review is. When your law firm shows several excellent verifiable reviews, this can propel your law firm higher in Google’s search engine.
If you need assistance with your advertising, marketing, and system reviews from clients, we are here to help. This is our expertise!
This helps your company’s placement on page one or two on Google; thus, your law firm gets noticed quicker, meaning you have increased traffic to your website.
Increased traffic means increased profits primarily due to excellent verifiable reviews from prior clients. When you take the time to take care of your clients, your clients will take care of you and your law firm.
Client reviews can set you out from other law firms, giving you verifiable authority, expertise, and trust to take care of future clients.
Your prior clients help propel your law firm to the next level because they see you as trustworthy and credible and pass on the good news that you are worth trusting and working with on their legal matters.
The Power of Reviews
Our expertise is in teaching law firms the power that reviews have over their firm. The sooner you realize the importance of reviews of your law firm from your prior clients, the quicker you see your firm rocket upwards.
Some attorneys find it difficult to believe that such a small thing as a review could make such a significant difference to a law firm.
Our expertise is in website design, development, maintenance, specific keywords, and client reviews of law firms across the United States. We know and live digital marketing and advertising.
Our award-winning SEO agency knows what works and does not work for law firms in this new digital marketing and advertising age. We are here to impress on your mind that verifiable reviews by your prior clients can make all the difference in growing your client base.
Law firms know how costly it is to market and advertise their firm. Many do not know the simple technique of asking clients for a review of the legal service provided to them and the difference this can make for a law firm.
