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What Lead Nurturing Is, and Why It Matters for Growing Clientele

Feb 13, 2022 | Legal

Marketing Blog

If every prospect that discovers your firm immediately converted, mass tort lawyers wouldn’t run expensive TV commercials anymore. Unfortunately, this just isn’t how real life works. A more realistic conversion scenario involves multiple “touch points” before any prospect becomes your signed client. Lead nurturing means offering prospects things they value and education about your services until they’re ready to convert into signed cases.

Creating a Mass Tort Lead Nurturing Strategy Is Easier Than You Think

Don’t despair if you’re new to this lead nurturing concept. In fact, effective lead nurturing campaigns are easier to create than you might think. While research shows 30%-50% of prospects aren’t ready to convert while researching your firm, 75% will be ready within 12-18 months. A good lead nurturing strategy helps ensure those conversions actually occur during that timeframe.

Lead nurturing a simple concept, yet seemingly hard to execute for some practices. It means building a relationship with prospects as they move toward securing your firm’s legal services. With so much money on the line, the mass tort market is highly competitive. An efficient lead nurturing strategy can put you ahead of your competition, so we’ll explain how to do it below.

The Lifecycle Journey for Nurturing Mass Tort Leads

Nurturing leads can keep potential clients interested and engaged until they’re finally ready to convert. This “lifecycle journey” is crucial, because most people are simply researching their options when they initially contact your firm. Once leads decide they’re finally ready to file their claim, they’ll circle back to you and schedule an initial consultation.

Your lead nurturing process can help improve your firm’s client conversion rate in several ways. If implemented correctly, this process should help you:

  • Identify the best-qualified leads more likely to convert into clients
  • Increase your credibility as an industry leader in handling mass tort cases locally
  • Grow your firm’s revenue by keeping leads warm until they convert, which lowers acquisition costs and streamlines your intake process
  • Generate more word-of-mouth referrals as well as testimonials for your website/email campaigns

Now that you understand the process, timeline, and benefits, let’s explore which lead nurturing approach works best for your firm.

Setting Up the First Stage in Your Lead Nurturing Journey

When prospects begin the journey towards becoming signed clients, keep them engaged by offering value through education. Some popular lead nurturing tactics for this initial stage include:

  • Email campaigns/newsletters that feature cases won, award amounts, or litigation trends
  • Webinars or video content can help build trust and establish your role as an experienced mass tort attorney
  • Events that educate leads on what to expect and connect them with your existing clients
  • Blog content with best practices and valuable tips (i.e., the average timeline for resolving drug vs. medical device cases, most significant settlement awards secured for your clients, etc.)

Anything that reinforces your firm’s trustworthiness, proven track record, and years of professional experience with mass tort litigation are vital.

Offer Incentives to Keep Leads Engaged Throughout the Next Stage

Lead nurturing should also give prospects something they value to keep them on this journey with you. Right now, they’re somewhere between researching local attorneys and deciding if a lawsuit is worth the effort or not. Providing these incentives can help grow your email list and move qualified leads further down the path:

  • Downloadable checklists (i.e., how to prepare for your consultation, items to bring for your deposition, best medical evidence documents, etc.)
  • Free swag with your firm’s logo/branding on it when they attend your firm’s open house
  • White papers (example: charts highlighting your firm’s win rate vs. the national average)
  • Ability to schedule a free consultation directly through your website

Anything that de-mystifies the process and makes filing a claim easier will prepare those prospects to convert into clients.

Start Filtering Your List to Qualify Your Prospects

Once you’ve grown a robust email list, it’s time to find out who’s genuinely interested in securing your services. All you have to do at this point is ask. Send out a quick, one-line email with a friendly and personal tone. It should say something like, “Still interested in filing a claim?” Or, “Have you chosen an attorney to handle your case?” Now’s the time to filter out unqualified leads and focus on nurturing still-engaged prospects:

  • Remove anyone that didn’t open your last two emails/newsletters from your prospect lists
  • Send individual follow-ups or cold-call prospects that reply to your “ask” email
  • Consider mailing handwritten thank-you cards to open house and consultation attendees

Periodically pruning your email lists also saves you money if you’re using a paid drip marketing service.

Accelerate Into the Late-Stage Lead Nurturing Cycle

Once a lead exchanges calls or emails with you or starts asking questions, increasing your contact frequency is a good idea. Emails to these prospects should include the following:

  • Strong calls to action (i.e., “You have 21 days before the SoL expires for filing your claim – click to call now and schedule your appointment”)
  • Specific times/dates you’re available for a free consultation
  • Testimonials from satisfied clients that fall within the same demographic or tort type

This lifecycle journey’s ongoing, and law firms must approach prospects nearing the last stage with special care. To properly nurture leads, consider their concerns and what might help you overcome them at every stage. You’ll sign more cases if you commit to the process and continuously welcome new leads into your marketing ecosystem.

Use Success Metrics to Track Your Mass Tort Lead Nurturing Efforts

One last thing — your lead nurturing tactics always benefit from improvement. You must track several metrics to ensure your firm’s lead nurturing strategy works. Look at things like:

  • Email open rates
  • How many people unsubscribe
  • Who engages with your firm through social media
  • Which prospects converted into signed cases so you can target similar leads

Don’t have enough time to spend on all these lead nurturing tasks? Partnering with the right business development and lead generation team can help you save time and money while growing your caseload.

Make Your Lead Nurturing Efforts Bulletproof: Partner With LeadingResponse

The lead nurturing process isn’t something you can leave to chance or handle yourself on weekends. If you’re too busy to create and manage a lead nurturing campaign yourself, it’s time to ask the experts.

We have lead generation options for various practice areas in addition to mass torts, and we’ll deliver them in real time. Want leads even faster? Our Live Call Transfer solution allows us to transfer legal leads directly to your phone at the height of their interest. There’s nothing to lose but incredible growth.

Contact LeadingResponse for a free lead volume estimate in your preferred torts and target areas today!

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