Case Studies Help Your Law Firm Earn Client Trust
By Attorney Taylor Lake
One of the most potent marketing tools your firm has is social proof: the word of your clients. Factual proof, like demonstrations of your legal education, knowledge, and years of practice experience, helps build prospective client trust, but nothing beats a good client testimonial on your behalf.
As we will see, certain types of testimonials are more effective than others. Especially if your firm has a business clientele, you should use case studies as the centerpiece of your marketing strategy.
Client Testimonials are Good – But are They Enough?
If your website is merely a representation of your other marketing materials, which serve as factual proof to describe and promote your services, you are asking your prospect to take a leap of faith, as your competitors are doing the same.
However, without more factual proof, it is usually not enough to close the deal and secure that client retainer. Few clients, individuals, or businesses feel comfortable giving their business to you in the absence of some assurance from the experience of others that you can be trusted.
Testimonials satisfy your prospect’s need for risk reduction before they take the next step in your marketing funnel. Their inherent limitation, however, is their brevity. They are often only one to three sentences. Because of their lack of detail, clients can still harbor lingering doubts even when reading them, because they usually don’t answer the question of how your services made a difference.
Especially if your clients have similarities with each other, case studies answer the question of, “Yes, your legal services helped someone else, but how do I know they will for me?”
Case Studies: The Ultimate Testimonial
Case studies are testimonials in story form. They are more persuasive than simple testimonials because they provide enough details for the reader not only to read, but also to visualize the information. And in the visualization, to empathize and ultimately step inside the story.
A case study typically spans one to two pages. It provides a detailed account of your client’s successful journey. It starts with the customer’s problem, discusses why they chose your solution, describes the customer’s implementation of that solution and how your legal expertise facilitated the process, detailing the positive results.
Case studies help your marketing in three important ways:
- Case studies use the communication style proven to be most effective at conveying information, storytelling.
- Case Studies are highly effective at establishing credibility with prospective customers.
- Case studies are versatile. You can use them as the basis for many other valuable marketing tools.
The Four Parts of a Good Case Study
The beauty of the case study as an enhanced testimonial is that it is structurally simple and easy to relate to. It follows the client’s journey from beginning to end, covering four main bases along the way:
- The client’s background: One or two paragraphs describing who the client is. Where it is located, how many employees it has, its product or service, its target customers, and so on. Provide enough information here to let your prospective client see some similarities with the client you helped.
- The challenge: Good stories involve conflict resolution. This part of the case study delves into a significant problem the client faced and the negative impact it was having. The more the situation is comparable to a challenge the reader is facing, the more the story reinforces the emotional bond of empathy, and the more it pulls the reader in, making them want to know what happens next.
- The solution: This is where your firm’s services shine through. Your help made the difference in overcoming the client’s problems that the challenge was creating.
- The results: Compelling stories do not end with, “… and then they got by.” We want to see the protagonist live happily ever after. Similarly, your case study reader wants to see how your client not only overcame the challenge but also benefited from your expertise. What were the objective, tangible, measurable results that flowed from solving the problem?
How to Make the Most of Case Studies for Your Firm
Of the three reasons above, let’s take a closer look at the third: repurposing your case studies into other marketing tools.
- Lead generation giveaways. Offering something for free in return for an email address is a staple of online sales funnels. Offering a free case study is an excellent hook to get a prospect to provide their address by clicking on the download link. It also empowers the case study to serve as your “ambassador” to the prospect, providing a relevant success story that showcases your expertise.
- Case studies are a credibility support for other marketing materials. Case studies provide specific, detailed examples of client success stories. Once you have a selection of case studies available, you can use them as evidence to support your firm’s capabilities in your other online and print marketing copy.
- Case studies are used for publicity. Case studies are excellent topics for newsletters, blogs, and follow-up emails to prospects. They tell positive success stories that don’t come across as advertisements. They can also serve as foundational topics for press releases, bylined articles, and submissions to industry publications.
- Case studies as ambassadors. If your client is a business, chances are the prospect’s decision to hire your firm will involve more than one person. This decision often includes several individuals, committees, and departments. Even if you have convinced your initial contact, you still need to reach everyone else. Having some case studies allows your contact to act as your “representative” in those discussions.
Need Help Developing Your Firm’s Case Studies?
High-quality case studies are a wonderful investment in your marketing strategy, especially since they play such a crucial role in bridging the proof gap with your prospects. By building rapport and nurturing trust, case studies truly enhance the confidence your clients have in your firm.
Earning a prospect’s trust is a gradual process that requires support through proof and consistency. Case studies serve as witnesses to persuade the prospect that you can be trusted because others have relied on you, and you rewarded them for it. Case studies build client trust more quickly than performance claims, statistics, certifications, and other forms of factual evidence. The more case studies you possess, and the more recent they are, the more persuasive they become.
If you have client success stories but no case studies, then you’re not fully utilizing a valuable social proof tool. If you have case studies but haven’t kept them updated, it’s time to include some more recent examples.
KPC Marketing Services Can Help Build Your Case Study Library
At KPC Marketing Services, our law firm marketing specialists and consultants are all legal professionals with JDs and extensive experience in law firm marketing. We know how to help you build your firm’s marketing strategy, including creating the digital marketing tools you need to reach your client prospects, like case studies.
We are your marketing partner in attracting new clients, allowing you to maintain your focus on providing a high level of service to your existing clients. Call us today at (877) 4KPC-MARK (866-457-2627) to speak with one of our experienced legal marketers to learn more about how we can boost your firm’s marketing efforts in a cost-effective way that grows your practice and maximizes your rate of return in your marketing budget.
