A law firm gained more positive reviews than any other law firm in the jurisdiction
The collection of testimonials from clients has been a standard practice of law firms for some years. However, too many continue to use paper forms and it’s rare for those that have embraced new technologies to leverage the fullest amount of benefit from them. Collecting feedback can help a law firm improve. It can also make up a fundamental part of a legal marketing strategy if the testimonials are shown to other potential clients.
I introduced new automation technologies paired with new procedures to collect a large number of reviews for a law firm in Northern Ireland. Trustpilot was the third-party testimonial collection platform of choice.
The Result
Almost immediately, the firm started to achieve an average of fifteen positive reviews on Trustpilot each month. The firm quickly obtained more Trustpilot reviews than any other firm in the jurisdiction. For a time, the firm had more online reviews, across all platforms combined, including Trustpilot, Yell and Google Reviews, than all competitors combined. It also enjoyed the position of highest “Trustscore” of all law firms in the UK on Trustpilot. This was the case in spite of the fact that Northern Ireland is the smallest legal jurisdiction in the UK and this firm had less than ten fee-earners.
These reviews were displayed on the firm’s website and used in marketing materials such as graphics, radio ads and print media. The reviews also drove traffic from the firm’s website on social media.
The high volume of reviews were attached to their Google Ads and increased the number of people who clicked on those ads.
This is how I did it:
Collecting Testimonials
I set up a new process that would automatically instruct Trustpilot to invite clients to leave the firm a testimonial. They could do so in just minutes without the need of a Trustpilot account. This is called the Automatic Feedback Service. It was integrated into the firm’s case management system so that secretaries could easily manage the process. I created a guide on how to do this and provided training.
This system of automation could be completed with only several clicks and would trigger at the time that a client is going to feel most satisfied – the conclusion of their case.
The use of reviews in the sales process
As new testimonials came in, they were displayed on each page of the firm’s website using a widget. This third-party code meant that the number of reviews would creep upward in real time whilst also displaying the latest reviews as they are submitted by clients. The displaying of reviews in this manner made up a fundamental component of the website’s sales funnel.
Fee-earners and receptionists reported that new enquiries would often comment that they were impressed by the large number of positive reviews and that their decision to contact this firm over others was in part influenced by them.
The use of reviews in other marketing activities
As I also managed the social media accounts pertaining to this firm, I designed graphics that contained some of the best reviews and published them regularly on all social media channels.
I also managed the Google Ads account for this law firm. The high volume of reviews gave me access to Google seller ratings. Seller ratings are a free automated Google Ad extension that attaches the star ratings of a business to their Google Ads that appear on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). The ratings are gathered from several reputable sources, such as Trustpilot, and aggregated on a scale of 1 to 5. In addition to the star count, the rating includes the number of reviews the business has received. The bright yellow stars make ads stand out against competitor ads and inevitably attracted more clicks. As a consequence, the click-through rate (CTR) increased by over 20%. This lowered the average cost-per-click (CPC) on each ad.
The results were so good that Trustpilot asked for my permission to write a case study on my social proof strategy for law firms. This case study would be used by their sales team when demonstrating different ways professional service providers utilise Trustpilot whilst pitching to new customers.
Speak with a legal marketing consultant about social proof for solicitors and law firms
Every social proof strategy is different and based on the needs of individual law firms. If you would like to speak to a colleague or myself about social proof for your firm, we offer a free initial exploratory consultation. Contact us to book yours. Reid & Partners Legal Marketing is an official Trustpilot Partner and we can offer you a 10% discount on all Trustpilot Plans.
We are also official partners of Reviews.io, ReviewSolicitors and Feefo. If you would like to know more about these services, visit Social Proof For Law Firms.
