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‘Narrow down’ your ideal client post-pandemic
Being clear on what makes your firm unique and different, and how you will address your client’s problems, is even more paramount as the new normal approaches.
Jerome Doraisamy
Even the savviest of lawyers, Claudia King said, can be scared to commit to one ideal client. The reason, she explained, is that they think there may not be enough of those people to keep the business’ head above water.
In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Ms King – the founder and chief executive of Automio – said that narrowing one’s niche “is the best thing you can do so you don’t have to take any and every client that comes your way”.
“By being super specific, you can make sure you’re doing the kind of work you enjoy most, for people you actually want to be working with,” she outlined.
“Narrowing your niche is a significant focus for us at Automio. Law firm owners are seeing the benefit of being the best option for a smaller group of clients instead of trying to be ‘everything to everyone’.”
Reflecting on the age of coronavirus, Ms King said the ongoing pandemic has “accelerated” the rate at which clients have needed to access lawyers in the online realm.
“This, in turn, has accelerated the focus of professional service businesses on their online presence and strategy,” she surmised.
“It takes just a few clicks on Google for clients to access an amazing depth of info and identify the exact experts they’re seeking, so defining and developing your client niche will help you stand out online. We know that digital marketing is all about targeting, and this is where defining your niche client will help your firm scale.”
In order to define one’s niche market, Ms King detailed, boutiques have to ask the following questions: “What do my current clients have in common? What challenges do my clients present? What are the similar characteristics of my clients? How do I set myself apart from the competition? And what is different about the services or products that I offer?
“It’s important to be clear on what makes YOU unique and different and how YOU will solve your clients’ problems.”
Once the firm’s niche is properly defined – or redefined for post-pandemic conditions – it will be incumbent upon the firm leader to “make a promise to your past, present, and future clients”, Ms King advised.
“Your promise to your clients is all about your brand. Who you are, what you do, how you make your client’s lives better? You need to be super clear about this to build a powerful, valuable brand that attracts your ideal client to work with you,” she said.
“When you nail this, you’ll have a guiding light for your law firm, and you’ll be perfectly placed to bring in that ideal client and own your space.”
Such an approach is critical, Ms King espoused, given how easy it can be for lawyers to “slip into a scarcity mindset” and feel as though they shouldn’t narrow down on a particular kind of target client because they feel as though there may not be enough work moving forward.
“I have been there before, I have felt that,” she mused.
“But I now know that if your focus on your niche clients your business will perform like never before – both my law firm and Automio are proof of that. I also see it repeatedly with our customers.
“The wonderful thing about digital marketing is that you can be super targeted, but that also means that in an online world, you need to target specific people. This means that it’s essential to define who you are serving and the problems you are solving.
“By doing that, you can spend less on marketing because you’re targeting a specific audience or industry, and you can enjoy greater margins because clients are willing to pay more to work with a specialised expert. The newly established wisdom now is ‘go narrow’.”
Last week, Ms King spoke with Lawyers weekly about the biggest mistakes that firms make with their websites.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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