Dan Bowman

Throughout its history, many law firms have shied away from traditional marketing to maintain a sincere and pragmatic image. With the rise of digital marketing and increasing competition, law firms are pivoting their focus on full-scope marketing strategies to stand out. Continue reading to learn the need for law firm marketing, how to create a budget, and track your law firm’s budget with legal billing software.

The Importance of Law Firm Marketing

Law firms are, first and foremost, a business. All businesses rely on a steady flow of new clients and businesses to stay afloat, and growth is an important part of the strategy.

With this in mind, many law firms are focusing on marketing to gain a competitive edge in the market. Unlike some of the flashy, over-the-top campaigns we see in other industries, however, law firm marketing is intended to showcase how trustworthy, professional, and reliable a firm is.

It’s common for law firms to use all available avenues for digital marketing, including search engine optimization, email marketing, social media, content marketing, and search ads.

How Much Do Law Firms Usually Spend on Marketing?

The marketing budget for a law firm can differ according to its goals. But interestingly, many law firms have no budget at all, leaving marketing efforts on the back burner.

If you’re intent on setting a marketing budget, know that large law firms spend anywhere from 2% to 5% of gross revenue, while small firms spend between 5% or 10% of gross revenue, according to the American Lawyer.

The budget can vary according to many factors, however, such as location, existing branding and reputation, and practice area.

What Should My Law Firm Marketing Budget Be?

In determining your law firm budget, you should consider:

• Law firm age: Younger firms typically have higher budgets to capture market share
• Area of practice: Different practice areas have different goals and sales funnels
• Location: Highly competitive areas will require higher spend
• Current marketing efforts: Starting from scratch will require more initial marketing spending to gain traction
• Marketing strategy: The level and types of marketing campaigns may call for different investments
• Competitor budgets: Large law firms in the area can drive up the cost of marketing for all firms

You should also consider retention vs. acquisition marketing.

Retention marketing is designed to remind your former clients of your services. Generally, it costs seven times more to attract and sign a new client than retain an existing client, so retention marketing has a better ROI overall.

Acquisition marketing is designed to attract new clients. The budget should be divided between traditional and digital marketing efforts, including social media, SEO, PPC, content, and print or television ads.

Instead of working with an arbitrary budget figure, develop a customized figure based on your needs and goals.

Best Practices for Creating Law Firm Marketing Goals and Tactics

It’s important to take the time to create a detailed marketing strategy and roadmap to save time and maximize your marketing budget. With a defined plan, you can evaluate your marketing efforts to see if you’re on track to reach your goals, adjusting as needed.

Establish Marketing Goals

Your marketing goal is what you hope to achieve with your marketing efforts. Without a set goal, it’s impossible to track and measure success.

Marketing goals should always be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound). This ensures that you can track and measure your efforts effectively.

For example, setting a goal to “bring in new clients” doesn’t fit the SMART goals framework. You should have specific numbers and time frames.

Some examples include:

• Gaining X clients in Q3
• Increasing firm revenue by a certain dollar amount within six months
• Increasing web traffic by the number of visitors in a month’s time

Cultivate a Brand

Branding isn’t just for retail products. Law firms have brands, too, and the right brand can attract the ideal client. Cultivating a brand is a long and involved process, but establishing consistent and powerful brand assets like the mission and vision of the firm, the firm’s brand values, and its unique value proposition are a good starting point.

Leverage Content Marketing

Content marketing is key for law firms from both a general marketing perspective and an SEO perspective. Having valuable content not only establishes a firm as a thought leader in the industry, but it helps prospective clients discover firms as they search for solutions to their legal problems online.

It’s not enough to just churn out content for the sake of it, however. You should create original, in-depth, and valuable content that addresses common questions or concerns of the target client. This may include legal blogs and articles, podcasts, video series, and infographics.

Include Video Content

Video is quickly becoming a huge trend in all of the marketing, not just for law firms. Audiences prefer video over text because it’s more engaging. Video also helps to distill complex topics into more digestible content for better retention.

There are virtually limitless options for video content for your law firm. Consider options like client testimonials, industry interviews, or Q&A series that address common questions for your practice area. Videos can be used on social media, the firm’s website, and email blasts.

Tips for Tracking Law Firm Marketing Budget and Expenses

Marketing is an investment, so your marketing budget is not a “rainy day” fund. Whatever you allocate for marketing, make sure you spend it.

Consider time and money. Spending your entire marketing budget won’t do much if you’re not putting time into your marketing strategy. You should devote at least four hours per week to marketing activities, which you can track with task management tools.

Evaluate your ROI. If you’re putting hard-earned money into marketing, you should track your progress with timekeeping and expense reporting tools to ensure the spending is worthwhile. Different marketing channels have different time frames for tracking progress, but all of your marketing efforts should be evaluated on a regular basis.

Analyzing your efforts against your set goals will determine if you’re on track to meet them or whether you should make adjustments. It will also reveal the most successful channels, so you can allocate your spending appropriately in the future.

Key Takeaways

A flow of new clients is key to growth and profitability for a law firm. Marketing gets your firm’s name out there and attracts new clients, but you need a solid strategy and a marketing budget to direct your efforts and ensure you’re getting the most out of your spending.

A username and password are enough for many sites, this single-factor authentication is often used for retailers and other such sites. However, more sensitive data, like the information law firms store, should be guarded by multi-factor authentication. Hackers can access a lot of information with just a username and password, including a social security number, bank or credit card information, medical records, and more. On top of that, many people use a similar username and password across sites, so if a hacker gets one, they may get them all. 

This scenario is one that law firms simply can’t risk. As cyberattacks continue to rise, it’s imperative for law firms to educate themselves and utilize the cybersecurity resources available to protect their business.

What Is Multi-Factor Authentication?

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires one factor, such as a password, that’s combined with another factor, such as a code, a device, or other personal identifiers like biometrics or voice recognition. Even with these parameters, a long, intricate password that is difficult to trace is still important. Generally, a good password consists of 20+ characters or a phrase that can be very strong, yet easy for the user to remember. Hackers want quick “attacks,” so the goal is to create a long enough password that creates more work and is difficult to guess. 

It’s important to remember that no password is fail-safe, which is why MFA is important. It is an extra layer of protection that is difficult for a cyberattacker to have access to. 

Why Law Firms Should Enable Multi-Factor Authentication

Some firms think security is reserved for large and prominent law firms, but it’s actually more common for small firms to experience a breach. For one, there are more small or solo firms, and they often don’t have the resources or team to handle their security.

A firm with Office 365 or Google Suite can enable 2FA quickly and easily. Employees will not need to go through the two-factor process for each log-in. Instead, 2FA is required for each login attempt from a new device. 2FA requires additional verification every so often, but it’s far more convenient than dealing with a breach and the possible business, legal, and reputational harm.

Incorporate Legal Technology in Your Firm’s Cybersecurity Strategy

Utilizing law practice management software is a simple way to secure your law firm’s data. Using cloud-based software, like Bill4Time, performs automatic routine updates to ensure the platform is always up to date. Out-of-date software is a common source for cyberattacks because it creates a weak point for hackers to enter.

Bill$Time also offers customized security measures like MFA. This change can only be done by users with access to firm-wide settings, such as a firm administrator. Similarly, administrators can configure the user permission settings and access for every function. Permissions and access for each task and each user can be customized, including temporary access for contractors. Administrators can also track logins automatically, so if there is a breach, it’s easier to pinpoint.

Multi-Factor Authentication and Your Firm’s Email

An email account is among the most important accounts for law firms – and anyone else – to protect. More times than not, an email provides avenues to access other accounts. Password recovery is often tied to emailing a link to reset a password. If an email account is compromised, all the account passwords could be reset.

With two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled on an email, a hacker would need access to both the email account and a smartphone or other device. This added step reduces the risk of hackers not only gaining access to email but potentially resetting other passwords.

If a device like a smartphone or a tablet is used for authentication, it’s important that they’re also protected with a PIN or fingerprint. Again, this is about creating layers of security. Like email, having access to a phone, whether it’s stolen or hacked, gives someone access to an array of accounts and information.

Outlook on Multi-factor Authentication for Law Firms

Data breaches happen, but with preparation, they can be prevented or controlled. Law firms can protect their sensitive information by creating obstacles for cyber attackers like difficult, frequently changed passwords, user access controls, and multi-factor authentication.

It seems that every day another cyber attack is making headlines in the news. With an ever-growing amount of business happening online, malicious actors will continue to find ways to steal sensitive information like names, addresses, and bank account numbers. In 2020 alone, the US Federal Trade Commission received 1.4 million reports of identity theft, double that of 2019. 

It’s a troubling statistic and one that cannot be ignored here at Bill4Time. With the recent launch of Bill4Time Payments, we have taken every step necessary to ensure that our customers, as well as their clients, are fully protected from cyber threats while using the payments processor. 

We’re built by lawyers and tailored specifically for the legal industry, unlike the mainstream providers, we intimately understand the rules and regulations that as an attorney you need to follow to remain compliant.  

As you may have seen on our website, Bill4Time Payments is 100% compliant with IOLTA, the ABA, and lawyers’ online payment rules in all 50 states — but what does that even mean? We’d like to tell you a bit more about our security posture, as well as the rigorous security steps we take each and every day so that you can be confident in your choice to use Bill4Time Payments for all your billing needs.   

It starts with your Bill4Time Payments application    

The Bill4Time Payments application is a 3-step process that is designed to ensure everyone who is enrolling in our program is a legitimate person with a legitimate business. The Bill4Time Compliance Team is hard at work managing the following steps:  

• Step 1 – The first step to opening a Bill4Time Payments account is to provide the necessary business information. Our compliance team runs through a series of checks to ensure that the applying business is in financial good standing and a legitimate entity.  

• Step 2 – This step is crucial, it’s where the compliance team double checks that the person applying is in fact related to the business in question, and that they are not on any form of sanctions list with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). 

• Step 3 – It’s not exactly rocket science, in order to get paid you need a real bank account. The final step is to check in on the bank account provided and ensure that it is, in fact, related to the business and in good standing. 

All three steps are interconnected, and if a single piece of information does not align, the application may be delayed and/or denied. From the time the application is sent into Bill4Time to the time it gets approved is between 7-10 business days. If you would like to ensure a smooth application process, make sure you provide each and every piece of information as requested —  you wouldn’t submit a selfie to the bank when they ask for legal identification… right?  

What’s a compliance team? 

Glad you asked! These eagle-eyed employees are some of the most hard-working and dedicated team members at Bill4Time. They’re our first line of defense, and they can spot a fake ID better than a bouncer in a college bar. While this may be true (we’ll hold a competition later) our compliance team is heavily trained in fraud prevention and payments security. Collectively, our compliance team has over 20 years of experience working for the U.S. banking system at nationally trusted institutions like Wells Fargo, Capital One Bank, Discover Global Network, and regional institutions like SunTrust Bank as well as other local credit unions.

Risk and Compliance trends change and our team is committed to staying current on their knowledge. We make sure that our team is engaged in continued education and has the certifications needed to be the best in the industry. This involves maintaining memberships with organizations like the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) and the highly reputable Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) 

If for any reason you receive a message from a compliance member at Bill4Time, they’re simply there to verify information to ensure your security and that of other Bill4Time customers. 

Using Bill4Time Payments 

Once you’ve been granted access to Bill4Time Payments you can begin using it right away. Here are a few reasons you can trust the system right out of the gate. 

• Tokenization – The moment a credit card number is entered, it’s tokenized. This means that it’s given a series of characters and it no longer resembles a credit card number, thus it can’t be read or stolen. Additionally, these payment details are never sent to or stored on our servers.
• Personal Identifiable Information – This information is encrypted by default using an SHA-256 SSL certificate, ensuring your data is always protected while using the platform. 
• Cloud-Based Hosting – Bill4Time Payments is hosted on Amazon’s AWS platform, which is built to meet the requirements of the worlds most security-sensitive organizations.
• PCI Compliance – Bill4Time is PCI level 1 compliant, the highest level possible. The PCI standard was set by the major credit card brands, and in order to achieve this qualification, an organization must be audited yearly.  
• Trust Accounting Compliance – Earned and unearned fees are always completely separated at all times (even during the online transmission process), fees are never taken from trust funds, nor is third party or chargeback access ever allowed.

As a lawyer you have plenty to worry about, the last thing on your mind should be stressing about the security of your client’s payments. You can place your trust in the Bill4Time engineers and compliance team to keep your data out of the wrong hands. If you would like to learn more about Bill4Time Payments, or even have specific security questions before getting started, you can schedule a demo below.

Get paid faster with Bill4Time Payments and enjoy the convenience of an all-in-one solution. 

Over the past year, we’ve watched our customers and their firms adapt to the many challenges that COVID-19 has presented. As we enter into a potentially brighter future, we at Bill4Time are honored to continue building new features to help our customers in the new normal and next normal. 

Today we are beyond excited to introduce Bill4Time Payments! Whether a firm is staying remote, returning to the office, or operating in a hybrid capacity, getting paid is paramount. The reliance on clumsy paper checks and outdated billing habits are major challenges for law firms as they try to grow.

Bill4Time Payments allows you to streamline your payments process, collect more on the dollar, and gain financial clarity right within Bill4Time, all with 100% ABA and IOLTA compliance. To celebrate the launch of this game-changing feature, we’re offering a $150 cashback bonus when you sign up now. The cashback bonus will be transferred to your connected operating account after you accumulate $150 in transaction fees for payments received using the new Bill4Time Payments, so there is no risk to give it a try. Here’s how the new Bill4Time Payments works, and why you should enable your free payments account today. 

Get Paid Faster, Collect More, Delight Your Clients

With Bill4Time Payments, you can let clients pay you the way they pay for everything these days — virtually. Your clients prefer a digital payment option, in fact, 78% of them want to pay you online! If you’re still waiting on paper checks, you’re missing out on the speed and financial freedom you get when collecting fees instantly online.   

Get started on your clients’ case quickly by accepting fees instantly, upfront. Providing a “Pay Now” button on your invoices allows your client to pay up to 70% faster than the industry average of 94 days. Providing multiple options such as credit card or eCheck gives your client the freedom of using their preferred payment method.

Needing an attorney comes with its own load of stresses, paying them should be the easiest part of all. The fewer administrative tasks you give your clients, the happier they will be. Clients can save their payment information right within Bill4Time Payments, giving you the flexibility to request instant payment from their account, whenever necessary. No more repetitive forms to fill out and keep tabs on. Even better, giving clients an online payment option results in faster payments, which means you and your team can spend less time tracking collection efforts and following up on overdue invoices. 

Streamline Payments and Get Financial Clarity 

Humans make mistakes, don’t let them make one with your money. Reduce the risk of human error from cash or check deposit data entry, and reduce or eliminate the time spent doing manual payments data entry altogether. Allow Bill4Time Payments to speed up and handle the bookkeeping for you.  

With Bill4Time Payments, you can easily access a clean set of payments data which you can use to stay informed about your firm’s financial health. Receive live insights and track every step of the payments process from the initial invoice to final payment receipt. Does your mailbox send you those analytics?  

Save with Industry-Low Pricing

Every penny counts when it comes to collecting your invoices and with Bill4Time Payments you’ll save tons each month. We offer the industry’s lowest pricing on compliant payments with zero monthly membership fees, only a 1% eCheck transaction fee, and transparent 2.9% pricing on all credit cards regardless of card type. 

Think you know what you’re paying to another processor? You may be surprised as many processors have additional fees or bracketed rates for different card types. If you would like to see if Bill4Time Payments will provide savings to your firm, we are happy to provide a rate comparison free of charge. The majority of the time we find that our rates beat other processors and our customers are often surprised to learn what they are really paying to process payments. 

Enjoy the Convenience of a Compliant, All-In-One Solution 

If you’ve already placed your trust in Bill4Time, why hand your payments data over to a third party? We take data security seriously, that’s why Bill4Time uses 256-Bit encryption and has around-the-clock security monitoring.   

When choosing a payment processor, it’s important to keep compliance in mind. Using a payments processor designed specifically for the legal professional is the best way to ensure both Trust and PCI compliance. Bill4Time Payments is 100% compliant with IOLTA, the ABA, and lawyers’ online payment rules in all 50 states. Operating account payments are available now and trust account payments will be available in June!

Trust account funds are always protected from third-party access and trust and operating funds are never commingled. All processing fees are taken out of your default operating account even for trust payments. Should your client ever initiate a dispute on a transaction, all chargeback access is also directed to the operating account even for trust payments, ensuring that you are always 100% compliant with the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct and the trust payment rules promulgated by all 50 state bar associations. Our team also provides chargeback assistance at no additional cost so you will always feel supported by the Bill4Time team you trust.  

Activate your account today 

Ready to start accepting payments online using Bill4Time Payments?  If you’re already enjoying the benefits of Bill4Time and would like to activate Bill4Time Payments, you may begin your application. Sign up now and a $150 cashback bonus will be transferred to your connected operating account after you accumulate $150 in transaction fees for payments received using the new Bill4Time Payments. If you’re not currently a Bill4Time customer, sign up below to schedule a free customized demo.

Like most organizations across the world, our entire business infrastructure was upended overnight in March of 2020. With teams spread out across the country, we sent everyone home in the name of safety and equipped them to work from home within 48 hours. While 2020 was full of many challenges for our organization, we learned a lot about our team and how we work well together. 

Though there was a steep learning curve for all teams at Paradigm, which Bill4Time is a part of, we’ve since come to embrace our remote environment. In fact, it’s worked out so well that Paradigm has just been officially designated as a Great Place to Work! This recognition is important to us as it comes directly from our colleagues, with 94% of them stating that we are indeed, a great place to work! 

So here we are, after an entire year of constantly testing, learning, and growing as an organization, we’ve come to the conclusion that Paradigm will remain a remote-hybrid company, indefinitely. 

To read more about the factors that went into this decision, and tips on how we’ve been able to make remote work happen effectively, visit the Paradigm blog.