How To Manage A Small Law Firm's Reviews
Updated: May 11, 2022
Easy Tips On Managing Your Law Firm Reviews
These days, people look things up before they buy them. So whether it's a restaurant, an expensive piece of tech, or a law firm, one of the first things people look for are reviews.
Since reviews come from other customers, potential buyers and clients trust them more. This makes reviews a viable form of social proof. While not a direct Lawyer SEO factor, reviews can attract or dissuade potential clients to your website.
That said, you can't write reviews yourself. Instead, you need to ask your clients for reviews, follow up, and manage them.
Step 1: Setting Up Your Review Listings
The first thing you need to do is to set up your profile. There are a lot of review sites like Yelp and Google Reviews, both of which allow you to create a profile for client reviews.
Whichever platform you set up, make sure you remember to do the following:
Include All Important Information. Make sure your NAPs (name, address, and phone number), as well as other business information (i.e., operating hours, emails, website links), are all properly included.
Avoid Stuffing Keywords. Your information needs to be as accurate as possible, so avoid forcing keywords, especially on your business name.
Add Photos. Add some photos as social proof.
That said, setting up is just the first step. To maximize reviews for marketing, you need to know how to manage them.
Step 2: Asking Clients To Write You Reviews
Writing reviews requires clients to give some of their time and energy into writing you a review. However, a simple request or reminder can be enough to prompt clients.
Here are a few ways to get clients to write you reviews:
Ask Them Directly. Just ask them during appointments and meetings!
Give Them A Link. Give them a link straight to the review site so your clients don't have to dig around to find your profile. You can also add these review site links to your website.
Send Them An Email. Send congratulatory emails after a case. Then, add a brief reminder to write you a review. (You can give them a link!)
Remember, reviews won't write themselves. So, make sure you ask your clients to get more of them.
Step 3: Responding To Negative Reviews
Lawyers work hard to get favorable results from their clients' cases. However, just because you worked hard doesn't mean you're immune from misunderstandings and miscommunications. Even when lawyers win a case, clients are sometimes still left unsatisfied.
That said, bad reviews won't take your firm down. As long as you have a lot of positive reviews to balance things out, it won't affect your average ratings.
However, if you get bad reviews, it's still better to respond and see if you can work something out. Here's how you can respond to negative law firm reviews:
Respond With An Apology. Even when you think you're in the right, it's best to respond sympathetically. You can start with, "We're sorry for your negative experience..."
Take The Discussion To A More Private Channel. Instead of discussing your concerns right there in the reviews, ask the client to send you an email instead.
Have An Assigned Representative Accommodate The Client. Have someone assigned to resolve the client's concern. All communications should go through them.
The goal here is to make up for what possibly left the client unsatisfied. In some cases, clients who have been accommodated and sated will change their reviews to a more positive one. In most cases, reviews updated from negative to positive ones can show that you're willing to work with dissatisfied clients and resolve their issues.
Step 4: Watch Out For Fake Reviews
Unfortunately, some bad actors will come and sabotage someone's business. One of the easiest (and most common) ways to ruin a law firm would be to tank their review ratings. Malicious entities could do this by leaving you fake reviews as a form of indirect Negative SEO attack.
Remember: Although it's not a direct Lawyer SEO factor, most people avoid law firms with low ratings. They probably would try to avoid your website and social media channels, thinking it's not worth hiring you.
Again, one bad review won't hurt your overall ratings. However, hundreds of fake negative reviews will. So watch out for sudden spikes in reviews and suspicious users, then report those reviews.
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