“Client Acquisition” and “Lead Generation” may appear to be two closely related terms on the surface, but in reality, they have different meanings that can be confusing. They refer to different areas of client acquisition even though both fall under the “Client Acquisition” category.

There is one main difference between client acquisition and lead generation. With lead generation, the potential clients you get in contact with may or may not be qualified. With client acquisition, your law firm is likely receiving a qualified plaintiff that fits the specific requirements of a case. In other words, the clients you acquire will come filtered, vetted, and confirmed. With client acquisition, you are finding leads that match your specified targeting standards.

The Two Terms

Campaign Generation

Legal Lead generation, in its simplest form, is a process where you are searching for and qualifying possible clients, which can start with search engine optimization, e-mails, inbound marketing, or numerous other techniques. Effective lead generation strategies can get you leads who are genuinely interested in your legal services.

Client Acquisition

Client acquisition is defined as bringing new clientele to your law firm. The goal is to create a sustainable, systematic acquisition plan that can evolve with new changes and trends. Customer acquisition strategies don’t compile lists of potential leads for a law firm. They have the clients’ needs and best interests in mind from the very beginning.

Which Choice Is Right for You?

There are a couple of reasons why your law firm may decide to use client acquisition over generating leads manually on your own:

You pay for your own qualified leads. In lead generation, no matter how far the lead journeys through the sales funnel, you always pay per lead. On the other hand, you will only pay for acquisition leads if they are qualified – leads that are eligible to file a lawsuit and meet your law firm’s criteria.

You will receive better lead development opportunities. Basic clicks only last a few seconds (like the ones you would get if you were working on lead generation). If your acquired leads are not fully signed when they are found, you will likely have time to converse with them and nurture them, and eventually convert them into a client.

You will have more control. When you attain leads on your own, you can filter your target groups, choose a specific demographic, and decide how few or how many leads you are interested in. You can also choose as few or as many sources as you wish. And, more importantly, you will be able to find the leads that are valuable and relevant to you.

Client Acquisition Method

Strategies and forethought are required in client acquisition. In fact, as part of the client acquisition process, there are a variety of different client acquisition methods that are often used. Some methods work well with certain types of clients, but there are a couple of steps you should include in your customer acquisition plan.

The first step of a customer acquisition plan is to look for quality prospective plaintiffs. One method involves reaching out to potential plaintiffs through mailing lists and call centers. These acquisition methods allow businesses to determine which individuals are actively looking for legal representation, as well as why type of case they may have. Next, in order to determine a lead’s viability, they are qualified by companies using several research methods. If the likelihood of acquiring a new customer is high, their status is upgraded from potential lead to client, and they are assigned to representatives from your law firm who will interact with them further.

A couple of questions should be taken into consideration:

  1. What is your law firm’s position in the current market? Prior to launching any acquisition plan, you need to evaluate where your law firm currently sits compared to competitors.
  2. What is your company’s distinctive selling point? How is your law firm differentiating itself from the competition? Potential clients want to know why they should choose your law firm over others.
  3. Is your business clearly defined online? Having an established website and social media accounts allows potential clients to find your law firm and learn more about your services. 
  4. How do your past and current clients perceive you? You should understand your client testimonials and become familiar with them, that way your law firm will know what works and doesn’t work for future clients. It is also important to show potential clients real testimonials and results that your law firm has generated.
  5. What objectives are you trying to achieve? In order for a strategy to be successful, your objectives need to be laid out in a reasonable manner. Objectives offer specific goals you’re trying to achieve within a certain period of time. This timeframe must be measurable and realistic, which can be ensured by completing your past and current performance assessment.
  6. What type of case types do you plan to attract? As part of your acquisition strategy, you should already have a solid understanding of your client history and your target practice areas.
  7. What is your law firm’s digital marketing strategy? You need to outline how your objective will be successful, which can be done by selecting the right acquisition tactics for your technique. These tactics must be justified from evaluations that are based on your current client base. Are these prospective clients active on social media? Do they use search engines?            

Working With Broughton Partners to Receive Qualified Clients

In the past decade or so, law firms have been finding it harder to acquire clients. Additionally, quality leads for law firms have become more and more difficult to come by. Experts believe the legal industry is becoming saturated and the way consumers look for law firms has changed dramatically. These changes have created a very competitive landscape for law firms who are looking for reliable case leads for their attorneys.

Law firms don’t have to go through the long process of finding new clients on their own. Broughton Partners offers a unique client acquisition service to attorneys and law firms looking for reliable and actionable leads for a variety of cases. We use traditional and digital marketing techniques by specialists to provide services for our clients and will find qualified retainers for various cases.

We will work one-on-one with attorneys and law firms of all sizes to set up the parameters, specifications, and eligibility requirements we will use to find the perfect case leads to send you. Once we find the right claimants for your firm, we will send them to you, along with the necessary documents related to the case.

We offer a competitive advantage over traditional lead generation firms because we have a deep and thorough understanding of the legal field, but more importantly, we provide qualified claimants.

Contact us today at (855) 463-1735 for your free consultation.