Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to Legal Marketing 101. I'm Toby Rosen and welcome back to another episode where today, we are diving into a game changer for your law firm's marketing, and that is segmenting automations. So if you've been relying on the one-size-fits-all approach of Clio or Lawmatics, then it's really time to rethink your strategy. Segmentation is not just the key to making your automation smarter and your marketing more effective, but we are also segmenting things based on the message that we send to different clients, and we're also building a platform that allows us to scale within our systems by creating components of automations that we can reuse over and over again to help quickly build the systems we need to run our firm smoothly. Segmentation in automation is also really about breaking down your audience into these targeted groups so we can deliver the right message to the right people at the right time. But it goes way beyond that. Segmentation allows us to create reusable automation components that can be applied across different client segments, different scenarios, etc. So, for example, let's write up top the same automated response could be adapted for initial consultations, case updates, follow-ups, depending on the segment. This doesn't just personalize the client experience, but it also creates a scalable system where your automations work efficiently for you across a whole bunch of different touchpoints. By segmenting your audience based on factors like legal needs, behavior patterns or their stage in the legal process, you're not just improving communication. You're building a flexible and scalable system that will grow with your firm, allowing you to handle more clients without compromising on quality or on consistency of your product. Now let's dive into things, because we're talking about segmenting in two ways here, and really my personal favorite is to talk about how we can scale systems quickly by using these templates, but it's also really important to segment automations based on your audience. But it's also really important to segment automations based on your audience. So let's dive right into it and we're going to explore a few key systems where segments both in the audience and in the automation, can make a really significant impact for your marketing.

Speaker 1: 2:14

And first is new client onboarding, because the onboarding process sets the tone for your client's entire experience with your firm, and by segmenting automations in this phase, you can ensure that each client receives the information that's most relevant to their case type. So, for example, a personal injury client might receive a welcome email that outlines the steps in a typical injury case and then offers resources on how to document their injury and what to expect during the process. But on the other hand, a corporate law client could receive information about ongoing compliance requirements in, maybe, introductions to key members of the legal team who are going to be handling their case. It could vary a lot. And by creating these segmented onboarding sequences, you're not only creating tailored information that works specifically for the type of clients that you're handling, but you're also setting up reusable templates that can be quickly deployed for new clients. So we're streamlining this process as the firm grows. If we build something for corporate and then we switch over to bankruptcy or we go from family law to estate planning, the flow is going to be similar, even if the people and the content are changing.

Speaker 1: 3:19

But next, in this new client onboarding phase, we really have these consultation reminders. This is, you know, missed consultations. They're a significant drain on your time and resources. They're leaving time open and it's great when people cancel plans. But if people are missing consults, that's a problem, and segmented automations can actually help us reduce no-shows by sending personalized reminders based on the case type or based on the urgency of the situation. So, for example again a potential client who's just inquiring about services they might get a general reminder with a link to reschedule if needed. These could be for your 15 minute, your 30 minute meetings. Maybe they just need a little nudge. But in contrast to that, a client with a scheduled consultation for an ongoing matter, something like a custody case, it's a little bit more urgent. Maybe we send them a reminder with more information about the importance of the meeting and information about, maybe, documents or information that they need to bring. And by segmenting these reminders, so not only are we reminding clients specifically about what's going to happen here we are leading to better attendance rates. We're telling them about the importance of the meeting. And because these automations are segmented by case type or by urgency, again they're easily scalable as we take on more clients. But once we've got that client, once we've got them actually showing up for meetings, and we want to really, you know, nurture that process.

Speaker 1: 4:44

And the reality is, legal cases vary widely. We're talking about PI on one end, we're talking about bankruptcy, family law, corporate law, and the communication needs of your clients vary really widely throughout their journey too. But here's the thing about these drip campaigns Segmenting your drip campaigns allows you to nurture clients based on the specific type of case they're involved in. So, for instance, a personal injury client might receive a series of emails that are guiding them through the recovery process, what to expect from their settlement process and tips on interacting with insurance companies. Of course, we're avoiding legal advice specifically, but we can definitely help people out during this process. But then, on the flip side, a family law client they might need something a little bit different. They might need content that's focused on navigating the emotional challenges, understanding how custody arrangements work and then preparing for their court appearances. So by tailoring your nurturing campaigns to the specifics of each case type, you keep clients informed and engaged throughout the entire process. Plus these segmented campaigns, like usual, we can reuse them with minor adjustments for all kinds of different cases, and again, that's how we get something that's scalable, that helps us actually grow our client base and cut down on back office time.

Speaker 1: 6:00

Okay, we've just got a couple more examples here of how you can integrate these automations, and the next one is referral requests. This is something that I know a lot of you are not doing as well as you should be. So, after a case concludes, these clients can become really valuable sources of referrals. This is on top of all the other attorneys and professionals that we use for referral sources, because they can go into these request systems as well. Segmented automations can help us request these referrals in a way that actually feels personalized and relevant, instead of just a mass email to everybody in our inbox. For example, a client who just resolved, let's say, a complex corporate case, because it's corporate, they might just need a thank you email and a request to refer colleagues who might need similar services or other companies, along with a simple link to leave a review. But then, on the other side of this, a personal injury client, we might send a similar request, but we would focus the content on sharing their experience with friends or family members who might need legal assistance in the future. And by segmenting these requests based on the type of case and even on the level of satisfaction of the client, you're more likely to receive positive reviews, referrals, and we're automatically automating this process to scale the growth of our firm. We can scale this up for every practice area. We work on any type of satisfaction level and even case types within our practice area. These are really great and they sort of lead us into our final example here of really great automations that work well for scale and for segmentation, which is re-engagement campaigns, because past clients and cold leads they still represent an untapped opportunity for future business, especially when we're talking about corporate law, pi stuff like that.

Speaker 1: 7:41

Segmented automations can help us re-engage these contacts by addressing their specific needs or concerns. So again, a specific example the client. Let's say they had a positive experience with a personal injury case, with the legal part of the case, not the injury and a few years ago they you know, they're still in our system, but they might need a re-engagement email and that could offer them a free consultation for any new legal needs they might have. Who never converted could get alternately, a message that highlights new services we offer or case successes that are related to the original inquiry that that person sent us. And so by segmenting these re-engagement efforts, you can tailor your outreach to resonate more with the recipient, which increases the chances of reviving that person's interest and then bringing them back into your client base. And like with all these other segmented systems, these campaigns are designed to be scalable. So whether we change our topic, we change our target, whatever it is, we can copy, duplicate, scale these up so that we can reach out to a larger number of past clients in different areas and create more leads for ourselves from our existing database and help our firm grow.

Speaker 1: 8:52

But here's the thing Segmenting your automation. We've talked about how we divide our client base for this and how we look at different levels of engagement and case types, and all of this Segmenting our automations is really about optimizing each step of the client journey to improve efficiency, engagement and conversion rates. Sometimes that's because of the tailored client experience. Sometimes that's because we can actually scale and we can improve our efficiency that way. But let's go into how we can actually segment these automation for specific tasks that elevate your firm's operations. We're not going to go into the tools we use to do this today, because you can do this in a bunch of different platforms, but we're going to talk about a few key ways that we can really address the problems. We've talked about a couple of examples of what we can do, but here are the problems we're trying to solve, and first up is tailored client experiences.

Speaker 1: 9:40

One of the most significant benefits of segmentation is this ability to create the tailored client experience that resonates with a person individually. In our world the legal world a one-size-fits-all approach often leaves clients feeling disconnected. This leads to lower satisfaction, lower engagement and, ultimately, lower revenue. But by segmenting our automations based on the case type, which we've just talked about, you're ensuring that each client receives information that is highly relevant to their specific situation. So let's jump into an example.

Speaker 1: 10:12

Consider the difference between family law clients and PI personal injury clients. Family law clients might be dealing with these sensitive issues like divorce, splitting up from their spouse and child issues, specifically custody support all of that. So your communications with them should reflect empathy, support and guidance through these emotionally charged decisions and moments in their life, and guidance through these emotionally charged decisions and moments in their life. Automated emails for this segment can include things like resources on managing stress, what to expect in custody hearings, how to calculate child support or even just tips for effective communication with a co-parent, and these emails can be timed to arrive at a key moment in this person's case and offer support when they need it most, or they can be triggered to be sent out on a schedule. It totally depends. And then, on the other hand of this example, we have the personal injury stuff. These personal injury clients they're likely more concerned with their practical steps for the case, like documenting their injury, understanding their rights, dealing with insurance companies and how they go on with their life. Family law clients are concerned with that too, but in PI cases it's usually a little more immediate and for this segment for PI your automated communications could provide checklists for injury, documentations, explanations of the claims process, updates on settlement negotiations.

Speaker 1: 11:29

And again, by tailoring our content to address the specific needs of the client, we're not just enhancing the client experience, but we're building trust and loyalty, which leads to more referrals, more repeat business, better bottom line. And this approach is scalable too. As our firm grows, takes on more clients and we scale across different practice areas, we can continue to develop and refine these segmented automations, ensuring that each new client feels personally cared for, without actually adding to our team's workload. That's the big benefit. Here we're really maximizing efficiency, because efficiency is the backbone of any successful business, and that's particularly true when it comes to law firms. Segmented automations are one of the most powerful tools we have to optimize this. One of the most effective strategies here is to create multi-use automations that can be applied across different touch points in the client journey, and by doing this we're reducing the need for manual input while maintaining a consistent and very professional level of communication.

Speaker 1: 12:29

So let's look at autoresponders. This is a good example. These can be incredibly versatile if designed with segmentation in mind. So an autoresponder setup for initial inquiries can serve as a general introduction to your firm. It offers a brief overview of your services and invites the potential client to schedule a consult. But this same autoresponder can be slightly adjusted for use in appointment confirmations, where it can include details about what to bring to the consultation directions to the office. I've even seen firms put photos of what it looks like to help alleviate any concerns. And as the client progresses through their case, the same structure for this autoresponder can keep being repurposed for status updates. So, as an example, a personal injury client right, they might receive automated updates about the stages of their claim, while a corporate client could get notifications about upcoming contract reviews or even compliance deadlines.

Speaker 1: 13:21

By using a flexible, open template that can be segmented by this case type, the urgency, the audience. You're streamlining your communication processes without sacrificing personalization, and the beauty of this system is that it's both scalable and sustainable. As your client base grows, these multi-use automations can handle the increasing volume without requiring additional staff. Your team can continue to focus on the high touch interactions where they're actually needed knowing that the automated systems are handling those routine daily communications efficiently and consistently, and that efficiency helps us on every level.

Speaker 1: 13:57

Because the next thing we're going to talk about is improving our lead nurturing Effective lead nurturing. It's really essential when it comes to converting inquiries into clients, and the segmentation we use in our automation can really play a crucial role in making this process more effective. So by segmenting our leads not just by who they are or what case type they have, but segmenting them based on their position in the legal process, we can then tailor our communications to meet them where they are, again increasing our chances of conversion. So, for example, the leads that are in the early stages of considering legal action they're going to need more educational content to help them understand their options. They're going to need to really be nurtured. A segmented drip campaign for this group could have things like emails or videos that explain the basics of their issue. Then we outline the benefits of hiring an attorney and we can even share success stories from similar cases. This kind of content is really effective at building trust and it positions your firm as the expert that this client needs.

Speaker 1: 14:57

But, on the other hand, leads who are a bit further along in that decision-making process. They may be more interested in logistical details like what to expect during the first consultation or how your fee structure works, or what should they wear to court what should they wear to court? For this segment, our automation emails might focus on practical aspects and at this point we're really going to have a pretty strong call to action to schedule a consultation or sign a retainer agreement. But by tailoring our lead nurturing efforts to the specific needs and concerns of each lead segment, we're creating something that's significantly more engaging and significantly more persuasive than a typical communication strategy. This not only increases the likelihood of those conversions that we so desire, but also ensures that when a lead actually becomes a client, they already feel confident in their decision to work with you, because, at the end of the day, that's really the power of nurturing. We're trying to get people to make that decision to work with us, to pay us to do whatever it is, and that nurturing is really all centered around our next step, which is increasing conversion rates, because that is the ultimate goal of any marketing strategy, and segmentation is one of the most powerful tools we have to get there when we segment our automations based on the client's case type, the urgency.

Speaker 1: 16:17

We're ensuring that our follow-ups are timely, relevant, persuasive all of those key factors in turning potential clients into actual clients. So let's think about the difference between a client who needs immediate legal assistance They've been in a car accident, they're on the street and let's look at one against that who is exploring their options for a future legal need. I call those tire kickers the first client. They require urgent, action-oriented communication. An automated follow-up for this segment might emphasize the importance of quick action. They could offer an opportunity to get an expedited consultation and we'll probably include testimonials from clients who were in similarly urgent situations. We want to make the message really clear we understand your urgency and we're ready to help you right now. But for clients in the exploratory phase, the tire kicker phase, the follow-up can be a little bit more focused on education and building trust and building a relationship. These clients might receive information about our firm's approach, more detailed explanations of the legal process that they're considering and maybe even things like invitations to attend webinars or to attend an event, or just links to read in-depth case studies.

Speaker 1: 17:32

The goal here is to really keep your firm top of mind as this potential client continues their decision-making process and by aligning our follow-ups with the client's specific needs and matching the level of urgency that they have, we're much more likely to catch them at the right moment with the right message. We talk about targeting a lot on the podcast, but this type of targeted approach is really powerful when it comes to boosting your conversion rates, because clients really feel that the firm understands their situation and is actually equipped to meet their needs. And, on top of all of this, like I've said, this is a scalable solution. These segmented follow-ups are automated so they can handle an increasing number of leads without diluting the quality, the consistency of our communication. We're doing the exact same thing for every client. The client today gets the same as the client tomorrow gets the same as the client yesterday, and this ensures that as our firm grows, our conversion rates can grow with it.

Speaker 1: 18:28

Because segmenting look it's more than just a strategy. This is a game changer for scaling your legal practice efficiency. There's a lot here that we can focus on, but what you really want to do is make a list, see where you're spending time and figure out how you can take those pieces and automate them, because by focusing on specific tasks, specific phases, all of this within your automations, we're able to create something that enhances client experience and streamlines our operations. So I strongly encourage you to go and explore your existing systems, see where segmentation can make the most impact in your marketing and in your practice. Start small, keep refining as you go and then watch how your firm's efficiency is optimized and how your growth potential opens up. That's it for Legal Marketing 101. Check out RosenAdvertising's it for Legal Marketing 101. Check out RosenAdvertisingcom for more Thanks.