6 Steps to Marketing That Will Win Estate Planning Clients

Unlike clients seeking legal assistance in other practice areas, estate planning clients are not searching for an attorney because they require immediate help in a crisis. Instead, they are planning for events that may occur decades in the future and therefore want to take their time when selecting their next steps. Considering one’s own mortality is never an easy feat. However, estate planning clients must navigate these difficult waters to ensure their loved ones are thoroughly prepared for the future after they are gone and can avoid any potential conflicts that may arise during administration of their estate.

As a result, estate planning clients tend to prefer more hands-on, personalized attention than other clients, meaning they are often incredibly selective when choosing an attorney. To be effective in engaging these unique clients and encouraging them to secure your services, you must navigate your estate planning marketing efforts with particular care, tact, and empathy.

How to Win Estate Planning Clients

The following marketing techniques can help you win estate planning clients:

1 Create High-Quality Estate Planning Content.

Estate planning clients are preparing to make serious decisions with significant consequences for their loved one. As a result, it is easy to become intimidated, frustrated, or overwhelmed with the sheer amount of preparation an estate plan involves. They want to understand everything they can about their options to achieve the best results, so your goal should be to provide as much information as possible to help them feel at ease.

The content on your website should be tailored to attract your potential clients by offering valuable estate planning information that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. You must thoroughly document your process so they understand what to expect at each stage, and reassure them that you will be there to guide them through this complex process. By the time a client decides to utilize your services, they should have already learned a great deal of useful information from you and feel confident in your firm’s ability to handle their needs.

2 Find the Right Audience Online

Social media is one of the most effective tools for engaging clients of all kinds. However, people tend to utilize different social media platforms based on their age and use the information they find in different ways. This means you do not have to sign up for every available social media site, but carefully analyze the online behavior of the group you want to target to determine which platforms they are most likely to use.

Adults aged 30 to 49 years old favor Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, while adults 50 and above tend to rarely engage on social media beyond sharing with friends and family on Facebook. Creating a Facebook page for your firm accesses the two age groups most likely to engage in estate planning. You can combine this strategy with paid social media advertising campaigns directed at your target audience to ensure you reach as many potential clients as possible.

3 Engage in Strategic SEO to Make Your Content Visible to Potential Clients

Even more crucial than social media is the way your firm optimizes web search. Search engines are the number one method used by estate planning clients to learn more about the process and find the right attorney for their unique needs. For over a decade, Google has been the leading global search engine and more than one billion people actively use its services and products.

As a result, search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential component of any digital marketing campaign. The process involves upgrading your quality content with high-ranking keywords, so your page displays when users enter queries relevant to your firm’s practice areas. Take local SEO into account as well by including locations along with your keywords.

4 Encourage Clients to Leave Reviews

Estate planning clients require personalized services that assure the financial security of their family. With 85% of Internet users reporting that they find online reviews as reliable as personal recommendations, one of the best methods for winning estate planning clients is to encourage current and past clients to leave reviews for your firm. You are already offering exceptional service and request your clients leave reviews after their case has concluded, but that alone is not always sufficient to encourage reviews.

Consider using a review management tool or text app that allows you to manage reviews more efficiently. These tools allow you to send prompts to clients to ask them for reviews and manage reviews by either showing gratitude for positive feedback or promptly handling negative feedback. When a business responds to online reviews, this demonstrates a level of commitment to client satisfaction and encourages other clients to leave reviews and ratings, as well.

5 Stay in Touch with Their Ongoing Estate Planning Needs

Ideally, your client will be ready to begin planning their estate as soon as they contact you to hire your services. However, many clients choose to start with basic documents like a will, and then gradually expand their estate plan with other documents like living trusts, durable powers of attorney, and health care directives. Your firm’s marketing efforts will need to tread a fine line with these clients—being too vigorous with your marketing can push them towards other firms and neglecting to stay connected can cause you to lose out on future business.

Your goal should be to contact them regularly with friendly, yet compelling email marketing and the occasional phone call to make sure they know you are ready and willing to help them with any estate planning services they need. It also keeps your firm at the front of their mind if someone asks them for a referral, which can bring you more business in the meantime.

6 Begin a Referral Program

Client referral programs encourage your satisfied clients to share their positive experiences with friends, family, and colleagues. While online reviews are vital to the success of your business, word-of-mouth has been the primary source for business recommendations since long before the advent of the Internet. People enjoy sharing what they think and will gladly refer others to your firm given the proper incentive.

Create a referral program that is both easy to ease and offers clear rewards, such as a simple thank you note and a gift card for each client referral. This makes your current clients feel appreciated and encourages them to share their satisfaction with others, bringing you more clients for minimum effort and expense.

Reach Potential Estate Planning Clients Today

Estate planning is a complicated, sensitive process that involves a great deal of research, preparation, and organization—and you want your potential clients to be as informed as possible when they hire your services. If you are uncertain how to begin creating the right marketing strategy for your estate planning firm or are intimidated by the process, it is important to remember that you do not need to handle this alone.

The marketing experts at RizeUp can help your firm reach the widest audience and increase your conversion rates with effective SEO, content generation, social media marketing, online review management, and a variety of other valuable strategies. Contact us to ensure your marketing efforts are reaching your clients and persuading them to hire you when they are ready to develop their estate plan.