When you’re thinking of trying a new product or service, most likely, hearing about the experience of past customers can prove very helpful in your decision; The importance of this is resonated with your legal clients. This is where client testimonials and reviews 

come into play in the legal world. 

As it turns out, your clients can provide one of the most effective marketing tools available. Client testimonials provide an essential opportunity to establish and build the reputation of you and your law firm. But how do they do this? And how do you obtain them? Below, we’ll review the specifics of client testimonials and reviews, and how your law firm can use and benefit from them.

What are client testimonials?

In marketing, there’s a significant focus placed on obtaining customer reviews and ratings online. Reviews are valuable because they help potential customers understand more about a product or service and decide if it’s right for them. In the legal world, however, you’ll notice more emphasis is placed on client testimonials than customer reviews. This is generally because the discussion of legal services can be more complicated and sensitive than other review types. 

Client testimonials provide the opportunity for detailed and helpful accounts and endorsements to be provided about your legal services, from the perspective of satisfied clients. The value of the services you offer and the overall experience of the client can be highlighted in the testimonials and provide excellent and important insight into what prospective clients can expect with your law firm. As SEO guru, Neil Patel, explains,

“Great testimonials tell people that your product or service is not only legitimate but proof enough that other people are seeing great results from it.”

How can your law firm benefit from testimonials and reviews?

An easier question might be, ‘How can your law firm not benefit from them?’ Procuring and sharing information on your client’s experiences is one of the best moves you can make in marketing. Client testimonials and reviews should always be a part of any lawyer or law firm’s marketing plan, and here’s why:

• Trust - When seeking legal services, most clients will understandably have little experience in choosing a law firm; This means that trust will play a large part in their decision-making process. Through client testimonials, prospective clients can read about positive experiences through your law firm and feel more comfortable in their choice in using your law firm.

• Credibility - In the legal world, your track record is everything. Your firm is more likely to be selected to provide services if it can be seen that you have a proven ability to get the job done. Client testimonials and reviews allow clients to add merit to the success of your services.

• Shareability - These days, most of your marketing will be done online; Because of this, it’s essential for your efforts to be easily viewed and shared by visitors and prospective clients. Client testimonials and reviews provide an opportunity to have easily shareable and digestible content about your law firm.

• Relatability - Because most clients are unfamiliar with the legal world or where their needs fit into it, it can be helpful for them to see how and why other clients used your legal services. With testimonials, clients can gain relatable insight and clarity through the experience of others.

• Information - Providing details and information on your legal services is essential. Client testimonials are yet another essential tool through which the services you provide can be listed and explained.

How do you obtain client testimonials and reviews?

When it comes to testimonials and reviews, quite simply, you’ll need to ask for them. When a client reaches out to you regarding their positive experience, this provides the opportune time to ask if they would be willing to provide a testimonial or review. For those clients who don’t reach out, it’s also perfectly acceptable to reach out to them and ask if they would be willing to discuss their experience with your law firm. Here are some other useful and practical ways to procure reviews:

• LinkedIn - LinkedIn provides an opportunity for you and other attorneys within your firm to be reviewed. It won’t be a direct review of your law firm, but will reflect on your business through you and your employees. 
• Facebook - Your law firm’s Facebook page is a prime location for reviews from clients. Encourage satisfied clients to drop a rating and quick review for you and your legal team on your social page.
• Local Directories - When potential clients are searching for legal services, chances are they’ll be perusing through online local listings on Google, Yahoo. Yelp, Bing, and others. Each of the local directories offer ratings and reviews to assist people in making quick and informed decisions. Working to build your ratings within local directories can prove really useful in acquiring new clients.
• Video - Don’t feel limited to just written or typed testimonials. Going back to the aforementioned importance of shareability and digestibility, video testimonials are a great way to accomplish this and are very shareable online through channels like YouTube. You can gather video testimonials through just a simple Skype or video chat online; You don’t even need to schedule an in-person meeting.

It’s important during the process of procuring reviews that you make the process as easy as possible for the client. Clients will be less willing to participate and help if the process seems lengthy or complicated. Streamline the process by having them complete a set of predetermined questions, or offer to assist them in writing the testimonial based on their experience. Remember, the testimony should be based on the client’s actual experience and in their voice.

What are the best kinds of testimonials?

Results-based testimonials and reviews based on the honest, positive, and realist experiences of past clients are what you’re going for. Within the legal industry, however, you’ll need to be careful with how testimonials are presented. As you know, your client’s needs will all be unique and lead to different outcomes. Even when providing reviews, your clients will still expect a degree of privacy as well. Keeping these factors in mind, your client testimonials must offer a careful balance of preserving sensitive information on client cases, while also not guaranteeing similar outcomes or situations for potential clients. 

Where should you display client testimonials?

Client testimonials should be displayed anywhere and everywhere you can! Dedicate a portion of your website to feature client ratings, reviews, and testimonials. Social media also provides an excellent platform for showing customer experience. You might even consider sharing brief testimonials or excerpts through your email marketing campaigns. There really isn’t a limit on how you can use client testimonials; But, here are some great examples:

• Your Website - Your law firm’s website is a fantastic place to feature glowing reports of past and current client’s experiences with your services. Client testimonials can be featured on the front page, on a dedicated testimonial page, or both; The rule here is to feature testimonials always and often!
• Review Sites - Review sites like Yelp, Google Reviews, Facebook review, and others are designed to provide spaces for customers to recommend and review companies and services. Coordinating with or encouraging your clients to list reviews and testimonials in these places provides a great spot for potential clients to learn more about what they can expect from your firm.

Sample Yelp Reviews

Sample Google Reviews

Sample Facebook Reviews

• Legal Directories - Legal directories allow for law firms to be listed, described, and ranked by clients and the legal community. Most directories feature places for clients to describe their experiences.
• Marketing Campaigns - Whether you’re pushing a social media campaign or recently launched an email campaign, your client reviews and testimonials should be front and center. 
• Social Media Pages - Social media is an excellent platform with which to feature client reviews and testimonials. Blog posts, Facebook ratings and reviews, tweets to featured testimonials on your website; All of these are great ways to show off your law firm.

Don’t forget colleague testimonials.

A lot of emphases are placed on client testimonials; But, don’t forget about the testimonies of your colleagues. If you have other legal professionals or firms that you work closely with, getting their professional feedback on working with you and your law firm can be an excellent way for prospective clients to learn more about your services and feel more comfortable in hiring your legal services.