Knowing Your Ideal Client
Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, Inc., famously said “"Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.”
The same is true of law firms and lawyers. Exceptional lawyers and law firm owners know their potential clients so well that they are able to deliver advice and legal services that respond to those needs often before the client understands what is needed.
To deliver exceptional legal services in this way, a lawyer needs to know their Ideal Client. And to understand their Ideal Client at a deep level.
Your Ideal Client is the individual who needs your legal services the most. They are also the individual who enables you and your law firm to work to your best and highest potential.
Identifying your Ideal Client is key because it allows you to communicate with them in the most focused, targeted way possible through your law firm marketing and your regular interactions during the client representation. Knowing your Ideal Client also enables you to make operational choices in your law firm that will deliver a truly excellent experience for your client.
To identify your Ideal Client, you need to know who your Ideal Client is and what your Ideal Client wants or needs.
Consider the demographic of your client base. What do you know about their age, gender, location, occupation, income range, and family status?
Psychographics are also key. What about their personality, characteristics, values, habits, and lifestyle make them well-suited to work with you?
Finally, think about what your client wants and needs. Where are they at in the legal process? What are they doing or feeling at a particular stage? What are their paint points and how can you and your law firm uniquely help solve them?
Understanding the demographics, psychographics, and wants and needs of your Ideal Client will enhance your client development and marketing strategies. It will enable you to make operational choices for your law firm that will deliver a more client-focused experience. And it will aid you in understanding, at a deeper level, the service and support your clients need – often before they do.
