Law firm marketing professionals have a lot of ideas about how you can stand above your competition, from videos on your website to multimedia and more. With so many law firms using online videos and multimedia effects, it takes something a little more traditional to get extra attention.

What clients really want is a lawyer who understands their situation. One who understands what they are going through. Communicating on this emotional level takes more than just listing “empathic” on a bulleted list of reasons to hire your firm. Prospective clients have to feel it when they visit your website. The colors, images, style and language used to describe your firm all help convey this feeling. Identify your clients' most important issues and let them feel (not just read) that you have the solution.

Established attorneys have the benefit of being able to reflect on their client base. Think about the people that have marched through your office over the years. What have they been feeling? Are people entering bankruptcy angry at creditors or frightened? Are personal injury and wrongful death clients looking for justice or under a tremendous amount of stress and in real need of financial help? Family law attorneys have many variables and situations to consider from vengeance to fear, anxiety and uncertainty.

Criminal defense clients generally want to retain their rights, avoid or minimize punishment and move forward. Business law clients could be seeking counsel to avoid future litigation, take care of administrative or bureaucratic hassles and promote growth, or they may be seeking a militant army of experts to viciously protect their intellectual property.

The key to converting website visitors into new clients is portraying your firm as the missing link between the current problem and the preferred outcome. By using the proper color scheme, graphics, and content writing that conveys a sense of understanding about what your clients are going through, you can make a real connection that results in a new case.

Ultimately, isn't that what legal marketing is all about?