A firm spends most of its marketing budget promoting commercial property work. When a partner finally counts the website enquiries by practice area, employment and wills make up more than half, and the employment page has no fee information and a single paragraph of text. The firm has been marketing to one audience while another has been knocking on the door.
Measuring enquiries by practice area shows where demand really is.
Why this matters
Fee income shows what has already happened. Enquiries show what is coming. A rise in enquiries for one practice area can signal an opportunity months before it shows up in billing. Dental practices use the same idea to see which treatments people are asking about, as covered in measuring which treatments patients ask about most.
The checklist
1. Record the practice area for every enquiry. Whether it arrives by website, email or phone, note the area. SpideyChat for law firms captures the practice area as part of intake, so website enquiries are already tagged.
2. Record the source. Did the enquiry come from a practice area page, a blog post, a referral or a search? The page an online enquiry started on is a strong clue.
3. Record the outcome. Did it become a consultation? A client? Was it unsuitable? This is the step most firms skip.
4. Count and compare. Which areas bring the most enquiries? Which convert best? Which bring enquiries the firm cannot take?
5. Look at the questions. For each area, what do people ask? If employment enquiries keep asking about fees, the employment page needs fee information. Fee questions are covered in fee questions that decide which firm gets the client.
6. Check languages. If a noticeable share of enquiries arrive in other languages, that is a signal worth acting on, as covered in multilingual clients and legal enquiries.
7. Act. Improve pages for high-interest, low-conversion areas. Consider whether marketing matches demand. Decide how to handle enquiries in areas the firm does not cover, perhaps with referral arrangements.
8. Review quarterly. Trends shift with the economy, the seasons and changes in the law.
Seasonal patterns
Some practice areas follow the calendar. Family enquiries often rise after the summer holidays and after the new year. Wills enquiries can rise after news stories about inheritance or after a family bereavement season. Employment enquiries follow redundancy rounds in local industries. Tracking month by month over a full year shows these patterns, so the firm can prepare content and staffing before each peak rather than scrambling during it.
An example review
Suppose one quarter shows wills and probate enquiries rising steadily, mostly from older visitors on weekday evenings, with a high conversion rate. The firm might add clearer fixed fees, a page explaining the probate process and a note about home visits. Next quarter, conversion rises further.
Unsuitable enquiries
Enquiries the firm cannot take are data too. A steady stream in an area the firm does not cover may suggest a referral partnership, or even a new service. The time these enquiries used to cost fee earners is covered in AI receptionist for law firms.
Privacy
When reviewing enquiries, work with categories and counts, not personal details. Keep the analysis at a level that does not identify individuals.
Getting the data flowing
To start collecting practice area data from the website, add the assistant to your key pages. Installing the widget is quick, and training your bot on each practice area page makes sure the area is captured accurately.
After a quarter, the firm has a clearer view of its own market than most competitors ever get.