Content that is relevant to your clients is one of the most effective ways to convert a web visitor into a client. Almost half (48%) of the more than 200 B2B marketing leaders who took part in a survey by PathFactory and Heinz Marketing said that their company's buying process was initiated by coming across a prospective company's content they found interesting.

This corroborates earlier research I described in Corporate Counsel Hire Lawyers Based on Blog and Speaking Engagements.

But the content has to address pain points by potential clients. 51% of participants complained that website content is too fluffy and jargony. Just today I got a newsletter from a plaintiff's law firm that contained a completely irrelevant salute to President US Grant, a homemade corned beef recipe, St. Patrick's Day, college basketball, a Sudoku puzzle -- and one market-worthy piece on 3 steps to take if you've been in a truck crash.

In terms of acting as a catalyst to the buyers' journey, discovering interesting content was second only to someone vocalizing a pain point or challenge that needs to be addressed (61%). It's often the function of content to address these pain points. However, close to half (48%) of the survey's respondents said that one of the biggest issues they have with the content they receive is that it isn't relevant to their pain points or challenges.

"The trick is to write the way your potential clients think. If you pay attention to how your clients talk to you when you meet with them or talk with them on the phone, and observe how they respond to your answers, you'll have a blueprint for what to say and how to say it,"  says LawLytics CEO Dan Jaffe.

Three Things Business Clients Look for on Law Firm Websites

If your website displays the three things that business clients look for, you'll get a lot more calls from clients that you want. I've heard general counsel speak on panel discussions where they spelled out what they expect to find on law firm websites, and I've summarized them in this video.