15 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Digital Marketing Consultant for Lawyers

Does your growing firm need to hire some marketing help? That’s a great challenge to have! But it’s a challenge nonetheless. To get the best results possible, you need to be selective in choosing a digital marketing consultant for lawyers. That means asking the right questions. To help you through this process, here are 15 questions we suggest asking digital marketing consultants for lawyers before making a hiring decision. 

Questions for Hiring a Digital Marketing Consultant for Lawyers

Technical and Tactical Expertise

These questions focus on a consultant’s in-depth knowledge of digital marketing tactics. These should be applicable whether you’re talking about PPC, SEO, etc. 

1. What types of (category) budgets have you managed? For example, what types of PPC budgets have you administered? Try to get a feel for the different bandwidths that they are comfortable with. 

2. Which platforms do you like to work on, and why? A great digital marketing consultant can work across several tools, but they will have their favorites. This will help you to see where they are proficient, and where they have room to grow. 

3. What’s your method for prioritizing projects? How do they manage multiple clients, particularly with similar deadlines? Be extra cautious if someone seems disorganized or can’t explain a clear system for managing multiple accounts and tasks. Pay special attention to how they manage important milestones and deadlines.  

4. Which project or work experience are you most proud of? Here you are looking for details about their working style, the level of detail that goes into their work, their research methods, and how they collaborate. Was their best work mainly tactical, or can they be strategic? 

Strategic Knowledge

The right consultant will not only know how to do what you want them to but why. Dive deeper into the consultant’s mindset to see if they have the strategy element down. 

5. Are you up to date on industry trends? How do you stay in the loop? The digital landscape changes every day. A digital marketing consultant should be intentional about reading up on trends and understanding platform changes. If someone says that they are “too busy” to read that material, that’s a red flag. 

6. Do you like to work in cross-channel teams or siloed scenarios? Depending on what you need from the consultant, this can tell you a lot. You need to understand their comfort with other channels, and they should be able to speak to how channels intersect with each other and impact outcomes. 

7. How do you explain complex information to a client who isn’t as versed in digital marketing? This can help you to gauge how well they understand the material, and also how well they think on their feet. You also want them to be able to explain the “why” to answers. 

8. Do you believe KPIs should be the same across all channels? Why or why not? This is a bit of a trick question, but the answer you’re looking for is “no”. Seasoned digital marketers understand that all platforms have different audiences with different intents. Audience, funnel, reach – there are so many factors that affect how something will perform, and KPIs need to reflect the realities of each channel. 

9. Have you built full-funnel strategies before? This would be geared toward a more experienced digital marketing consultant, where you’ll seek strategic input. Follow-up questions are what channels were used, how were they determined, and how did results measure to forecasted performance? 

Culture and Fit

These questions are important for long-term success. No matter how proficient the consultant is, if they don’t mesh with your team, you won’t want to work with them. 

10. How would you describe your account management style? How quickly do they respond to questions, and how do they delegate work? 

11. Do you work better individually, or as part of a team? Everyone works better in different scenarios, so you need to make sure that your environment brings out the best in them. The “right” answer depends on your expectations of collaborating with them. 

12. How do you learn best? How well does the consultant grasp new ideas, and are they open to input and training? 

13. Have you ever had an unsatisfied client? How did you deal with the issue? At some point, every consultant is going to deal with an unhappy client, so it’s important to see if they will be honest about their experience, as well as if you are comfortable with the way they resolved these challenges. 

14. What are you looking for in our work together? You’ll work best with outsourced help if everyone’s expectations are aligned from the beginning. Are they hoping to be more independent or collaborative? Can they be specific about what they’ll need from you to be successful? Make sure they’re willing to have these conversations before selecting them. 

15. Why are you excited about this specific work? Obviously, any consultant wants to obtain new clients and earn a great living – but why do they want to work with you in particular? Which parts of your overall strategy are they most passionate about? 

Takeaway: 

Hiring a digital marketing consultant for lawyers can propel you forward in ways that internal teams can’t. They can offer specialized expertise, passion in the subject matter area, and dedicated time that internal resources may not have. However, getting on the same page is crucial from the beginning; and finding someone who is a great fit for your firm both technically and culturally makes all the difference. At Good2bSocial, we offer teams of seasoned digital marketing experts who can help your firm to level up. Reach out if you’d like to start a conversation.