Measuring Results

A marketing or business development program is only as good as the results it produces. However, for law practices, actually tracking those results presents a difficult challenge. That is because, with few exceptions, the relationship between marketing activities and the number of new clients acquired or revenue achieved is not linear. Often it is the accumulation of exposure to the firm (and its message) through a variety of means that leads to a) initial awareness of the firm, b) provides a level of “comfort,” and c) generates the initial consultation. Such means can include everything from the efforts of individual attorneys to ads, public relations, and internet presence, to personal referrals from current clients or third party sources. Hence, in evaluating its business development efforts, it is best to first look at the firm’s overall program to ascertain the impact ths program is having as a whole.

In assessing the effects of the overall effort, one can examine the level of dollars allocated toward the marketing/business development function versus the level of additional clients/revenue that the firm achieved. However, even such a calculation must be viewed with caution as other variables (e.g., the economy, an overemphasis on one new and/or lost client) can often paint an inaccurate picture of how successful/unsuccessful the marketing efforts were.

Hence, a review of the overall program should be augmented by specific metrics which track variables including, but not limited to:

The number of new prospect calls (and from what source they came)
Seminar leads and conversions
Level of web site visitors, click-through rates, length of stay, etc.
Number and quality of press releases and articles placed and/or interviews given (as well as in which media outlets)
Quantity and quality of the firm’s contact database

The relative merit of some marketing tools such as image-oriented advertising, firm brochures, the business development training of associates, etc. are more difficult to assess on a quantitative basis. Here, a qualitative assessment, perhaps based on feedback from prospects, clients, staff members and other contacts can provide insight into the relative effectiveness of these programs. Marketing activities which are less prone to quantitative measurement are most often those which are used to make other elements of the business development process work more efficiently (e.g., a prospect attends a seminar because of familiarity with the firm through the firm’s branding/advertising campaign). Hence, assessment of the overall program usually provides a good indication of how well these types of efforts have performed.

In addition to its ongoing work in assessing the results of law firm marketing/business development programs, A.L.T. Legal Professionals Marketing Group is currently involved in creating a software application specifically for firms to utilize in this endeavor. This is still in development. However, if you would like your firm to be considered for Beta testing (at no charge) for this project, contact agency President Les Altenberg.