How Law Firms Plan to Fuel Growth in the Next 12 Months

Competition is the top barrier to growth according to a recent survey of law firms, alongside a deluge of anecdotal evidence.   In response, law firm business development is heating up with the mechanisms ranging from compensation and incentives — to the warming notion of hiring a professional law firm sales force.

If the trend towards business development is a strategic shift, what then are the tactical investments law firms intend to make to fuel growth?

In a survey of 400 law firm marketing and business development professionals, respondents were asked to rank areas of law firm investment on a five point scale, where the lower the number the more likely they were to invest.

The aforementioned survey of 400 law firm marketers and business development professionals found thought leadership topped the list.  That activity was followed by analytics, law blogs and content marketing, social media and technology investments such as CRM.

A formal report on the complete survey in PDF format is freely available for download with registration — Law Firms in Business Development Transition. And here are the top 10 areas in which law firms say they’ll invest:

1. Thought leadership (63%)
2. Analytics (58%)
3. Blogging and content marketing (57%)
4. Social media marketing (55%)
5. Technology (i.e. CRM) (51%)
6. Client events (48%)
7. Lead development (44%)
8. Business development calls (41%)
9. Public relations (40%)
10.  Digital Marketing (35%)

It’s notable that the investments identified by legal marketers and business development personnel center on technology and new media marketing. The two charts nearby – depicting the same data in different formats – list in detail the these top 10 areas according to respondents who said they plan to “increase” or “increase significantly” the investment in these areas over the next 12 months.

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Photo credit:  Flickr, photosteve101, Torn & Cut One Dollar Note… (CC BY 2.0)