Law Firm Marketing

There are a few ways to tell whether your marketing is working.

1. Metrics like website clicks are known as leading indicators. They’re positive signals that things are moving in the right direction, but they don’t mean anything on their own. Think of them like the indicator on a car – if the indicator is blinking, the car is likely to turn in the future, but it hasn’t necessarily done so yet.
2. High-intent revenue opportunities (HIRO) are another type of leading indicator. For most law firms, HIRO pipeline looks like phone calls and form submissions from high-intent sources like their websites. Think of HIRO like the car starting to turn – it hasn’t finished yet, but the steering wheel is moving.
3. Finally, revenue is a lagging indicator. It shows how well your marketing has worked. You can see which marketing activities helped your business the most using revenue attribution. The ‘golden triangle’ of attribution uses 3 different types of reporting to help build a clear, accurate picture of your marketing – software-based, self-reported, and sales-reported.

If you work with us, we’ll do our best to report on all 3 levels. Too many agencies just focus on leading metrics like clicks, which don’t mean that much and can easily be gamed – just because the indicator is flashing doesn’t mean the car will turn.

The easiest way to set your marketing budget is to allocate 8% to 15% of annual revenue. If you’re a smaller, younger firm, you’ll probably be closer to the top of that range. Keep in mind that your marketing budget should include all marketing activities, including networking and business development, not just your website and digital advertising.

If your revenue is sitting at $5 million per year, for example, you might set your marketing budget at $500,000. That would encompass things like:

• website development, hosting and maintenance
• digital marketing services
• ad spend
• business cards
• headshots
• branded merchandise
• networking events (and, if they’re attended during work hours, the opportunity cost of your practitioners’ time)
• cold outreach.

Most marketing agencies don’t specialise in legal services marketing. We do – specifically, succession, commercial, SMSF and IP law. We know how B2C and B2B decision makers think about those practice areas, we understand the common pains and points of confusion, and we have a better-than-general knowledge of relevant legislation.

That doesn’t mean we’re subject matter experts. We still need your input, particularly if we’re delivering content assets like articles or videos. But our foundational knowledge is there, and we don’t need coaching about basics like complying with the Conduct Rules or styling blog posts in line with AGLC4.

Law firm websites aren’t radically different to other professional services sites. You still need the basics: a Home page, an About page, service pages, and a Contact page.

There are differences, though. Your people are critical. Ideally, you’ll have dedicated bio pages for each practitioner that outline their experience, qualifications, and areas of expertise. You’ll also need to be careful about social proof. Most professional services firms lean heavily on case studies, but the sensitive nature of legal engagements can make those can be difficult to acquire. Handpicked testimonials are easier – although they need to be couched in enough context to still carry weight.

At a site level, accessibility and security are paramount. Your build should align with WCAG 2.2 – the guidelines for web accessibility – and security standards like the Essential Eight.