australasian legal practice management association …€¦ · thanks to alpma board member jovan...

AUSTRALASIAN LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

PO Box 556, BURWOOD VIC 3125

1300 692 256

@ [email protected]

www.alpma.com.au

JULIAN MIDWINTER & ASSOCIATES PTY LTD

Suite 16, 357 Military Road, MOSMAN NSW 2088

02 9968 4168

@ [email protected]

www.julianmidwinter.com.au

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Taking%20the%20Pulse:%20Benchmarking%20BD%20and%20Marketing%20in%20Australasian%20Law%20Firms

http://www.alpma.com.au/


http://www.julianmidwinter.com.au/

© 2014 Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) and Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd

TAKING THE PULSE: BENCHMARKING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND

MARKETING IN AUSTRALASIAN LAW FIRMS

Report prepared by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Julian Midwinter & Associates and ALPMA

would like to thank all the respondents who took

the time to answer our many questions and

provide thoughtful and insightful commentary.

Thanks to ALPMA Board Member Jovan

Bogdanovic, an experienced legal business

development manager, and ALPMA SA

Committee Member Robyn Clissold, Marketing

Manager at Andersons Lawyers, for providing

insightful feedback on the draft questionnaire.

Julian Midwinter & Associates

Pty Ltd

02 9968 4168

@ [email protected]

@jma_bdtips

Australasian Legal Practice

Management Association

1300 692 256

@ [email protected]

@AusLegalPracMgt



Taking the pulse report Benchmarking business development and marketing in Australasian law firms

© 2014 Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) and Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd

TABLE OF CONTENTS # Introduction 1

Presentation of findings 2

Quick overview 3

Part 1: Background information about you and your firm 6

Part 2: Marketing and business development activity – what have you been doing? 18

Part 3: Marketing and business development activity – future intentions and plans 36

Part 4: Financials 47

Part 5: Measurement and performance 55

Part 6: Outlook 66

Appendix: SurveyMonkey questionnaire Appendix 1


© 2014 Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) and Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd Page | 1

INTRODUCTION

Background

The Taking the pulse benchmarking study was developed by ALPMA and

Julian Midwinter & Associates to investigate the business development

(BD) and marketing efforts of Australasian law firms.

Our aim was two-fold:

to develop an understanding of the overall sophistication and effectiveness of marketing and BD in Australasian law firms and create benchmarks which individual firms can use to compare their efforts with like firms

to encourage firms to improve their marketing and BD development performance.

Effective BD and marketing strategies are essential to successfully grow

your law firm. Other research conducted by ALPMA shows that many law

firms have identified investment in marketing and BD as a key strategy to

remain competitive in the changing legal landscape.

Understanding how your current BD and marketing programs compare to

similar firms, and where to focus your future improvement efforts, can be

difficult. By better understanding what similar firms are doing you can

make more informed decisions.

Research objectives

The research aimed to shed light on key questions, including:

How do different firms’ BD and marketing investments and resources compare?

How sophisticated are BD and marketing processes in Australasian law firms?

What BD and marketing initiatives have been successful in Australasian law firms?

What are the key BD and marketing challenges in Australasian firms?

Where are firms investing their BD and marketing improvement efforts?

The questions included a mix of retrospective (i.e. what did you do last

year), plus prospective (plans for the coming year).

This report will enable law firms to review and benchmark their BD and

marketing efforts against other law firms.

We hope the results help guide and inform law firms in their strategic

decision-making and planning.

Methodology

A detailed online survey was distributed to ALPMA members and

subscribers, and to Julian Midwinter & Associates eTips subscribers

throughout Australasia.

Data was collected via an online survey over a 23-day period.

151 people completed the survey, representing 149 individual firms.

Respondents were generally in a senior management or specialist

management role at their firm.

Limitations and scope of study

The survey nominally analyses firms from the Australasian region

(reflecting ALPMA’s membership base). However, most of the 151

respondents were from firms in Australia; 28 respondents were from New

Zealand-based firms; only one respondent was from a firm outside

Australia and New Zealand.

Generally, results from New Zealand respondents aligned with overall

results.



PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS The report is divided into six sections (in line with the survey):

Part 1: Background information about you and your firm

Part 2: Marketing and business development activity – what have you been doing?

Part 3: Marketing and business development activity – future intentions and plans

Part 4: Financials

Part 5: Measurement and performance

Part 6: Outlook.

Results are presented overall, as well as by firm size.

Firm size is based on revenue, identified by responses to the question,

what is your firm’s approximate annual fee revenue (Q23).

The revenue bands are:

Fee revenue up to $3 million – small firm (40.4% of respondents)

Fee revenue between $3 million and $10 million – mid-size firm (32.4% of respondents)

Fee revenue more than $10 million – large firm (22.5% of respondents).

Respondents who did not know, or preferred not to disclose, their firm’s

revenue (7 respondents) are excluded from firm-size analysis.

Respondent comments have been corrected for typos but are otherwise

presented verbatim throughout.



QUICK OVERVIEW

The respondents

Most respondents hold senior management roles in single-office firms

located on the east coast of Australia.

88% of respondent firms have up to 74 lawyers (though fewer than 5% are

sole-lawyer practices), and, 75.5% have been operating for more than 11

years.

The majority of firms surveyed have mostly business and consumer clients

(45%). Of the firms with mostly business clients (27.8%), most are large

firms (38.2%).

Overall, respondent firms practice mainly in the areas of commercial and

corporate law (74.2%), followed closely by property, real estate and

conveyancing (69.5%), and probate, wills and estate planning (62.9%).

Sophistication of marketing and BD in firms overall

Overall, 45% of respondents rate their firm’s marketing and BD function as

under-developed, 31.8% rate their firm’s function as adequate, and 23.2%

as well-developed or sophisticated.

Only 2.6% (four respondents) described their firm’s function as

sophisticated – one respondent is from a mid-size firm, and three are from

large firms. An overwhelming majority of small firms rate their marketing

and BD as either under-developed or adequate (86.8%).

Resourcing and support for marketing and BD

Most firms treat BD and marketing as interrelated functions (66.2%). Just

over half of firms surveyed have a dedicated marketing and BD team.

Where there are dedicated marketing and BD teams in place, the teams

are small; 85.4% have five or fewer people (regardless of firm size or

number of offices).

Over half of respondent firms use resources from other internal support

services (57.6%) to support marketing and BD. Outsourcing plays a part

for 53% of firms who use external suppliers like web developers, graphic

designers, printers, and event managers.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents identified firm management (non-

partners) as a further resource to support marketing and BD.

How much firms spend on marketing and BD

The spread of marketing and BD budgets correlates closely with firms’

annual fee revenue – large firms are more likely to have large budgets

(58.8% over $150K), and small firms are more likely to have smaller

budgets (50.8% up to $20K per year).

Most firms expect to have similar marketing and BD budgets in the next

financial year.

What lawyers are doing on the marketing and BD front

64.2% of respondents indicate that their firm’s lawyers spend, on average,

up to five hours per week on marketing and BD activities.

At the individual lawyer level, 85.4% of respondent firms have revenue

targets for some or all lawyers. By contrast 60.9% indicate lawyers at their

firm do not have individual BD and marketing targets. Where firms do

have KPIs tied to marketing and BD performance, more than two-thirds tie

results to lawyers’ remuneration, and performance appraisals.

More than half of respondents report that their firm does not provide

marketing and BD skills training for lawyers (56.3%). Large firms are more

likely to provide training than smaller firms: nearly 80%, compared to only

40.8% of mid-size firms and 23% of small firms.



Marketing and BD decision making

Managing partners are most frequently cited as the key marketing and BD

key decision maker (53.6%) – this is consistent across all firm sizes. Firm

management committee is the second most-frequently cited decision

maker overall (33.1%).

In small firms, practice managers also play a strong role in decision

making (20.2%). In large firms, decisions are also likely to be made by the

marketing and BD manager (19.1%).

Only around half of the firms surveyed share financial performance results

with lawyers and staff (49.7%).

Strategic plans

Nearly half of all firms do not have an overarching firm-wide marketing and

BD plan in place (48.3%).

42.4% of firms do not have separate marketing and BD strategies for

individual practice groups – and of these, 64.4% do not have an

overarching firm-wide marketing and BD plan either.

Overall, large firms are much more likely than small or mid-size firms to

have a firm-wide plan in place, and more likely to have strategies in place

for all or some practice groups.

Anticipated growth

Most firms (64.9%) expect some revenue increase, and large firms expect

the greatest increase: 44.1% anticipate growth of more than 5% for the

current financial period.

Mid-size firms are the most optimistic about growth, with 71.4% of

respondents expecting some revenue increase.

By contrast, nearly one-third of small firms expect no growth, or revenue

decline – the least favourable outlook across all firm sizes.

How firms intend to reach their goals

Most respondents, regardless of firm size, report that their key growth

strategy in the coming year will be existing services to existing clients –

increase share of work, cross sell (45.7%).

Achieving growth by increasing referrals and recommendations is

considered the most important approach overall, with nearly 100%

agreement amongst all firms.

Increasing the effectiveness of individual lawyers’ marketing and BD

activities is important or very important to 96% of respondents.

Building brand and profile raising was very important to 65.7% and

important to 28.6% of respondents.

Large firms rate increasing the effectiveness of individual lawyers’

marketing and BD activities and improving management of existing client

relationships and satisfaction as the most important approaches overall.

Recruiting additional marketing and BD resources ranks as the least

important approach, regardless of firm size.

Measuring and tracking marketing and BD effort

Just under a quarter of respondents report that their firm measures the

effectiveness of their marketing and BD activities. A further 45.7%

reported that only some activities are measured.

Large firms are much more likely than small or mid-size firms to have

measures in place for some or all of their activities (94.1%).

The most popular ways to measure the effectiveness of firm wide

marketing and BD efforts are:

based on number of new matters/instructions

lawyer budget & billing targets

client satisfaction surveys

anecdotal, informal client feedback

based on number of new clients.



Greatest challenges in marketing and BD

The greatest challenges for firms on the marketing and BD front comprised

a mix of external and internal issues:

competition and changing market/external forces

differentiation in a crowded market

lack of time, money, resources

strategic firm issues

people issues around resourcing marketing and BD, training, lawyer engagement and generational change

technology and systems.

Least successful initiatives

Advertising, sponsorships, and web, digital and social media have the

most mentions by respondent firms as their most unsuccessful initiative.

Most successful initiatives

Respondents report that web, digital and social media, focus on existing

clients, and developing referral relationships and networks were among

the most successful initiatives their firms had undertaken.

Firm outlook in a challenging economic environment

Overall, respondents are positive about their firm’s outlook in terms of

client satisfaction and retention, investment in technology, focus on long-

term issues, and performance compared to competitors.

Respondents are less positive about their firm’s investment in training and

developing its lawyers in essential non-legal skills – over one-third of

respondents strongly disagree or disagree.

Only 38.4% respondents agree or strongly agree that their firm is

appropriately resourcing the marketing and BD function.

Firm differentiation is another area which respondents rated negatively –

26.5% disagree or strongly disagree with the statement that my firm is

strongly differentiated from the competition, and nearly 30% are neutral.

PART 1Background information about you and your firm

“Our firm is in a transitional phase for marketing and business development, as older partners grasp the importance of change within our client base and overall increased sophistication within our particular part of the market.”

“Lack of time is the biggest problem for this sole practitioner.”

“Moving the decision making away from the CEO and allowing marketing / biz dev to integrate with the rest of the firm.”

“It needs full support from the top and more resources. The partners support in theory but don't all do the follow through that is needed.”

“There is a need to allocate resources and training to Marketing and Business Development to meet the changing demands of our clients.”

“The challenge for us is setting up the right Marketing & BDM roles and then finding the right people for the right role.”



Question 1: Please select the option that best describes your role?

ALL RESPONSES KEY FINDINGS

Respondents tend to be in a senior management role at their firm.

Practice Manager is the leading response (35.1%), followed by Marketing and Business Development Manager.

Just under 20% of respondents identified as being in some type of marketing or business development role (excluding roles identified in the Other category).



Question 1 (cont’d)

BY FIRM SIZE

* Respondents were asked to specify Other. Responses were: Business Coach; proprietor; Financial Controller; Head of BD & Marketing; Senior Administrator; Knowledge Resources Manager; principal; Marketing and

Business Development Advisor; Human Resources Manager; Principal; BD Director; Office & Business Development Manager; Director Strategic Communications and Business Development; Business Development and

Marketing Director; Human Resources Manager; Marketing Consultant; Sole Proprietor; Office Manager.



Question 2: How long has your firm been operating?


75.5% of respondent firms have been operating for 11 or more years.

More than half (54.3%) of respondent firms have been operating for more than 25 years.

Over 80% of large firms have been operating for more than 25 years.

BY FIRM SIZE

5.3%

6.6%

12.6%

21.2%

54.3%

Less than 2 years

2 to 5 years

6 to 10 years

11 to 24 years

25 years or longer

11.5% 9.8%

6.1%

18.0%

12.2%

5.9%

24.6%

26.5%

8.8%

36.1%

55.1%

82.4%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Less than 2 years 2 to 5 years 6 to 10 years 11 to 24 years 25 years or longer



Question 3: How many lawyers are at your firm?


Fewer than 5% of respondents are from sole-lawyer practices.

88% of respondent firms have up to 74 lawyers.

11.9% of firms have 75 or more lawyers.

Small firms tend to have between 2 and 5 lawyers (44.3%).

BY FIRM SIZE

4.6%

18.5%

20.5%

24.5%

19.9%

4.6%

7.3%

1

2 to 5

6 to 10

11 to 24

25 to 74

75 to 149

150 or more

11.5% 44.3% 34.4%

18.4%

9.8%

57.1% 20.4%

50.0% 20.6% 26.5%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

1 2 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 24 25 to 74 75 to 149 150 or more



Question 4: In which locations does your firm have an office? Please select all that apply.

ALL RESPONSES




ALL RESPONSES –NUMBER OF LOCATIONS (STATES/REGIONS) KEY FINDINGS

Most respondents are from single-location firms (79.5%).

NSW (31.1%), VIC (31.1%) and QLD (27.8%) make up the leading office locations.

19.2% of respondent firms have offices in New Zealand; of those 18.5% are firms with offices in New Zealand only.

Fewer than 5% of respondents identify offices in other international locations.

BY FIRM SIZE – NUMBER OF LOCATIONS (STATES/REGIONS)

79.5%

8.6%

4.0%

4.0%

2.6%

1.3%

Single state/region

2 states/regions

3 states/regions

4 states/regions

5 states/regions

6 or more states/regions

88.5%

91.8%

50.0%

8.2%

17.6%

4.1%

5.9%

4.1%

11.8% 8.8% 5.9%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Single state/region 2 states/regions 3 states/regions 4 states/regions 5 states/regions 6 or more states/regions



Question 5: What are the main areas of law your firm practices? Select all that apply.





OPTION % OF

RESPONDENTS

Commercial & corporate 74.2

Property, real estate & conveyancing 69.5

Probate, wills & estate planning 62.9

Commercial dispute resolution 60.3

Employment law 53.0

Family law 43.7

Bankruptcy, insolvency & business reconstitution 34.4

Mergers, acquisitions & corporate 33.8

Intellectual property & technology law 28.5

Banking & finance 26.5

Elder law/aged care 25.8

Insurance law 25.8

Planning & environment 21.2

Taxation law 21.2

Personal injury (plaintiff) 14.6

Transport & trade 12.6

Criminal law 11.9

Other * 15.2

Respondent firms practice commercial and corporate law (74.2%), followed closely by property, real estate and conveyancing (69.5%), and probate, wills and estate planning (62.9%).

11.9% of firms identify only a single area of practice – of these, most practice family law (27.8%), intellectual property and technology law (16.7%), or employment law (11.1%).

One respondent reports 16 areas of practice at their firm.

A quarter of respondent firms nominate three or fewer areas of practice (25.2%), and 31.1% of respondents identify between three and six areas of practice at their firm.

Small firms are most likely to have one to five main areas of practice.

* Respondents were asked to specify other. Responses were: Construction; Aboriginal Land Rights;

Contested Estates; Local government; Workers compensation. Work health and safety; Local Government;

strata law & building and construction law; Education; adoption; not-for-profit; Class actions; Building and

Construction Law; Body Corporate Law and Management Rights; Mining and Construction; Superannuation;

Notary Public; Government/Administrative Law; Native Title; Building and Construction; Business succession;

Competition; Energy & Resources; Projects & Infrastructure; Liquor Licensing; Mining & Resources; Rural

Property/Farms; Rural law; Maritime; Agribusiness; various; Management Rights.




BY FIRM SIZE

67.2%

36.7%

26.5%

29.5%

46.9%

38.2%

3.3%

16.3%

35.3%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

1 to 5 areas 6 to 10 areas 11 to 16 areas



Question 6: Your firm’s clients are best described as:

ALL RESPONSES





The majority of firms have mostly business and consumer clients (45%).

Of the firms with mostly business clients (27.8%), most are large firms (38.2%).

Firms that have mostly consumer clients tend to be small firms (19.7%).

BY FIRM SIZE

1.3%

27.8%

13.2%

12.6%

45.0%

Mostlygovernment

Mostlybusiness

Mostlyconsumer

Mostly business& government

Mostly business& consumer

18.0%

28.6%

38.2%

19.7%

12.2%

5.9%

9.8%

8.2%

26.5%

52.5%

49.0%

26.5%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Mostly government Mostly business Mostly consumer Mostly business & government Mostly business & consumer

PART 2Marketing and business development activity:What have you been doing?

“Sponsorship of the same industry events ‘just because’ we've done it every year.”

“Website; we use it as a content rich site and refer our potential referrers to it.”

“…scatter gun approach, rather than focus on a smaller number of opportunities and gain traction.”

“One on one meetings with referrers. We immediately noticed an increase in work...”

“Our target market are not looking at print media advertising to find legal services.”

“Too much reliance on lunches perhaps.”

“Ad hoc marketing decisions that were made on the spur of the moment without planning…”

“Using twitter; no uptake on it, seems like effort going into the ether.”

“Professionally resourcing the development of tender responses. The win rate has increased dramatically…”

“Joining and taking a lead role in an industry association, creating terrific exposure for the firm.”



Question 7: Does your firm distinguish between “marketing” and “business development”?


Most firms (66.2%) do not distinguish between BD and marketing – regardless of the firm size, age of the firm, or how they rate themselves in terms of the sophistication of their BD and marketing function.

Larger firms are slightly more likely than small or mid-size firms to treat marketing and business development as separate functions.

BY FIRM SIZE

Yes, they are separate, defined

functions, 28.5%

No, they are treated as

interrelated functions,

66.2%

Not sure, 5.3%

27.9%

28.6%

32.4%

65.6%

63.3%

67.6%

6.6%

8.2%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes, they are separate, defined functions No, they are treated as interrelated functions Not sure



Question 8: Does your firm have a person or group dedicated to marketing and business development?


Just over half of firms (55%) have someone dedicated to marketing and BD.

Large firms are more likely to have a dedicated person or group (85.3%).

A third of small firms have someone dedicated to marketing and BD (34.4%), and just over half of mid-size firms (53.1%) have someone.

85.7% of firms who rate their marketing and BD function as well-developed or sophisticated (Q10) have a person or group dedicated to marketing and BD compared to 30.9% in firms with under-developed functions.

Firms with mostly consumer clients (Q6) are less likely to have a dedicated person or group than firms with other types of client composition.

BY FIRM SIZE

Yes, 55.0%

No, 45.0%

34.4%

53.1%

85.3%

65.6%

46.9%

14.7%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes No



Question 9: How many people are dedicated to marketing and business development?


Note: this question was answered only by those respondents who answered

yes to the previous question (Q8).

The majority of firms who have a dedicated marketing and BD person or group, have five or fewer people in this role (85.4%) – regardless of firm size.

One quarter (25%) of large firms have six or more team members in dedicated business development and marketing roles.

BY FIRM SIZE

31.7%

53.7%

12.2%

2.4%

1

2 to 5

6 to 10

More than 10

47.6%

26.9%

21.4%

52.4%

61.5%

53.6%

11.5%

17.9% 7.1%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

1 person 2 to 5 people 6 to 10 people More than 10 people



Question 10: How would you rate the overall sophistication of the marketing and business development function at your firm?


45% of respondents rate their firm’s marketing and BD function as under-developed.

31.8% of respondents report their firm’s marketing and BD function as adequate.

Only 2.6% (a total of four firms) describe their firm as sophisticated – one respondent was from a mid-size firm, and three were from large firms.

The majority of small firms rate their marketing and business development function as either under-developed or adequate (86.8%).

Firms with mostly business and government clients (Q6) rate highest on sophistication (well-developed or sophisticated) at 47.4% compared to firms with other client types.

Firms with mostly business clients rate second highest on sophistication (well-developed or sophisticated) at 21.4%.

BY FIRM SIZE

45.0%

31.8%

20.5%

2.6%

Under-developed

Adequate

Well-developed

Sophisticated

55.7%

49.0%

20.6%

31.1%

38.8%

26.5%

13.1%

10.2%

44.1% 8.8%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Under-developed Adequate Well-developed Sophisticated



Question 11: Who makes the key marketing and business development decisions at your firm?

Select all that apply.


OPTION % OF

RESPONDENTS

Managing Partner 53.6

Firm management committee 33.1

Practice Manager 20.5

Marketing and Business Development Manager 17.9

Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director 10.6

General Manager 9.3

Marketing Manager 6.6

Chief Operating Officer 6.0

Marketing Co-ordinator 2.6

Business Development Manager 2.0

Business Development Co-ordinator 0.7

Other * 29.1

Managing Partner is the most frequently cited key decision-maker (53.6%) – this is consistent across all firm sizes.

Firm management committee is the second most-frequently cited decision-maker overall (33.1%).

In small firms, Practice Managers also play a strong role in decision-making (20.2%).

In large firms, decisions are also likely to be made by the Marketing and Business Development Manager (19.1%).

58.9% of respondents identify that just one or two roles are responsible for decision-making (not including Other).

Mid-size firms’ decisions are made most commonly by the Managing Partner and Firm management committee.




BY FIRM SIZE

% OF RESPONDENTS

OPTION SMALL FIRMS MID-SIZE FIRMS LARGE FIRMS

Firm management committee 14.9 20.9 16.9

Managing Partner 37.2 23.1 23.6

Practice Manager 20.2 5.5 7.9

Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director 4.3 6.6 4.5

General Manager 1.1 9.9 4.5

Chief Operating Officer 0.0 1.1 6.7

Marketing and Business Development Manager 1.1 7.7 19.1

Marketing Manager 2.1 2.2 3.4

Marketing Co-ordinator 0.0 3.3 1.1

Business Development Manager 2.1 0.0 0.0

Business Development Co-ordinator 0.0 1.1 0.0

Other * 17.0 18.7 12.4

TOTAL % 100 100 100

* Respondents were asked to specify other. Responses were: Equity Partners; Partners; Fellow Legal Practice Director; Digital Media Manager; proprietor; Partner with key Marketing and BD responsibility; Individual partners;

Senior Paralegal; Senior lawyers; Other partners; Both Partners / Directors; Head of BD & Marketing; Partners; Partners; Team leaders; Marketing Committee; partners; firm owner; Senior Administrator; Individual partners;

me; Very limited decisions made; practically non-existent; Directors; marketing Director; each partner has significant discretion; Equity Partners; Other Partners; Chairman; Principal; Indiv fee earners & external consultants;

National Board; BD Director; we involve our solicitors; Partners; Principals; Director Strategic Communications and Business Development; practice heads; Business Development Director; sole practitioner lawyer; partners;

Marketing Consultant; Sole proprietor; the Directors; Directors.



Question 12: What resources are available to support marketing and business development at your firm? Select all that apply.


OPTION % OF

RESPONDENTS

Resources from other internal support services – e.g.

admin, HR, finance, Word Processing

57.6

Other external suppliers and providers like web

developers, graphic designers, printers, event managers

(e.g. for specific one-off projects)

53.0

Firm management (non-partners) e.g. CEO, CFO,

marketing manager

49.0

Partner mentors who are involved in marketing and

business development initiatives

43.7

External consultants who act as business development

coaches or mentors

23.8

We have few resources available 19.9

External consultants who provide expertise and

additional resources for activities (e.g. tendering)

16.6

External consultants who act as marketing coaches or

mentors

14.6

Over half of respondent firms have resources from other internal support services (57.6%).

53% of firms use other external suppliers and providers like web developers, graphic designers, printers, event managers.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents identify firm management (non-partners) as support for marketing and BD – large firms are more likely than small and mid-size firms to have this resource.

Many firms also have access to partner mentors (43.7%).

Nearly 20% of firms report we have few resources available to support BD and marketing.

Small firms are more likely than mid-size and large firms to have few resources available (16.7%).

Large firms are more likely than small and mid-size firms to engage external consultants who provide expertise and additional resources for activities.




BY FIRM SIZE

% OF RESPONDENTS


Resources from other internal support services – e.g. admin, HR, finance, Word Processing 19.0% 22.5% 20.9%

Firm management (non-partners) e.g. CEO, CFO, marketing manager 12.7% 16.9% 22.4%

Partner mentors who are involved in marketing and business development initiatives 14.3% 16.9% 14.9%

External consultants who act as business development coaches or mentors 8.7% 10.6% 7.5%

External consultants who act as marketing coaches or mentors 6.3% 4.9% 4.5%

External consultants who provide expertise and additional resources for activities (e.g. tendering) 4.8% 4.2% 9.7%

Other external suppliers and providers like web developers, graphic designers, printers, event

managers (e.g. for specific one-off projects)

17.5% 19.7% 19.4%

We have few resources available 16.7% 4.2% 0.7%

TOTAL % 100 100 100



Question 13: Does your firm have an overarching firm-wide marketing and business development plan?


Nearly half of all firms do not have an overarching firm-wide marketing and BD plan in place (48.3%).

Large firms are much more likely than small or mid-size firms to have a plan in place.

73.5% of large firms have a plan of some sort, and nearly two-thirds report they had a plan that was aligned with overall firm goals (64.7%).

57.4% of small firms have no plan.

55.1% of mid-size firms have no plan.

BY FIRM SIZE

37.1%

12.6%

48.3%

2.0%

Yes - it’s part of the larger strategic plan for the firm

Yes – but it’s not tied to the firm’s strategic plan

No

Not sure

27.9%

28.6%

64.7%

9.8%

16.3%

8.8%

57.4%

55.1%

26.5%

4.9%Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes - it’s part of the larger strategic plan for the firm Yes – but it’s not tied to the firm’s strategic plan No Not sure




BY SOPHISTICATION OF MARKETING AND BD FUNCTION

20.6%

35.4%

71.4%

8.8%

14.6%

17.1%

69.1%

45.8%

11.4%

4.2%

Under-developed

Adequate

Well-developed/sophisticated

Yes - it’s part of the larger strategic plan for the firm Yes – but it’s not tied to the firm’s strategic plan No Not sure



Question 14: Does your firm have separate marketing/business development strategies for each individual practice group?


42.4% of firms do not have separate marketing and BD strategies for individual practice groups – and of these, 64.4% do not have an overarching firm-wide marketing and BD plan either (Q13).

Large firms are more likely to have strategies in place for all or some practice groups than mid-size or small firms.

Only 19.6% of small firms have strategies in place for all or some practice groups.

Approximately half of mid-size firms have strategies in place for all or some practice groups (49%).

BY FIRM SIZE

22.5%

23.8%

42.4%

11.3%

Yes – each practice group has its own strategies

Yes – some practice groups have their own strategies

No

Not sure/not applicable

9.8%

20.4%

44.1%

9.8%

28.6%

41.2%

59.0%

44.9%

11.8%

19.7%

6.1%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes – each practice group has its own strategies Yes – some practice groups have their own strategies No Not sure Not applicable



Question 15: Does your firm provide marketing and business development skills training for its lawyers?


More than half of respondents report that their firm does not provide skills training for lawyers in marketing and BD (56.3%).

Large firms are more likely to provide training than smaller firms: nearly 80% of large firms provide training, while only 40.8% of mid-size firms and 23% of small firms do.

68.4% of respondents from firms with mostly business and government clients (Q6) report their firms provide training.

BY FIRM SIZE

Yes, 43.7%

No, 56.3%

23.0%

40.8%

79.4%

77.0%

59.2%

20.6%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes No



Question 16: Please select the top 5 activities which account for most of your firm’s business development and marketing dollar

spend?

ALL RESPONSES

Note: Respondents were presented with a list of 27 activities from which to select their top 5 (in no particular order).




BY FIRM SIZE

Top 5 activities by dollar spend

SMALL FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

MID-SIZE FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

LARGE FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

Website

13.8 Website 11.4 Events (eg seminars

hosted by your firm)

13.5

Networking at

industry & business

events & conferences

11.1 Networking at

industry & business


10.2 Sponsorships –

business

8.2

Memberships of

professional &

industry associations

9.2 Referral relationships

(cultivating &

managing)

10.2 Client entertainment –

sporting & social

7.6

Referral relationships

(cultivating &

managing)

7.2 Events (eg seminars


8.6 Networking at industry

& business events &

conferences

7.1

Events (eg seminars


6.6 Memberships of

professional &


6.9 Tenders, proposals &

capability statements

7.1



Question 17: Please select the top 5 activities which account for most of your firm’s business development and marketing time?

ALL RESPONSES





BY FIRM SIZE

Top 5 activities by time spent

SMALL FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

MID-SIZE FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

LARGE FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

Networking at

industry & business


13.4 Website 10.2 Tenders, proposals &


12.9

Website 10.8 Networking at

industry & business




11.2


(cultivating &

managing)



9.0 Client relationship

management program

– planning, key client

management,

relationship partners

10.0

Newsletters –

hardcopy or email


(cultivating &

managing)

9.0 Networking at industry

& business events &

conferences

7.1

Memberships of

professional &


5.9 Memberships of

professional &


7.3 Newsletters –

hardcopy or email

5.9



OBSERVATIONS

Treading the safe path

Business development fundamentals change

slowly, if at all: establishing trust,

demonstrating willingness to help, going "the

extra mile", focusing on client needs and

expectations, and relationship building.

Activities that firms report spending the most

time and money on reflect these traditional and

proven legal services marketing and BD

approaches.

These activities remain perennially popular

because they are “safe”, and firms generally

repeat them as they believe they work. And if

they are working, that’s not necessarily a bad

thing.

What they said…

“Not enough time to plan properly, stick to the

plan or implement new strategies. Keep doing

the status quo.”

What is the list of marketing and

BD activities you should be doing?

The frustrating answer is that there isn’t a

definitive list. This study shows than an activity

that is successful for one firm can be a failure

for another.

For example, personal injury law specialists

report getting great results from Yellow Pages

advertising. It works because it reaches their

target market of “ready to buy” consumer

clients. But just because it works for them,

does not mean it’s an approach that can be

applied to all firms.

Firms that depend on winning work from large

insurance companies, for instance, are not

likely to gain results from Yellow Pages

advertising – and while this may be obvious, it

seems that some firms are pursuing activities

without a clear reason or strategy.

Quick tip to help prioritise

It can be really difficult to know how to prioritise

your marketing and BD effort and spend.

Ask yourself where your most desirable clients

hang out, online and in real life – where will

they look for lawyers like you?

Maybe Facebook will work for your firm if your

target audience is spending time there. Or

perhaps presenting at relevant industry

association events will help raise your profile

with the right targets.

Once you have chosen an activity to invest in,

make sure you plan it, focus it, and above all

be disciplined about measuring it.

And if you aren’t getting the results you need,

don’t be afraid to change your strategy.

PART 3Marketing and business development activity:Future intentions and plans

“Finding space in clients minds; we are all very busy.”

“Finding an edge, to set our marketing strategy and methods apart from the others.”

“Keeping all participants focused on the same goal.”

“Acknowledge that more has to be done in marketing program.”

“Working particularly on digital marketing.”

“A three year plan to boost online activity, reputation and subsequently, clients and revenue.”

“We need to do more, and do it better. It hasn't been a focus in the past as we had plenty of work coming through the door.”

“Training each of the lawyers in the soft skills necessary and setting up a BD programme.”

“An understanding of the value of leadership from the BDM team (rather than partners instructing and doing the same thing over and over again).”

“It needs full support from the top and more resources. The partners support in theory but don't all do the follow through that is needed…”



Question 18: Which one of these best describes your firm’s key growth strategy for next 12 months?


NB: 9.9% answered ‘Don’t know’.

45.7% of respondents report that their key growth strategy is existing services to existing clients – increase share of work, cross sell (market penetration).

Existing services to existing clients is the most common growth strategy, regardless of firm size.

Existing services to new markets – geographic expansion or entry to new sectors (market development) is the second most popular strategy, regardless of firm size.

25.2% of respondents identify existing services to new markets as their key growth strategy. Of these, only 18.4% are large firms, 39.5% are small firms, and 42.1% are mid-size.

Of the 11.3% of respondents who identify as their key growth strategy new services to new clients (diversification), 52.9% are small firms, 29.4% are mid-size firms, and 17.6% are large firms.




BY FIRM SIZE

41.0%

40.8%

58.8%

24.6%

32.7%

20.6%

9.8%

4.1%

8.8%

14.8%

10.2%

8.8%

9.8%

12.2%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Existing services to existing clients Existing services to new marketsNew services to existing clients New services to new clientsDon’t know



Question 19: How important are the following marketing and business development approaches to your firm’s growth strategy?

KEY FINDINGS

Increasing referrals and recommendations is considered the most important approach overall, with nearly 100% agreement. It rates as slightly more important to small and mid-size firms, than to large firms.

Large firms rank improving management of existing client relationships and satisfaction as the most important approach.

Increasing the effectiveness of individual lawyers’ marketing and BD activities is important or very important to 96% of respondents. Yet over half of respondents (56.3%) report that their firms do not train their lawyers in marketing and business development techniques (Q15).

Recruiting additional marketing/BD staff is the least important approach, regardless of firm size.

ALL RESPONSES

8.6%

52.3%

57.0%

58.3%

70.2%

80.1%

30.5%

33.8%

47.7%

42.4%

27.8%

29.8%

31.1%

24.5%

14.6%

68.9%

63.6%

48.3%

49.0%

19.9%

13.2%

10.6%

Increasing referrals & recommendations

Improving management of existing clientrelationships & satisfaction

Increasing effectiveness of individual lawyers'marketing & BD activities

Building brand & profile raising

Securing panel appointments throughcompetitive tenders or proposals

Recruiting new partners to the firm

Investing in a digital lead generation program

Mergers or acquisitions

Recruiting additional marketing/BD staff

Not important Important Very important




BY FIRM SIZE

WEIGHTED AVERAGE

OPTION OVERALL SMALL FIRMS MID-SIZE FIRMS LARGE FIRMS

Increasing referrals and recommendations 2.68 2.69 2.80 2.47

Improving management of existing client relationships and satisfaction 2.61 2.61 2.61 2.53

Increasing effectiveness of individual lawyers marketing and business

development activities

2.44 2.13 2.60 2.53

Building brand and profile raising 2.40 2.35 2.39 2.50

Recruiting new partners to the firm 1.56 1.40 1.44 1.97

Securing panel appointments through competitive tenders or proposals 1.68 1.48 1.52 2.26

Investing in a digital lead generation program 1.52 1.50 1.57 1.38

Recruiting additional marketing/business development staff 1.25 1.19 1.26 1.38

Mergers or acquisitions 1.35 1.23 1.35 1.53



Question 20: Is your firm planning to significantly upgrade or implement new software or technologies to support your growth

strategy?


Approximately one-third of respondents report their firm is planning to upgrade or implement new technology to support growth initiatives.

Large firms are more likely than small or mid-size firms to upgrade.

We asked respondents who answered yes to provide details of their software

or technology upgrades – 38 respondents commented. Responses can be

summarised into three key areas:

upgrading or enhancing client relationship management systems and practice management systems

moving to cloud technology

developing or improving firm websites, social media, and digital platforms (including e-marketing tools, Google analytics, and LinkedIn advertising).

BY FIRM SIZE

Yes, 34.0%

No, 66.0%

26.2%

28.6%

54.5%

73.8%

71.4%

45.5%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes No



Question 21: In the next 12 months, which 5 activities do you expect will account for most of your firm’s business development and

marketing dollar spend?

ALL RESPONSES





BY FIRM SIZE

Top 5 activities by dollar spend

SMALL FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

MID-SIZE FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

LARGE FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

Website 10.2 Website 10.6 Events (eg seminars


14.7

Networking at

industry & business

events &

conferences

7.9 Networking at

industry & business



management

program – planning,

key client

management,


9.4

Memberships of

professional &




8.2 Client entertainment

– sporting & social

7.6

Advertising – hard

copy/print/billboard


(cultivating &

managing)

7.8 Website 7.6

Events (eg seminars


6.6 Advertising – Google

ad words, web

7.3 Sponsorships –

business

7.1



Question 22: In the next 12 months, which 5 activities do you expect will account for most of your firm’s business development and

marketing time?

ALL RESPONSES





BY FIRM SIZE

Top 5 activities by time spent

SMALL FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

MID-SIZE FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

LARGE FIRMS % OF

RESPONDENTS

Website 9.8 Networking at

industry & business



management


key client

management,


13.5

Networking at

industry & business

events and

conferences

9.2 Website 11.4 Events (eg seminars


11.8


(cultivating &

managing)


management


key client

management,


7.8 Tenders, proposals &


11.2

Events (eg seminars



(cultivating &

managing)

7.8 Face to face

meetings with a

business

development/sales agenda –

planned & proactive selling

6.5

Newsletters –

hardcopy or email



6.9 Newsletters –

hardcopy or email

6.5



OBSERVATIONS

Firms’ approach to growth: better the

devil you know

Many firms plan to grow their business this

year by expanding existing client relationships.

This is a classic marketing strategy that aligns

with the “market penetration” sector of Ansoff’s

matrix, and the Pareto principle (80% of your

sales come from 20% of your clients).

It is far easier to develop business with those

who already know you, and it’s generally a low-

risk strategy.

But just who are the 11.3% of firms who aim to

market new services to new markets/clients in

a bid for growth through a diversification

strategy ?

Of those pursuing diversification as a strategy,

52.9% are small firms, 29.4% are mid-size

firms, and only 17.6% are large firms.

Our observation is that smaller firms can have

an advantage over larger firms when pursuing

new and potentially risky strategies. They are

more likely to be nimble and flexible, as they

are unencumbered by the bureaucratic

tendencies that can slow larger law firms.

Disconnect between aspiration and

action: lawyers pivotal to growth, but

unsupported

Nearly all respondents (96%) said that

increasing the effectiveness of their individual

lawyers’ marketing and BD effectiveness was

either important or very important to their firm’s

growth strategy.

And yet, over half (56.3%) of firms surveyed

say they do not provide skills training for

lawyers in business development and

marketing.

And only 40.4% of respondents agreed or

strongly agreed with the statement that their

firm is investing in training and developing its

lawyers in essential non-legal skills.

So while the critical role of individual lawyers in

their firm’s business development is

acknowledged, it seems that lawyers are not

receiving the resources and support required

to achieve these expectations.

What they said…

“Heavy reliance on existing client base and

referrals from existing clients. Partners need

to consider appointment of business

development advisor and investment in sound

development strategies.”

“Determining the strengths and weaknesses of

the lawyers involved in business development

activities, and leveraging from the strengths to

find the most appropriate people for the

appropriate activities.”

“Being a smaller firm, our biggest challenge is

developing our brand and making our firm a

point of difference compared to other firms.

The problem is that we don't have the luxury of

a big budget spend so we must be careful,

considerate and measured in what investment

we make.”

PART 4Financials

“Lawyers just don't understand the value of proper marketing.”

“With limited funding, it is difficult to pinpoint the area where you achieve maximum return for minimal outlay.”

“We have a more focused and tailored approach on key clients across all practice groups rather than spend within each practice group.”

“We are undifferentiated generalists in a crowded market place. Emphasis on cost cutting and value are at the forefront.”

“Am looking to better structure functions and processes to reduce expenses whilst maintaining marginal gross billing growth, and this does not include any staff reduction.”

“Marketing can be expensive and at the same time misdirected or ignored if the right target market is not identified and the advertising tailored to that target market.”

“The firm has made the strategic decision to shed two practices, so there will be a time of less revenue before we see growth.”

“The majority of the spend in this financial year is directed towardreinforcing the rebranded messages through face to face meetings and greater publicity throughout our referrer networks.”



Question 23: What is your firm’s approximate annual fee revenue?


Most respondents (40.4%) are from small firms (categorised for the purposes of the study as those with annual fee revenue of up to $3 million).

32.4% of respondents are from mid-size firms, with annual fee revenue of between $3 million and $10 million.

Nearly one-quarter of respondents are from large firms with revenue greater than $10 million.

11.3%

29.1%

17.2%

15.2%

22.5%

4.6%

Less than $1 million

Up to $3 million

Up to $5 million

Up to $10 million

More than $10 million

I’m not sure



Question 24: What revenue growth do you anticipate in your firm’s current financial period?


Most firms (64.9%) expect some revenue increase.

Large firms expect the greatest revenue increase, with 44.1% of respondents anticipating greater than 5% revenue growth.

Mid-size firms are the most optimistic about growth, with 71.4% of respondents expecting revenue increase.

Nearly one-third of small firms expected no growth, or revenue decline – the least favourable outlook across firm sizes.

BY FIRM SIZE

2.0%

21.2%

37.7%

16.6%

10.6%

11.9%

Revenue decline

No growth

Increase up to 5%

Increase up to 10%

Increase more than 10%

Not sure

26.2%

18.4%

17.6%

37.7%

49.0%

23.5%

14.8%

14.3%

23.5%

8.2%

8.2%

20.6%

9.8%

10.2%

11.8%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Revenue decline No growth Increase up to 5% Increase up to 10% Increase more than 10% Not sure



Question 25: What is your firm’s current (12 month) marketing and business development budget (excluding staff salaries)?


The spread of marketing and BD budgets correlates closely with firms’ annual fee revenue – large firms are more likely to have large budgets, and small firms are more likely to have smaller budgets.

Firms with well-developed and sophisticated marketing and BD functions (Q10) are more likely to have a large marketing budget – 45.7% of these firms report a budget of greater than $150,000.

BY FIRM SIZE

23.8%

19.9%

13.9%

4.0%

18.5%

19.9%

Up to $20,000

Up to $50,000

Up to $100,000

Up to $150,000

More than $150,000

I’m not sure/prefer not to say

50.8%

10.2%

19.7%

30.6%

8.8%

8.2%

22.4%

11.8%

6.1%

5.9%

10.2%

58.8%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Up to $20,000 Up to $50,000 Up to $100,000 Up to $150,000 More than $150,000



Question 26: How does your firm’s current financial year marketing and business development budget compare to the previous

year?


Most firms’ current budgets are about the same as they were in the previous financial year (62.3%), regardless of firm size.

20.5% of respondents report they have bigger budgets this year compared to the previous year.

Budgets increased from the previous year mainly for small firms (48.4%).

BY FIRM SIZE

20.5%

62.3%

6.6%

10.6%

More

About the same

Less


24.6%

18.4%

20.6%

63.9%

63.3%

55.9%

3.3%

4.1%

14.7%

8.2%

14.3%

8.8%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

More About the same Less I’m not sure/prefer not to say



Question 27: How do you expect your firm’s next financial year marketing and business development budget to compare to this

year?


Most respondents expect their firms’ marketing and BD budget for the next financial year to remain about the same (60.7%).

Nearly a third of respondents expect an increase to the budget in the next financial year – of these, 41.5% are from mid-size firms, and 39% are from small firms.

BY FIRM SIZE

27.3%

60.7%

2.7%

9.3%

More

About the same

Less


26.2%

35.4%

23.5%

65.6%

52.1%

61.8%

4.9%

12.5%

11.8%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

More About the same Less I’m not sure/prefer not to say



Question 28: Do you have any commentary or thoughts to share on financials?

KEY FINDINGS

We invited respondents to share their thoughts on financials – and while only

14 respondents provide answers, we identified some common themes. A

selection of responses is presented below.

Three respondents raise issues around measurement and return-on-

investment:

“It can be a challenge justifying a "branding exercise" when no clear visible returns exist.”

“It's hard to link the ROMI to the P&L as the lead generation figure is not calculable for all practice groups. Where fixed fees for similar transactions are offered it's a no brainer but large litigation cases and return on marketing are just not able to be linked.”

“With limited funding, it is difficult to pinpoint the area where you achieve maximum return for minimal outlay.”

Other respondents reference wider firm issues in relation to marketing and

BD budget:

“Lawyers just don't understand the value of proper marketing.”

“The firm has made the strategic decision to shed two practices, so there will be a time of less revenue before we see growth.”

Comments also cover general approaches to budget, including:

“We have a more focused and tailored approach on key clients across all practice groups rather than spend within each practice group.”

“Firms should concentrate on basic good practice & get it right - particularly its financials.”

“Organic budget that works effectively - lean spend with room to move if required.”

“Marketing can be expensive and at the same time misdirected or ignored if the right target market is not identified and the advertising tailored to that target market.”

And financial outlooks were mixed:

“Struggling to achieve pre 2011 figures.”

“Am looking to better structure functions and processes to reduce expenses whilst maintaining marginal gross billing growth, and this does not include any staff reduction.”

“Our financial spend on marketing may increase, based on new initiatives.”



OBSERVATIONS

How much money should firms be

spending on marketing and BD?

Many theories and formulas exist, claiming to

be the definitive way to set marketing and BD

budgets.

Some say a certain percentage of revenue is

necessary. Or others will pronounce that an

annual budget of at least $100K+ is ideal each

year.

This study found that “sophisticated” firms tend

to spend more money on marketing and BD

than less sophisticated firms.

However, those sophisticated firms also tend

to be larger (with more offices, and more

locations and more lawyers) and earn higher

revenue. Big budgets are often not realistic for

most small firms, and even some mid-size

ones.

It’s what you do with what you have

that counts (not the amount)

So what is the best advice then?

It’s not necessarily the amount of money you

have at your disposal, but rather what you

choose to do with it.

In particular, firms should not overlook the

small things that can be done to develop better

relationships with clients and referral sources,

most of which don’t even cost money, they just

take a little organisation and time.

What they said…

“As a small practice - we are not equipped with

all the fancy resources but we have aligned

our marketing and business development with

our firm strategies.”

“We don't have the luxury of a big budget

spend so we must be careful, considerate and

measured in what investment we make.”

“Identifying the BD objectives that suit the

needs of your firm from the start could save

you a lot of time and money.”

PART 5Measurement and performance

“We tried to put marketing time budgets in place and the equity partners were the first to complain.”

“KPIs are being developed for all fee earners with regard to business development.”

“Getting partners to actively market, set a plan and follow it. Also to realise that business development will help their practice not hinder it.”

“Nobody in my firm (other than me, the marketing manager) considers this to be important…”

“Undertaking marketing initiatives that are not measurable in terms of the success of the investment.”

“Measurement and performance should be communicated and understood at all levels within the firm. The emphasis needs to move from individual performance measurement toward a team measurement for reward.”

“Have instigated a program to introduce performance measures, including BD work, for all fee earners, but this is at early stages.”

“We have a program that lawyers are selected into that focus[es] on BD & Marketing activities with a reduced fee budget.”

“We pay as a bonus 15% of first year billings for new clients.”



Question 29: Does your firm measure the overall effectiveness of its marketing and business development activities?


Just under a quarter of respondents report that their firm measures the effectiveness of its marketing and BD activities (23.8%) – of these, 29.4% are small firms, 38.2% are mid-size firms, and 32.4% are large firms.

45.7% report some activities only are measured.

27.8% of respondents indicate that their firm does not measure the effectiveness of its marketing and BD activities.

Large firms are much more likely than small or mid-size firms to have measures in place for some or all of their activities (94.2%).

BY FIRM SIZE

23.8%

45.7%

27.8%

2.6%

Yes

Some activitiesonly

No

Not sure

16.4%

26.5%

32.4%

42.6%

38.8%

61.8%

37.7%

30.6%

5.9%

4.1%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes Some activities only No Not sure



Question 30: How does your firm measure the effectiveness of its marketing and business development activities? Select all that

apply.


OPTION % OF RESPONDENTS

Based on number of new matters/instructions 63.8

Lawyer budget & billing targets 54.3

Client satisfaction surveys 53.3

Anecdotal, informal client feedback 52.4

Based on number of new clients 51.4

Client retention 48.6

Online measures (website statistics, social media) 43.8

Growth of individual client accounts 33.3

Success in pursuing opportunities (e.g. winning tenders) 33.3

Conversion of leads 28.6

Leads generated 26.7

Other financial KPIs 25.7

Media coverage 15.2

“Net Promoter Score” 5.7

Don’t know 1.0

Other* 2.9

Note: This question was directed only to respondents who indicted that their

firm measures some or all of their marketing and BD activities (Q29).

Overall, effectiveness of marketing and BD activities is most commonly measured based on number of new matters/instructions (63.8%).

Small firms are most likely to measure effectiveness based on number of new matters/instructions (16.2% of respondents from small firms).

Mid-size firms are most likely to use lawyer budget and billing targets (12.4% of respondents from mid-size firms).

Large firms are most likely to use client satisfaction surveys (12.4% of respondents from large firms).



BY FIRM SIZE

% OF RESPONDENTS


Lawyer budget & billing targets 9.2 12.4 8.3

Client satisfaction surveys 7.5 10.1 12.4

Based on number of new matters/instructions 16.2 11.2 8.3

Other financial KPIs 4.6 4.7 5.2

Anecdotal, informal client feedback 12.7 7.7 8.8

Based on number of new clients 10.4 10.1 7.8

Client retention 9.8 9.5 8.3

Growth of individual client accounts 5.2 5.9 7.3

Online measures (website statistics, social media) 6.9 10.1 6.7

Media coverage 1.2 1.8 5.2

Success in pursuing opportunities (e.g. winning tenders) 3.5 3.0 11.4

“Net Promoter Score” 0.0 0.0 3.1

Leads generated 5.2 5.9 4.1

Conversion of leads 6.4 6.5 3.1

Don’t know 0.0 0.6 0.0

Other (please specify) * 1.2 0.6 0.0

TOTAL % 100 100 100

* Respondents were asked to specify Other. Responses were: Acknowledgement sent to referrers; specifically ask clients why they come to see us; Referrals received.



Question 31: Does your firm communicate financial performance results to lawyers and staff?


Nearly half of all firms communicate financial performance results to lawyers and staff (49.7%).

Large firms are most likely to communicate financial performance results.

Firms with well-developed and sophisticated marketing and BD functions (Q10) are more likely to share information on financial results with lawyers and staff (68.6%); under-developed firms are more likely to not share results (61.8%).

BY FIRM SIZE

Yes, 49.7%No, 50.3%

44.3%

44.9%

67.6%

55.7%

55.1%

32.4%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes No



Question 32: Do lawyers at your firm have individual revenue targets?


Only 12.6% of respondents report that their firms do not have individual revenue targets in place for lawyers.

Small firms are more likely to not have revenue targets for lawyers.

85.4% of respondent firms have revenue targets for some or all lawyers.

BY FIRM SIZE

76.8%

8.6%

12.6%

2.0%

Yes – all lawyers

Yes – but only partners & senior

lawyers

No

Not sure

70.5%

85.7%

79.4%

6.6%

8.2%

11.8%

19.7%

6.1%

8.8%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes – all lawyers Yes – but only partners & senior lawyers No Not sure



Question 33: Do your lawyers have individual business development and marketing targets/KPIs?


60.9% of respondents indicate that lawyers at their firm do not have individual business development and marketing targets.

Small and mid-size firms are less likely than large firms to have targets in place for lawyers.

Firms that have an under-developed marketing and BD function (Q10) tend not to have targets for lawyers – nearly 80% of respondents answered no.

60% of respondents from firms with a sophisticated marketing and BD function (Q10) report that some or all lawyers have targets.

BY FIRM SIZE

29.1%

7.9%

60.9%

2.0%

Yes – all lawyers

Yes – but only partners

No

Not sure

27.9%

22.4%

38.2%

4.1%

26.5%

68.9%

71.4%

32.4%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes – all lawyers Yes – but only partners No



Question 34: Are business development and marketing targets/KPIs tied to individual lawyer performance appraisals and

remuneration?


Note: only respondents who answered yes to the previous question were

asked this question.

Most respondents report that their firm ties BD and marketing targets to performance appraisals and remuneration (67.9%).

Mid-size firms are most likely to tie targets to performance appraisals and remuneration (84.6%).

Large firms are less likely than small or mid-size firms to tie targets to performance appraisals and remuneration (59.1%).

BY FIRM SIZE

Yes, 67.9%

No, 28.6%

Not applicable,

3.6%

66.7%

84.6%

59.1%

27.8%

15.4%

36.4%

5.6%

4.5%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

Yes No Not applicable



Question 35: On average, how many (non-billable) hours per week does each lawyer at your firm spend on business development

and marketing activities?


64.2% of respondents indicate that their firm’s lawyers spend up to five hours per week on marketing and BD activities, on average.

One quarter of respondents report that their firm does not track lawyer time spent on these activities (25.2%) – this figure roughly cuts across all firm sizes.

Lawyers from large firms are, on average, more likely to spend more time each week on marketing and BD activities than smaller firms.

BY FIRM SIZE

27.8%

36.4%

6.0%

0.0%

0.0%

25.2%

4.6%

< 2 hrs/wk

2 to 5 hrs/wk

5 to 10 hrs/wk

11 to 15 hrs/wk

> 16 hrs/wk

We don’t track this

Not sure

31.1%

32.7%

14.7%

36.1%

32.7%

47.1%

6.6%

4.1%

8.8%

26.2%

22.4%

23.5%

8.2%

5.9%

Small firms

Mid-size firms

Large firms

< 2 hrs/wk 2 to 5 hrs/wk 5 to 10 hrs/wk 11 to 15 hrs/wk > 16 hrs/wk We don’t track this Not sure



Question 36: Do you have any other commentary to add or thoughts to share on measurement and performance?

KEY FINDINGS

We invited respondents to share their thoughts on measurement and

performance within their firms, and 12 respondents provided answers.

Significant comments around measurement and performance are grouped

into themes below.

How firms measure and reward performance

“Each lawyer contributes variable amounts of time to their marketing/BD. We pay as a bonus 15% of first year billings for new clients.”

“We have a program that lawyers are selected into that focus[es] on BD & Marketing activities with a reduced fee budget.”

Little importance or priority placed on measures

“We tried to put marketing time budgets in place and the equity partners were the first to complain.”

“Nobody in my firm (other than me, the marketing manager) considers this to be important. Head down, bum up - good work will win work - that's basically the strategy!”

“This has to be supported by the partners in order to be implemented.”

“Need to make time to do it and do it well - sometimes this is difficult with competing priorities.”

Making a start


“Have instigated a program to introduce performance measures, including BD work, for all fee earners, but this is at early stages.”

Other comments

“All employees are at all times 'Marketing' the firm, both in a business and social context.”


“Measurement and performance should be communicated and understood at all level within the firm. The emphasis needs to move from individual performance measurement toward a team measurement for reward.”



OBSERVATIONS

Don’t fall into the trap of measuring

only fees

So often, we find that law firms use fees as

their measure of success.

Most firms (85.4%) have individual revenue

targets for lawyers.

Although fees are important and easy to

interpret, fee revenue alone is a narrow and

"rear-view mirror" look at overall business

health. Looking at fee generation in isolation:

hides or disguises important realities

encourages short-term focus on the single behaviour being measured (fee generation now)

fails to track the behaviours and strategies which correlate with future financial and strategic success.

While firms are focused on revenue targets for

lawyers, they are failing to implement targets

around marketing and BD. 60.9% of firms

report that they did not have individual

business development and marketing

targets/KPIs for lawyers.

Want things to change?

If you want to encourage a particular behaviour

or contribution from your lawyers, make sure

you notice it, then recognise and reward it.

Qualitative performance measures, formalised

and communicated, can enhance quantitative

measures such as fee revenue generated.

For some firms and practice groups, two or

three simple metrics are sufficient. But in

many areas, a wider range of contributions are

worth measuring.

Measure success indicators such as client

satisfaction feedback and ratings, or skill-

building the rest of the internal team, and you

will get a very different - and better - business.

What they said…

“This has to be supported by the partners in

order to be implemented.”

“Each lawyer contributes variable amounts of

time to their marketing/BD.”

“Principal and lawyers so busy it is hard to

make time for business development meetings

and other initiatives.”

“Constant challenge of balancing lawyer

engagement in BD activities with a necessary

focus on doing billable work - this will never

change but is one of the most difficult things to

manage.”

PART 6Outlook

“Getting partners on board with how marketing is.”

“Getting the message to all levels in the business so that we develop a culture of business development and marketing with all staff.”

“The constant challenge of balancing lawyer engagement in BD activities with a necessary focus on doing billable work - this will never change but is one of the most difficult things to manage.”

“Getting legal staff to understand they are now sales people.”

“The development of business development skills in the younger lawyers so that they are equipped to begin to build their own practices in the future.”

“The greatest challenge for us at this stage is ensuring lawyers understand what we do and choose to join us.”

“Finding people who have the skills and desire, and motivating existing staff, to engage in those activities. Most just want to practice law.”

“Identifying those staff members who can generate more / new clients and enabling them to do so.”

“Focusing lawyers on the need to do this and not just do the work.”

“Lawyers who don't see marketing and BD as part of their job”

“Getting buy in and time investment from all the partners.”



Question 37: Considering the challenging economic environment in which law firms operate today, please respond to the

following statements:

ALL RESPONSES

17.2%

7.3%

7.9%

9.3%

13.2%

7.3%

31.1%

23.8%

29.1%

38.4%

46.4%

13.2%

16.6%

15.2%

21.2%

24.5%

32.5%

24.5%

36.4%

29.1%

27.2%

17.9%

27.2%

55.0%

53.0%

53.6%

49.0%

63.6%

57.0%

33.8%

53.0%

36.4%

34.4%

22.5%

17.9%

23.2%

19.9%

15.9%

18.5%

7.9%

6.6%

7.9%

My firm is firmly focused on client satisfaction & retention

My firm is making the necessary investment in technologyto keep us competitive

My firm is focussed on long-term issues, not just short-term profits

My firm believes you have to invest in BD & marketing to thrive& prosper in the changing legal landscape

My firm is effectively managing the economic challenges

My firm is responding effectively to keep us cost competitive

My firm is investing in training & developing its lawyers in essentialnon-legal skills (like client management, personal selling etc)

My firm is doing well, compared to other firms

My firm is strongly differentiated from the competition

My firm is appropriately resourcing the marketing and BD function

My firm is doing the bare minimum of investment requiredto keep us competitive

My firm is not doing as well as it could, compared to other firms

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree




KEY FINDINGS

Overall, respondents are positive about their firm’s outlook in terms of client satisfaction and retention, making necessary investment in technology, having a long-term focus, and how they are performing compared to other firms.

Respondents are less positive about their firm’s investment in training and developing its lawyers in essential non-legal skills – nearly 60% strongly disagree, disagree, or are neutral.

Only 38.4% respondents agree or strongly agree that their firm is appropriately resourcing the marketing and business development function.

Firm differentiation is another area which respondents rate more negatively – 26.5% disagree or strongly disagree with the statement that my firm is strongly differentiated from the competition, and nearly 30% are neutral.



Question 38: Briefly describe what you believe to be the biggest marketing or business development challenge your firm faces

looking to the future.

KEY FINDINGS

We invited respondents to describe the biggest marketing or business

development challenge their firm faces – 103 respondents provided

answers.

Challenges raised span both internal firm issues – such as time, money,

resources, and strategic issues – and external environmental factors,

including competition and differentiation in a crowded market.

Responses are grouped into key themes.

EXTERNAL CHALLENGES

Competition and changing market or external forces (16 comments)

Respondents say fierce competition, often from new entrants, in “an

increasingly crowded marketplace” is their firm’s biggest challenge.

“Keeping up with change” in the market is another challenge for firms, with

the web providing “infinite” possibilities for reaching clients, and the

increased use of LPO (legal process outsourcing) impacting on firms

competitiveness.

Differentiation in a crowded market (17 comments)

Many firms cite a struggle to “positively differentiate” from competitors as

their biggest challenge.

Several respondents clarified their problem: “we are undifferentiated

generalists in a crowded market place”; there are “too many law firms

offering the same services with no remarkable distinction”, making it

difficult for firms to “stand apart from the ‘vanilla’".

INTERNAL CHALLENGES

People issues (20 comments)

Many respondents report their biggest BD and marketing challenges are

around people – both legal and non-legal team members.

Challenges include:

developing a “culture of business development and marketing with all staff”

dealing with generational change and “developing the understanding and skills of younger lawyers”

engagement and participation from lawyers when “most just want to practice law”

“getting the lawyers to understand that business development is part of their role; not just a job one or two people do”

“finding the right people” to perform in BD and marketing roles.

Strategic issues (11 comments)

Respondents also comment on the high-level or strategic challenges they

face, including identifying and agreeing BD and marketing goals and

strategies for the firm as a whole, better resourcing and “acknowledging

that more has to be done in marketing program”, and allowing marketing

and BD teams to handle decision-making.

Others indicate their challenges stem from a “heavy reliance on existing

client base and referrals from existing clients”.



Web, digital, technology and systems (12 comments)

Comments here reflect a general feeling that the biggest challenge many

firms faced is generally “keeping up” with changes in technology and

developments in the web.

Another challenge surrounded “managing all of the data” and “co-

ordinating the digital sphere - website, blog, newsletter and social media”.

Lack of time, money, resources (8 comments)

Time and money are perennial challenges for firms. Two respondents

comment on the need for targeted and reasonable allocation of time and

resources to be effective and gain results.

Another respondent notes that the “Principal and lawyers [are] so busy it is

hard to make time for business development meetings and other

initiatives”.

And finally, one respondent reports that there is “not enough time to plan

properly, stick to the plan or implement new strategies. [We] keep doing

the status quo”.


© Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) and Julian Midwinter & Associates Pty Ltd Page | 71

Question 39: Briefly describe what has been the most unsuccessful marketing and business development initiative your firm has

embarked on, and why?

KEY FINDINGS

We invited respondents to describe the most unsuccessful marketing and

business development initiative their firm has embarked on – 78

respondents provided relevant answers.

Comments fall into six key themes, summarised below.

Advertising (18 comments)

Advertising is cited by many as their firm’s least successful initiative.

Unsuccessful advertising initiatives span all forms: radio; newspaper;

magazine; on screens in shopping centres; outdoor advertising; and online

and social media.

One of the main problems with advertising, as respondents report, is that

firms are not able to measure or generate results:

“no new instructions generated”

“no advantage able to be measured”

“most [advertisements] aren't successful, or if they are, we have no way of knowing”.

Sponsorships (10 comments)

As with advertising, respondents cite the lack of measurable return-on-

investment or other measures as problematic for sponsorships.

One respondent states, there is “no obvious bang for buck”, while another

reports, “our firm did not end up receiving very good exposure for the

sponsorship dollar spent”.

Web, digital, and social media (9 comments)

Respondents refer to SEO, AdWords and LinkedIn as some of the areas

their firm has unsuccessfully worked in.

Lack of success in this area stems from not using the tools “to their full

advantage”. Lack of knowledge about these technologies is mentioned as

a challenge – one respondent notes they would “reconsider [SEO] now we

have more knowledge in that area”.

Events (6 comments)

Respondents commenting on events report that they deliver “little short

term effect”, and when it comes to seminars, “clients like them but they

don't produce much work”.

Seminars are also unsuccessful due lack of attendance and a lack of

interest in topics.

Strategic issues (6 comments)

Trying to maintain momentum on a strategy is the biggest challenge for

some firms.

One comment notes the problem is “starting projects and nothing being

finished”.

People (6 comments)

Respondents report lack of success with legal team members – “some just

aren't interested” – and with “having unqualified people in the BD and

marketing role”.



Question 40: Briefly describe what has been the most successful marketing and business development initiative your firm has

embarked on, and why?

KEY FINDINGS

We invited respondents to describe the most successful marketing and

business development initiative their firm has embarked on – 92

respondents provided relevant answers.

Several respondents commented more broadly about their strategy, rather

than specific activities or initiatives.

Selected responses are grouped into key areas by type of activity or

approach.

Web, digital, social media (20 comments)

Successful initiatives around web, social and digital media have a strong

theme of providing measurable returns.

For example, one respondent reports that their firm’s success in employing

a digital marketer is evident: “results of this investment are clearly

measurable and have positioned us well ahead of many other firms in this

space”.

Successful websites have generated leads and stimulated enquiries. For

one firm, a website with an associated pay-per-click (PPC) and search

engine optimisation (SEO) strategy “tripled enquiries and conversions”.

Focus on existing clients (14 comments)

A variety of successful tactics are cited that have a clear client focus, such

as client satisfaction and listening studies, client events and education

sessions, thank you gifts, meeting face to face to build better relationships

with clients, training lawyers in client service skills, and employing a

dedicated “Director of Client Relations”.

Referral relationships and networks (14 comments)

Building and maintaining referral relationships and networks featured

strongly as a successful initiative.

Reasons for success include recognising that “the relationships need to be

nurtured” and that “the drive, determination and active participation” of

lawyers is critical.

One firm noticed an immediate increase in work from referrers after they

started to hold one-on-one meetings with them.

Planned and focused strategy (12 comments)

Another strong theme that emerges in the commentary is “focused” or

“targeted” effort.

The specific initiatives varied, but they were measurable and targeted:

planned and measurable pursuit programs, re-positioning and

differentiating the firm to focus on particular sectors or services, and highly

targeted promotional campaigns.

Events (11 comments)

Reports of successful events (including education and information

sessions for clients, prospective clients or referral sources) highlight the

importance of being relevant and targeted.

“If you are relevant, you will be heard”, notes one respondent. Another

respondent comments that relevance is more important being “ground-

breaking or new”.



People (9 comments)

The majority of comments in this area indicate the importance of hiring

good staff in the first instance, and ensuring that people are appropriately

experienced and trained.

Some respondents report that providing training – for both lawyers as well

as marketing or BD staff – was a successful initiative.

Advertising (8 comments)

Three types of advertising are specifically cited in commentary on

successful initiatives: street signage, radio advertising on local media, and

Yellow Pages advertisements.

Comments about Yellow Pages advertising show that measurable results

are key – two respondents confirm that Yellow Pages ads “generate a

significant number of leads” and that they “get many queries/leads from

that advertising”.



Question 41: Please feel free to provide further comments relating to marketing and business development in your firm:

KEY FINDINGS

We received comments from 24 respondents.

Commentary varied from one word answers (“disorganised”) to fuller

responses on marketing and BD.

Many of the key issues and themes raised in the report are reiterated here

by respondents.

A selection of the more substantial comments is set out below.

“Our firm is in a transitional phase for marketing and business development, as older partners grasp the importance of change within our client base and overall increased sophistication within our particular part of the market. There is also great pressure to reduce hourly rates which has had to be reluctantly factored in as part of our offering.”

“[Marketing and business development] needs full support from the top and more resources. The partners support in theory but don't all do the follow through that is needed. We also need strong decisions on tenders etc, to not chase those that aren't appropriate.”

“We need to do more, and do it better. It hasn't been a focus in the past as we had plenty of work coming through the door. With the current economic climate we have noticed a down turn in work volumes and therefore need to be doing more to generate more work, something we have never had to do in the past.”

“Simple - marketing and business development is needed. I have great faith in this firm but find the leadership lack of drive disappointing.”

“As a small practice - we are not equipped with all the fancy resources but we have aligned our marketing and business development with our firm strategies and take an authentic approach to marketing and developing business opportunities with our existing clients who refer other clients to us.”

“Lack of time is the biggest problem for this sole practitioner.”

“[Identifying] the BD objectives that suit the needs of your firm from the start could save you a lot of time and money.”

“There is a need to allocate resources and training to marketing and business development to meet the changing demands of our clients but to also be able to demonstrate of key points of difference and why clients might choose to use our services verse another law firm.”



OBSERVATIONS

Don’t be overly distracted by the

external - get your house in order and

be adaptable!

Market forces beyond firms’ control –

economic conditions, competitive dynamics,

client needs, procurement processes – are

continuously evolving. Firms who want to

meet these challenges and prosper over the

long-term must first look inwards.

Many of the challenges identified and

frustrations expressed by respondents in this

study are internal organisational issues which

firms can control. Basic things like agreeing a

marketing and BD strategy, then implementing,

resourcing, measuring and refining that

strategy are well within the power of most

firms.

Successful firms are organised and receptive

to new and better ways of doing things, open

to creating and exploiting new opportunities.

You just need to decide to make it happen.

Generalist firms will struggle to

remain competitive

Firm differentiation was a challenging area for

most firms. Less than half of respondents

(44.3%) agreed or strongly agreed with the

statement that their firm is strongly

differentiated from the competition.

In a market crowded with generalists, many

substantial consumers of legal services

struggle to identify a firm that fits their needs.

Full service strategies are not smart for most

law firms, as few large enterprises want or

expect to buy all their services in one place.

Niche specialists can shine and there are real

opportunities to dazzle. Focused and targeted

tactics are working well for many firms.

Supply exceeds demand for generalist

commercial and property lawyers, for example,

and we cannot see this changing. The way out

is for these lawyers to become sector

specialists.

For those firms who remain undifferentiated

generalists, they must expect price competition

to become central to their world.

Final thought:

you can lead a horse to water…

In legal services marketing, growth and

prosperity depends greatly on the frontline

legal professionals. Many lawyers work

extremely hard on business development and

are superb representatives of their firm.

But when the partners and other lawyers don’t

– or can’t – play their part, not even a fully-

resourced, well-funded and empowered team

of marketing and BD experts will enable firms

to achieve their full growth potential.

Opportunities can only be realised when

symbiosis between legal professionals and

marketing and BD staff is reached.

What they said…

“Getting the lawyers to understand that

business development is part of their role; not

just a job one or two people do”

APPENDIXSurveyMonkey questionnaire

Thank you for participating in the inaugural study by ALPMA and Julian Midwinter & Associates to benchmark marketing and business development in Australasian law firms.

Your responses will help shed light on key questions, including:

• How do different firms’ marketing and business development investments and resources compare? • How mature are marketing and business development processes in Australasian law firms? • What has been difficult and what has been successful? • Where are firms investing their marketing and business development improvement efforts? • What are the key business development and marketing challenges in Australasian firms?

This confidential survey should take you about 15 minutes to complete.

To thank you for your time, at the end of the survey you can elect to receive a free copy of the research findings, so you can benchmark your experience against other firms.

Two lucky participants will win a Benchmark Briefing session for their firm, facilitated by a consultant from Julian Midwinter & Associates (valued at $600).

If you are not able to complete the survey in one sitting, don't worry! The system will allow you to leave the survey and resume it later but please be sure you access it on the same computer using the same browser each time.

The survey closes on 1 October 2014

Privacy and confidentiality

Your responses will remain strictly confidential. We will only use the information you provide for the purpose of conducting this research and preparing the report. Results will be provided in aggregate form only – no individual or firm will be identified in any way.

If you have any questions relating to this survey, please do not hesitate to contact Connie Finestone at [email protected] or on 03 8644 7055.

1. Please select the option that best describes your role:


*

Managing Partner nmlkj

Practice Manager nmlkj

General Manager nmlkj

Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director nmlkj

Chief Operating Officer nmlkj

Partner nmlkj

Lawyer nmlkj

Marketing and Business Development Manager nmlkj

Marketing Manager nmlkj

Marketing Coordinator nmlkj

Business Development Manager nmlkj

Business Development Coordinator nmlkj

Other (please specify your role/position)

nmlkj

2. How long has your firm been operating?


*

Less than 2 years nmlkj

2 to 5 years nmlkj

6 to 10 years nmlkj

11 to 24 years nmlkj

25 years or longer nmlkj

3. How many lawyers are at your firm?


*

1 nmlkj

2 to 5 nmlkj

6 to 10 nmlkj

11 to 24 nmlkj

25 to 74 nmlkj

75 to 149 nmlkj

150 or more nmlkj

4. In which locations does your firm have an office? Please select all that apply.


*

NSW gfedc

VIC gfedc

QLD gfedc

SA gfedc

WA gfedc

TAS gfedc

ACT gfedc

NT gfedc

New Zealand gfedc

Other international gfedc

5. What are the main areas of law your firm practices? Select all that apply.


Banking and finance gfedc

Bankruptcy, insolvency and business reconstitution gfedc

Commercial and corporate gfedc

Commercial dispute resolution gfedc

Criminal law gfedc

Elder law / Aged care gfedc

Employment law gfedc

Family law gfedc

Insurance law gfedc

Intellectual property and technology law gfedc

Mergers, acquisitions, and corporate gfedc

Personal injury (plaintiff) gfedc

Planning and environment gfedc

Probate, wills, and estate planning gfedc

Property, real estate and conveyancing gfedc

Taxation law gfedc

Transport and trade gfedc

Other (please specify)

gfedc

6. Your firm’s clients are best described as:


Mostly government clients nmlkj

Mostly business clients nmlkj

Mostly consumer clients nmlkj

Mostly business and government clients nmlkj

Mostly business and consumer clients nmlkj

7. Does your firm distinguish between “marketing” and “business development”?

Part 2: Marketing and business development activity what have you been do...

Yes, they are separate, defined functions nmlkj

No, they are treated as interrelated functions nmlkj

Not sure nmlkj

8. Does your firm have a person or group dedicated to marketing and business development?


*

Yes nmlkj

No nmlkj

9. How many people are dedicated to marketing/business development?


1 nmlkj

2 to 5 nmlkj

6 to 10 nmlkj

More than 10 nmlkj

10. How would you rate the overall sophistication of the marketing and business development function at your firm?


*UNDERDEVELOPED ADEQUATE WELLDEVELOPED SOPHISTICATED

nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

11. Who makes the key marketing and business development decisions at your firm? Select all that apply.


Firm management committee gfedc

Managing Partner gfedc

Practice Manager gfedc

Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director gfedc

General Manager gfedc

Chief Operating Officer gfedc

Marketing and Business Development Manager gfedc

Marketing Manager gfedc

Marketing Coordinator gfedc

Business Development Manager gfedc

Business Development Coordinator gfedc


gfedc

12. What resources are available to support marketing and business development at your firm? Select all that apply.


Resources from other internal support services – e.g. admin, HR, finance, Word Processing gfedc

Partner mentors who are involved in marketing and business development initiatives gfedc

Firm management (nonpartners) e.g. CEO, CFO, marketing manager gfedc

External consultants who act as business development coaches or mentors gfedc

External consultants who act as marketing coaches or mentors gfedc

External consultants who provide expertise and additional resources for activities (e.g. tendering) gfedc

Other external suppliers and providers like web developers, graphic designers, printers, event managers (e.g. for specific oneoff projects) gfedc

We have few resources available gfedc

13. Does your firm have an overarching firmwide marketing and business development plan?


*

Yes it’s part of the larger strategic plan for the firm nmlkj

Yes – but it’s not tied to the firm’s strategic plan nmlkj

No nmlkj

Not sure nmlkj

14. Does your firm have separate marketing and business development strategies for each individual practice group?


Yes – each practice group has its own strategies nmlkj

Yes – some practice groups have their own strategies nmlkj

No nmlkj

Not sure nmlkj

Not applicable nmlkj

15. Does your firm provide marketing and business development skills training for its lawyers?


*

Yes nmlkj

No nmlkj

16. Please select the top 5 activities which account for most of your firm’s business development and marketing dollar spend?


*

Advertising – Google ad words, web gfedc

Advertising – hard copy/print/billboard gfedc

Award submissions gfedc

Blog gfedc

Client and contact database gfedc

Client and industry research gfedc

Client entertainment – sporting and social gfedc

Client relationship management program – planning, key client management, relationship partners

gfedc

Digital lead generation program gfedc

Events (eg seminars hosted by your firm) gfedc

Face to face meetings with a business development/sales agenda – planned and proactive selling

gfedc

Free consultations (or other special introductory offers for new clients) gfedc

Legal directory submissions gfedc

Memberships of professional and industry associations gfedc

Networking at industry and business events and conferences gfedc

Newsletters – hardcopy or email gfedc

Public relations gfedc

Referral relationships (cultivating and managing) gfedc

Search engine optimisation gfedc

Social media – LinkedIn, Twitter, etc gfedc

Speaking engagements gfedc

Sponsorships – business gfedc

Sponsorships – sporting and social gfedc

Tenders, proposals and capability statements gfedc

Thought leadership – whitepapers, research, book publishing gfedc

Toll free/Smart telephone numbers gfedc

Website gfedc

17. Please select the top 5 activities which account for most of your firm’s business development and marketing time?


*




Blog gfedc





gfedc




gfedc
















Website gfedc

Other

18. Which one of these best describes your firm’s key growth strategy for next 12 months?

Part 3: Marketing and business development activity – future intentions an...

*

Existing services to existing clients – increase share of work, cross sell nmlkj

Existing services to new markets – geographic expansion or entry to new sectors nmlkj

New services to existing clients nmlkj

New services to new clients nmlkj

Don’t know nmlkj

19. How important are the following marketing and business development approaches to your firm’s growth strategy?

Part 3: Marketing and business development activity – future intentions and...

*NOT

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT

VERY IMPORTANT

Recruiting new partners to the firm nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Mergers or acquisitions nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Building brand and profile raising nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Increasing effectiveness of individual lawyers marketing and business development activities

nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Recruiting additional marketing/business development staff nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Improving management of existing client relationships and satisfaction

nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Securing panel appointments through competitive tenders or proposals

nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Increasing referrals and recommendations nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Investing in a digital lead generation program nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj


20. Is your firm planning to significantly upgrade or implement new software or technologies to support your growth strategy?


Yes nmlkj

No nmlkj

If yes, please provide brief details:

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21. In the next 12 months, which 5 activities do you expect will account for most of your firm’s business development and marketing dollar

spend?


*




Blog gfedc





gfedc




gfedc
















Website gfedc

22. In the next 12 months, which 5 activities do you expect will account for most of your firm’s business development and marketing time?


*




Blog gfedc





gfedc




gfedc
















Website gfedc

23. What is your firm’s approximate annual fee revenue?

Part 4: Financials

*

Less than $1 million nmlkj

Up to $3 million nmlkj



More than $10 million nmlkj

I’m not sure nmlkj

24. What revenue growth do you anticipate in your firm’s current financial period?

Part 4: Financials

Revenue decline nmlkj

No growth – stay the same nmlkj

Increase up to 5% nmlkj

Increase up to 10% nmlkj

Increase more than 10% nmlkj

Not sure nmlkj

25. What is your firm’s current (12 month) marketing and business development budget (excluding staff salaries)?

Part 4: Financials

*

Up to $20,000 nmlkj

Up to $50,000 nmlkj

Up to $100,000 nmlkj

Up to $150,000 nmlkj

More than $150,000 nmlkj

I’m not sure/prefer not to say nmlkj

26. How does your firm’s current financial year marketing and business development budget compare to the previous year?

Part 4: Financials

More nmlkj

Less nmlkj

About the same nmlkj


27. How do you expect your firm’s next financial year marketing and business development budget to compare to this year?

Part 4: Financials

More nmlkj

Less nmlkj

About the same nmlkj


28. Do you have any commentary or thoughts to share on financials?

Part 4: Financials

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66

29. Does your firm measure the overall effectiveness of its marketing and business development activities?


*

Yes nmlkj

No nmlkj

Some activities only nmlkj

Not sure nmlkj

30. How does your firm measure the effectiveness of its marketing and business development activities? Select all that apply.


Lawyer budget and billing targets gfedc

Other financial KPIs gfedc

Client satisfaction surveys gfedc

Anecdotal, informal client feedback gfedc

Based on number of new matters/instructions gfedc

Based on number of new clients gfedc

Client retention gfedc

Growth of individual client accounts gfedc

Online measures (website statistics, social media) gfedc

Media coverage gfedc

Success in pursuing opportunities (e.g. winning tenders) gfedc

“Net Promoter Score” gfedc

Leads generated gfedc

Conversion of leads gfedc

Don’t know gfedc


gfedc

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31. Does your firm communicate financial performance results to lawyers and staff?


Yes nmlkj

No nmlkj

32. Do lawyers at your firm have individual revenue targets?


Yes – all lawyers do nmlkj

Yes – but only Partners and Senior Lawyers nmlkj

No nmlkj

Not sure nmlkj

33. Do your lawyers have individual business development and marketing targets/KPIs?


*

Yes – all lawyers do nmlkj

Yes – but only Partners nmlkj

No nmlkj

Not sure nmlkj

34. Are business development and marketing targets/KPIs tied to individual lawyer performance appraisals and remuneration?


Yes nmlkj

No nmlkj

Not applicable nmlkj

35. On average, how many (nonbillable) hours per week does each lawyer at your firm spend on business development and marketing activities?


Less than 2 hours a week nmlkj

Between 2 and 5 hours a week nmlkj



More than 16 hours a week nmlkj

We don’t track this nmlkj

Not sure nmlkj

36. Do you have any commentary to add or thoughts to share on measurement and performance?


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66

37. Considering the challenging economic environment in which law firms operate today, please respond to the following statements:

Part 6: Outlook

*Strongly disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly agree

My firm is doing the bare minimum of investment required to keep us competitive

nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

My firm is doing well, compared to other firms nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

My firm is effectively managing the economic challenges


My firm is focussed on longterm issues, not just shortterm profits


My firm is making the necessary investment in technology to keep us competitive


My firm is investing in training and developing its lawyers in essential nonlegal skills (like client management, personal selling etc)


My firm is not doing as well as it could, compared to other firms


My firm is responding effectively to keep us cost competitive


My firm is appropriately resourcing the marketing and business development function


My firm is strongly differentiated from the competition


My firm is firmly focused on client satisfaction and retention


My firm believes you have to invest in business development and marketing to thrive and prosper in the changing legal landscape


38. Briefly describe what you believe to be the biggest marketing or business development challenge your firm faces looking to the future.

Part 6: Outlook

55

66

39. Briefly describe what has been the most unsuccessful marketing and business development initiative your firm has embarked on, and why?

Part 6: Outlook

55

66

40. Briefly describe what has been the most successful marketing and business development initiative your firm has embarked on, and why?

Part 6: Outlook

55

66

41. Please feel free to provide further comments relating to marketing and business development in your firm:

Part 6: Outlook

55

66

Thank you for completing the survey.

For a free copy of the research findings, and to be included in the draw to win one of two Benchmark Briefing sessions for your firm (valued at $600),please provide your name and email address below.

All information collected will remain strictly confidential. Your individual responses will be available only to the research team at ALPMA and Julian Midwinter & Associates.

Your responses will be submitted once you click Done at the end of the page. You will not be able to return and review your responses once you have submitted.

42. For a free copy of the research findings, and to be included in the draw to win one of two Benchmark Briefing sessions for your firm, please provide your name, email address, and firm below.

Name

Email

Firm

PO Box 556, BURWOOD VIC 3125

1300 692 256

@ [email protected]

www.alpma.com.au

Suite 16, 357 Military Road, MOSMAN NSW 2088

02 9968 4168

@ [email protected]

www.julianmidwinter.com.au

FURTHER INFORMATION


http://www.alpma.com.au/


http://www.julianmidwinter.com.au/

australasian legal practice management association …€¦ · thanks to alpma board member jovan...

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