Marketing plan, budget and agency management
A marketing plan for law firms brings all measures together, weights them according to firm strategy and puts dates to them: when does what start, when does it end. On top of that we calculate several budget scenarios — driven by the goals of the firm, the practice group and the individual fee earner, not by a watering can — and manage delivery towards your agencies.
What sets us apart
- 1A plan with dates, not a declaration of intentThe marketing plan brings all measures together, weights them according to firm strategy and puts dates to them: when does what start, when does it end.
- 2Budget driven by goals, not by a watering canWe calculate several budget scenarios — driven by the goals of the firm, the practice group and the individual fee earner. Which four routes law firms usually take is described in Alexander Dillinger’s guest article for Legal Tribune Online.
- 3Briefs that mention the legal industryWe word the briefs to your agencies so that the requirements of the legal industry are actually in them — and we manage delivery so that you have to invest little time.
Our services
Marketing plan
Measures with dates- The marketing plan brings all measures together, weights them according to firm strategy and puts dates to them: when does what start, when does it end.
- Only then does it become visible whether a year’s plans actually fit into the time available.
- The basis is the marketing and sales strategy: without goals, a plan cannot be weighted.
Budget scenarios
Calculated from the goals- We calculate several budget scenarios — driven by the goals of the firm, the practice group and the individual fee earner, not by a watering can.
- You therefore see what a goal costs, instead of guessing what a budget achieves.
- For that, the firm first has to know what marketing costs arise in each area today — that survey is part of the work.
Four ways to set a marketing budget
The guest article in LTO- There are four ways law firms determine their marketing budget — and three of them do not work. Subjective spend, share of revenue, “me too”, and the individual goal-driven method.
- Alexander Dillinger described them in his guest article for Legal Tribune Online. The fourth is the recommended one: set a goal per practice area first, then derive the budget from it.
- The full article: How big should marketing budgets be?
Putting the size in context
The legal industry compared- Marketing spend in the legal industry runs at 1 to 4.5 % of revenue, in the cosmetics industry at 40 to 45 % (guest article, Legal Tribune Online, 6 April 2017).
- Cosmetic products are far easier to compare with one another and therefore need more advertising to set them apart. Measured against that, the share in the legal industry is still low.
- The percentage does not replace a goal-driven calculation — it only shows where you stand in the market.
Agency management
Briefs that know the industry- We word the briefs to your agencies so that the requirements of the legal industry are actually in them — and we manage delivery so that you have to invest little time.
- Agencies without experience in the legal market otherwise deliver concepts that are right for consumer goods and unusable for a law firm.
- We handle the ongoing coordination; you decide at the defined points.
Selecting an agency
When there is no agency yet- If you have no agency, we run a structured selection process — or bring proven partners with us.
- The selection runs on a brief that already contains the requirements of the legal industry, which makes the offers comparable.
- On request we take over production and technical implementation with our partners ourselves.
What law firms say
Law Business provided us with important input regarding a new orientation and definition of the task profile of our Business Development / Marketing department and the appointment of a new head of department. Mr. Dillinger was responsible for the consulting — he knows the subject matter very well, which he was also able to demonstrate impressively in the equity partner circle.
All purchased goods and services were systematically examined for cost-cutting potential. This led to completely new insights for everyone involved and enabled the use of further synergies in group-wide purchasing.
Frequently asked questions
What marketing budget is usual in the legal industry?
Marketing spend in the legal industry runs at 1 to 4.5 % of revenue. By comparison, the cosmetics industry spends 40 to 45 % (guest article, Legal Tribune Online, 6 April 2017).
How do you set a law firm marketing budget properly?
In practice four routes are taken: subjective spend, share of revenue, “me too”, and the individual goal-driven method. The fourth is the recommended one: define a goal per practice area first, then derive the budget from it. In detail in our article How big should marketing budgets be?
What is the difference between a marketing plan and a strategy?
The strategy sets the goals, the plan sets the measures with dates and budget. Without a strategy, a plan cannot be weighted.
We already have an agency — what do you do then?
We word the briefs so that the requirements of the legal industry are in them, and we manage delivery. You invest considerably less time as a result.
And if we have no agency?
Then we run a structured selection process or bring proven partners with us. On request we take over production and technical implementation ourselves.
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