Continuing my look at the small firm marketing survey sponsored by LexisNexis� Martindale-Hubbell� and conducted by Harris Interactive�, I want to focus on the dollars spent on marketing.
Marketing Expenditures: (Remember that 80% of respondents were in firms of less than 6 lawyers)
The highest percentage of revenue dollars (74%) was spent in just four areas in 2005:
*Yellow Pages – 22% (decrease of 3% over 2002)
*Client Entertainment – 20% (decrease of 1%)
*Legal Directory Listings – 19% (increase of 1%)
*Firm Web Sites – 13% (increase of 1%)
Other activities that neither saw an increase nor decrease in percentage of spending over the three years include:
*Event Sponsorships – 7%
*Giving/Hosting Seminars – 6%
*PR/Writing Articles – 5%
*Referral Services – 3%
*Local Outdoor Ads – 3%
*Sponsorships on Legal Web Sites – 1%
Web site paid-per-click placements did increase from 1% to 2% of revenues over the period.
The survey reports that larger firms (6-20 lawyers) spend more on client meals and entertainment, event sponsorships, and giving/hosting seminars than smaller firms. Whereas smaller firms (1-5 lawyers) spend more on print/online yellow pages, and referral services.
NEXT: Perceived value of various marketing tools.
Again, you can Download file containing the survey.