The numbers have been crunched and the results are in: ‘Dynamic Law Firms’ invest considerably more in their business development and marketing activities/departments than static firms are willing to do.

According to the latest (8th) iteration of Thomson Reuters Institute’s 2023 Dynamic Law Firms Report, Dynamic Law Firms consistently invest greater sums in their business development and marketing teams than Static Law Firms:

As you can see from the over graph, in 2022, on average, this investment by Dynamic Law Firms in their business development and marketing teams accounted to over $12,000 per lawyer. Roughly $2,500 more per lawyer than Static Law Firms.

Importantly, this investment in business development pays off:

With Dynamic Law Firms consistently outpacing Static Firms in all growth Key Performance Measures; but, most notably from a business development perspective, in both ‘worked rates’ and ‘fees worked’.

So why is this? After all, business development and marketing is a ‘cost-center’.

Well, as the Report itself states:

“The first goal of MK&BD investment is to raise top-of-mind awareness of the law firm.

Research conducted over the course of many years by the Thomson Reuters Institute has shown that top-of-mind awareness is a vital first step toward winning work – a process that will see a firm move along a continuum from awareness to being viewed favourably, to being considered for and ultimately winning work, and hopefully, to a point where the firm has gained enough experience with the client that they garner credibility in the board room and can begin to box out competitors.”

A fact backed-up by the authors of Simple Heuristics who, in their principle of “recognition” [firm brand or lawyer], state that recognition is number one in any client’s decision process around whether or not to buy something.

And so it goes without saying that this ‘awareness‘ factor is critical in the ‘buying cycle’. If we don’t have this advantage, then we need to hope to hell the other providers aren’t a known commodity so we can proceed to the next level in the buyer’s decision process (typically experience – have they done this before?; then can I trust them not to mess this up and make me look stupid! – SIDE NOTE: price isn’t in the top 3 decision making selection criteria.).

Which is why, if you want to make sure your firm stays one step ahead of its competition, you actually need to be investing more, not less, in your business development team right now.

Yep, the evidence is in. It’s undisputed. Business Development and Marketing is not a ‘cost center’ (not that I ever thought it was). They not only pay for themselves, but they ensure your firms stays ahead of its competitors and earns more $$$s.

So the next time you think to yourself: “I need to cut costs, I’ll cut my business development and marketing budget” – I’m here to tell you that’s dumb – think again, because not only will it hurt you but it will take you on a journey to blandness.

As always, feel free to reach out to me for a chat if you want to talk through how I can help with this.

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