2024 is just around the corner, and lawyers as well as law firm marketers are planning their marketing strategies for the new year. But first, it can be worthwhile to look back at the year in review and see how well your law firm performed by taking the 2023 Law Firm Marketing Test.

Take a few minutes to evaluate your 2023 score on the law firm marketing test below.

• Speaking Events = 10 points each. If you spoke at two industry events, your score = 20.
• Article Publication = 10 points each. If you published one professional article, your score = 10.
• Proactive Pitches = 5 points for every time that you targeted a prospect with an unsolicited introduction. If you made 4 pitches, your score = 20. Figure out your close rate (for example, 1 out of every 4 pitches) to plan for 2024 client acquisition.
• Law Firm Newsletter = 3 points each. If you published 10 newsletters, your score = 30. Your current clients represent 100% of your revenue base, so staying in touch with them is essential.
• Blog Posts = 2 points each. If you published 12 original articles, your score = 24. Content marketing can flow through many aspects of your communications efforts. It also has a “long tail” effect that will continue to attract search engine traffic way beyond the original publication date.
• Social Media Marketing = 1 point for every week that you posted original content or messaging on LinkedIn or other social media platforms important to your law firm. Your score could range from 0 to 52.

Add up your points to see how you did. Compare your own results to the scoring ranges below.

100+ points = A+. Congratulations! You are setting the marketing standard for other law firms to follow with your mastery of best practices.

85 to 100 = B to A-. You are on a good path. Look for ways you can expand your marketing efforts by adding more promotional channels.

70 to 84 = C. Start the new year with a renewed push to accelerate and expand your current marketing efforts.

50 to 74 = D. You are missing out to your competitors here. 2024 is a good time to turn this around.

30 to 54 = F! Think of the visibility that you are missing. You may be very busy with your current book of business, but what if you lose a big client? You’ll be challenged to replace lost revenue streams on an emergency basis.

Every law firm is different, so you may want to customize the marketing test for your operating environment. This article is oriented toward law firm marketing in a business-to-business (B2B) environment, so law firms that primarily serve consumers (B2C) may have different law firm marketing strategies and techniques.

Random Acts of Law Firm Marketing

Random acts of marketing represent one of the biggest mistakes in law firm marketing. This often happens when attorneys take the lead on their own marketing programs, but then get busy with client fulfillment requirements. Of course, this is good in that client service is where attorneys should be focusing their time. An ideal way to overcome this law firm marketing obstacle in 2024 is to create a marketing plan and calendar, and then turn it over to a non-lawyer for day-to-day implementation. Management of a law firm marketing plan can be done by an office manager, a paralegal, or an experienced law firm marketing consultant.

Create a Law Firm Marketing Committee

Creating a law firm marketing committee is an effective way to involve the managing partner, practice chair, and key rainmakers in oversight of the marketing activities without an undue burden. The committee can meet monthly to review marketing results from the previous month, while planning activities for the month to come.

If you have comments or suggestions on the law firm marketing test, the author encourages your feedback.

Download our free “Courting Your Clients” e-book to learn how to structure your law firm marketing initiatives in 2024.

The “Courting Your Clients” Legal Marketing Agency

We want to serve as your outsourced law firm marketing department! Courting Your Clients is offered exclusively by Legal Expert Connections, Inc., a national law firm marketing agency. We have helped more than 250 law firms in 40+ states pursue new client opportunities as of June 2023. Our focus is on the business-to-business market, including but not limited to business law, insurance defense, employment defense, commercial litigation, and immigration law.

We are experienced in many lines of legal liability and regulatory requirements, including auto, business, construction, cybersecurity, elder law, employment law, ERISA, homeowners, immigration, insurance, intellectual property, premises, products, professional liability, tax, transportation and trucking, trusts and estates, whistleblower, and workers’ compensation.

Our industry knowledge includes education, environmental, forensic accounting, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, municipal, professional services, real estate, restaurants, and retail.

Legal Expert Connections, Inc. offers three key benefits to law firms nationwide:

1. We serve as your outsourced legal marketing department. You get the equivalent of a “Chief Marketing Officer” level professional team for an affordable monthly investment. Our ideal client is a small law firm—from a solo practitioner to a 25-attorney firm—that needs marketing assistance but does not want to incur the cost and management time needed to maintain in-house staffing.
2. You get a structured business development process. We accelerate your growth with a 12-step legal marketing campaign that brings discipline, focus, and productivity to your marketing efforts.
3. Increase revenue with Bar-compliant legal marketing campaigns. We understand attorney advertising campaigns and can provide guidance in this regard. Ultimate compliance responsibility rests with the law firm.

Contact Margaret Grisdela, a legal marketing consultant, at 1-561-266-1030 or via email. Connect with Margaret Grisdela on LinkedIn.