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Growth in a pandemic

26 May 2021
Issue: 7934 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Legal services , Marketing , Technology
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High growth firms have reaped the benefits of making clever use of data, according to the global 2021 InterAction Marketing & Business Development Survey.

Law firms that recorded high growth in 2020 were four times more likely to use tracking metrics for marketing and business development efforts, according to the survey, of global and mid-size law firms and accounting and financial services firms (A&FS) in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021.

Firms that recorded high growth levels were also found to be investing more in marketing and business development. However, law firms differed from A&FS in terms of areas of investment―law firms invested heavily in their firm’s website, CRM (customer relationship management), and training for lawyers, whereas A&FS firms directed investments to social media and email marketing in addition to CRM.

Scott Winter, director of product development at InterAction, said: ‘While these two sectors will direct their spending in different areas, their plans reflect the recognition that leveraging data-driven insights is an important way to facilitate a more systematic approach to business development.’

Both law firms and A&FS took big hits to their marketing and sales efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, more than half of high-growth firms experienced a positive impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. The same could be said for only 11% of no-growth firms.

‘The COVID-19 pandemic exposed business development and marketing strengths and weaknesses across every industry, but it also sheds some light on how law and accounting and financial services firms can improve,’ said Brendan Nelson, general manager of LexisNexis Software Solutions.

‘As technology adoption continues to help firms better capture, manage, and gain insights from their valuable data they can adopt a holistic and strategic approach to business development that will successfully drive firm growth.’

Digital marketing accounted for eight out of the top ten marketing techniques used by firms, and data quality was regarded as the main hurdle to clear in order to achieve a successful campaign.

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NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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