“personal contacts” is the most effective tactic, rated at 6.7 on a scale of one to ten, followed by free seminars, webinars & CLE

1. In the context of marketing for law firms, it’s difficult to separate the impact that each independent marketing activity has had, to the point that you’re able to confidently attribute your results to one  specific activity in your marketing plan.  So, for example, your personal contacts may always be one of your most important assets but the degree to which they are able to contribute towards your practice building efforts may be a function of how well they have understood and resonated with your brand and marketing materials.
2. There’s a difference between tactical and brand focused marketing activities.  One’s not better than the other, but they would normally be measured by different performance indicators.  Success for brand oriented activities such as a logo or website, might be measured by awareness, profile or goodwill.  Whereas success for tactical marketing activities (such as lunch and learns or direct mail programs) would be more closely related to securing new clients and therefore measured by factors such as number of leads generated, number of meetings booked and finally number of new clients closed.  To conclude that tactical marketing activities are more effective than brand marketing activities negates the fundamental relationship between the two.  You can’t win a relay race without having strength in each of the categories that lead up to the finish.
3. Have you heard the saying ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’? Asking law firms to comment on the effectiveness of their marketing presumes that they are already making the best possible use of the most relevant and current tools, while we well know that marketing is a fluid process and, particularly in this era of constant change, there’s something new to learn everyday.