As we close the books on 2011, now is a great time to take a look back at your firm’s marketing efforts, especially as they pertain to legal rankings – arguably the most time-consuming and frustrating function of the marketing department.
- Who were the winners and losers? Before you can set a plan for 2012 or spend valuable hours tracking deadlines and publication dates, take a cold, hard look at your results. If your key practice areas are not ranking where they should, compare your outcome to your competitors’ rankings.
- Even though you tell a compelling story by summarizing your important victories, that story may not be complete. Next year, include a bit of market intelligence in your submissions that clearly shows how you stack up against the competition. That will give researchers a clearer picture of your level of experience.
- For the vast majority of legal rankings that matter, client references are a key component of the research. Now is the time to sort the list – add new contacts and delete those who have moved on. Plan to update your contacts throughout the year so you are using a rotating list of strong references in the various submissions that come up. This also will ensure that one reference is not tapped over and over again by similar ranking publications all asking the same thing. By the fourth call to the same person, remarks may not be as glowing.
A good look back can help you move forward in 2012!
For more information on how to make strategic decisions when it comes to the firm’s ranking efforts, feel free to contact Kathy O’Brien at kobrien@jaffepr.com.