For example, if your practice relies heavily on referrals, track inbound and outbound referrals using your accounting system or a simple spreadsheet. Are you increasing referrals through marketing activities such as community service or bar committee work-or by increasing outbound referrals to a particular person? What is the average revenue per referral from your top referral sources? What did it cost you to gain or keep that referral source (dinner, football tickets, etc.)? What tactics are most cost-effective?

Whatever your activity of choice, if you are investing in marketing, find a way to gauge your return on investment (ROI). Many small firms buy advertisements or listings in Yellow Pages, online and print directories. What is the ROI for these ads? How many calls do you receive? How many are converted into clients? What is the average revenue and profit from these clients? How many are repeat clients?

You can apply this same analysis to other distinct marketing events such as participating in industry groups.

Small firms need to know where their work originates, and which marketing activities are effective. Many accounting and CRM software packages can track the origin of new work. And, yes, it is worth the time to track the numbers and make decisions based on reality, not guesswork.

Tracking referrals and ROI can tell you what is working, but it doesn't tell you why. To get to the why, you have to ask. Integrate these marketing questions into your new-matter conversations with clients and track their responses:

• How did you hear about our firm?
• What criteria did you use in choosing our firm?
• How would you describe our firm's reputation?
• What did you look for on our Web site as part of your selection process?
• Who did you call as a reference?
• What other firms did you consider?
• Were we your first choice?
  

Mark Beese (mbeese@hollandhart.com) is Director of Marketing at Holland & Hart LLP, in Denver, CO.