Measuring the Effectiveness of an In-House PR Specialist
It seems life on our planet is changing so rapidly that even traditionally conservative industries like legal services are adapting faster than ever before. Like other sectors, the legal market has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
One notable trend in the legal business is the growing recognition of law as a business process itself. Lawyers are increasingly embracing strategic management, planning, and development. Concepts like team management, project oversight, and sales are becoming more deliberate within law firms.
There's also a growing understanding that business development (BD) is strategically vital for legal practices. Law firm owners now better appreciate the importance of growth and promotion amid fierce competition and economic challenges.
Just a few years ago, we didn't see such active interest in BD within legal circles. Today, having a BD or PR department - from full-service firms to specialized boutiques - has become essential for strategic growth.
However, this area still faces several typical challenges:
1. Lack of Strategic Direction
Many law firm owners still fundamentally don't understand:
- What their business actually is
- Where it's heading
- What their team looks like
- What growth objectives they have beyond simply "making money"
Without clear goals, plans, or strategy, firms struggle to define their BD specialist's role. Consequently:
- Responsibilities become vague
- Results are unclear
- The question "Why are we doing this?" leaves everyone stumped
2. Trust Issues
The absence of clear plans leads to another critical problem - delegation and trust in the BD specialist.
While an in-house BD professional should understand the business intricacies, we often see situations (particularly in large firms) where:
- The BD person is excluded from key business discussions
- They don't know the clients, projects, or team strengths/weaknesses
- Owners either distrust them or believe these matters "aren't their concern"
This creates a paradoxical situation where firms pretend to focus on growth without actually doing so.
3. Defining the Role
Even when firms understand why they need business development, they often struggle with:
- What exactly the BD specialist should do
- How to evaluate their performance
In most legal businesses, BD, marketing, and PR responsibilities overlap significantly. Only the largest firms have separate teams for each function - most have one person handling everything from strategy development to business cards and presentations.
This likely reflects market evolution and the current shortage of specialized professionals in the legal sector, though demand is clearly growing.
How to Measure Performance
Assuming the firm knows "where and why we're growing," and recognizes that BD specialists are thinkers and idea generators rather than just administrators, their performance can be measured through specific metrics.
Partners typically expect:
- Analytical, comprehensive approaches to growth
- Idea generation and independent implementation oversight
- PR and marketing expertise (particularly challenging in legal services)
Focusing on PR-specific metrics (common to most BD roles regardless of title), we can measure:
1. Professional Rankings
- KPI for maintaining current rankings
- KPI for improving positions
- KPI for entering new practice areas
2. Media Presence
- Expert commentary placements
- Articles and columns
- Interviews
(Can be weighted by media outlet quality)
3. Events
- Securing free speaking opportunities
- Generating partnership/promotion leads
- Direct client acquisition from events
4. Digital Metrics
- Website traffic (via Yandex.Metrica/Google Analytics)
- Social media growth and engagement
- Content interaction metrics
5. PR-Driven Sales
Direct client acquisitions through:
- Conference appearances
- Ranking visibility
- Media recognition
The Bottom Line
The "before-and-after" comparison remains fundamental: measure what changes after hiring a PR specialist in terms of brand recognition and client inquiries. However, owners must remember that PR success depends on partnership - even the best specialist can't deliver results without owner collaboration.
While these KPIs provide measurable standards, not all PR outcomes translate to immediate financial returns. Reputation building is a long game - today's efforts may bear fruit years later. The greatest results come when specialists work in harmony with owners who clearly understand their business direction and purpose.
