Earlier we introduced our inaugural InsideLegal Vendor Marketing Survey that we administered last fall.  Here's the first in a series of posts containing the results. The survey, primarily completed by senior marketing folks (90+% are managers or higher), provided a balanced cross-section across the legal vendor community from small companies to large, publicly traded, multi-billion dollar companies.

• Of the 67 vendors completing all 40 survey questions, roughly 60% of respondents work for legal technology companies ranging from 11-100 employees, with the largest single percentage (22%) stemming from within the 11-25 employee range.

• While most companies (70+%) staff their marketing departments with 1-4 marketers, a much smaller number (roughly 15%), count 6+ marketing team members.

With the recent trend of workforce reductions and across the board marketing-related belt tightening, it will be interesting to compare these statistics with the upcoming 2009 InsideLegal Vendor Marketing Survey.  (All participants receive a copy of the complete final results. Email us now if you would like to participate in the 2009 survey.)

One of the key focus areas of the marketing survey is the budgeting and marketing spend section. While we realize that budget and spending realities and outlooks have worsened since our survey completion in the fall, the data proves very useful when looking to establish industry spend benchmarks, marketing mix priorities based on marketing investment, and broader marketing cost cutting trends.

• Marketing spend based on total company revenues:  Nearly half spend 4+% of their annual company revenues on marketing, while 25% (highest single percentage) answered more than 6%. (Check out our separate post on this topic)

• 67% reported marketing budget increases for the past year.  What will happen in 2009 and even into 2010 with the state of things?

Cost cutting priorities: When forced to trim their budgets, the respondents rank the following in order from first to go…

• Advertising must go, or at least be trimmed back

• Promotional items/giveaways

• Industry events (besides the ‘usual’ legal technology trade shows)

• Direct mail

• Market research

Oddly enough, this does not match up with where respondents indicate they are spending marketing dollars. the following is the rank of the breakout of allocation in order from biggest budget line items…

• Events

• Web design (development and maintenance)

• Collateral

• PR

• Industry relations (consultant arrangements, whitepaper development by third parties, etc.)

Does this provide insight into marketing executives budget challenges?  We think so. Stay tuned for more survey insight on legal technology vendor marketing – targeting and segmenting, goal setting/planning, outsourcing, and vendors that have reputations for great marketing efforts.