Cost per lead is the wrong number for law firm marketing

A firm that buys leads on price will get cheap leads. Cheap leads come from loose targeting, broad creative, and forms that ask nothing. They fill the intake queue and sign at low rates, so the firm pays for them twice: once in media and again in staff time spent screening people who never qualify.

Measure the full path

The number that matters is cost per signed case. Getting it requires joining three data sets that usually live in different places: media spend by campaign, intake records with disposition codes, and signed retainers from the case management system. Most firms have all three. Few have them connected.

Once they are connected, the comparison changes. A source that costs more per lead often costs less per signed case because its leads arrive pre-qualified. A source that looks efficient on lead price can turn out to be the most expensive line in the budget.

What to change first

Start by adding a source field to every intake record and keeping it through to the signed retainer. Then report cost per signed case by source each month. The first report usually ends at least one vendor relationship.