The Math of Marketing Success
Michelle Woodyear
When I graduated with a degree in mathematics, computer science, and psychology, I was two decades too early for the data science revolution. Back then, I didn't yet realize that I was preparing for a career in legal marketing—I just knew that I enjoyed solving complex problems and finding patterns in chaos. Fast forward through my past in oil and gas (where I saved millions as a Six Sigma Black Belt), to now, where I apply that analytical mindset to what I believe is the ultimate puzzle: turning law firm data into revenue.
Let's be honest. Most law firms have invested in powerful technologies yet struggle to fully leverage them—though not for lack of trying. We've all been there: stuck in disconnected platforms battling data quality issues that make us want to hide our CRM away.
As I often tell concerned managing partners, technology alone cannot—and will not—solve your business development problems. And trust me, as a self-proclaimed “gadget girl,” this is not news I enjoy breaking! But the reality is messy. For instance, when I started at my previous firm, I inherited three enormous binders of business plans, all alphabetized and gathering dust. The first idea covered was converting the binder’s content into searchable PDFs so the BD team could hunt for keywords. And sure, that sounds marginally better than an analog-style, in-firm attempt at the Dewey Decimal System, but it still results in false negatives and wasted hours.
What I'm sharing in this paper isn't theoretical—it's battle-tested. It’s the result of years spent in the trenches of legal marketing, where resources can be scarce and expectations, sky-high. I've learned that with the right strategic approach to your data, you can turn even the most dysfunctional collection of systems into a revenue-generating engine. And the good news? You don't need to boil the ocean to make meaningful progress.
The Current Reality: Data Rich, Intelligence Poor
During a recent client assessment, I asked the marketing director how many places her business development team needed to check before they’re ready for a client meeting. I knew we were in trouble when the list started. And this isn't unusual—I've met with firms that require 15 different systems for BD professionals to gather basic client intelligence.
Most law firms are simultaneously data rich and intelligence poor. Do any of these examples sound familiar?
The 20,000-Contact Problem: "We have marketing lists with 20,000 contacts but can't segment them effectively because we're missing basic industry and location data." This means firms are essentially playing email roulette, hoping their messages land with someone receptive
The Lateral Data Dilemma: New partners arrive with valuable relationship data that ends up in spreadsheets or—worse—remains locked in their minds because there's no systematic process for integration
The Practice Group Silos: Practice A and Practice B are both targeting the same client without knowing it, missing opportunities for cross-selling and creating a disjointed client experience
The Technology Treadmill: Firms invest in new platforms without addressing underlying data and process issues, creating shiny new interfaces to the same old problems
The Timekeeper Secrets: Every matter is described in delicious detail in timekeeper narratives, but often the BD team isn’t granted access to this type of information.
After conducting dozens of assessments across firms ranging from 50 to 2,000+ attorneys, I've observed that the technology stack isn't usually the limiting factor—it's how firms use (or don't use) what they already have.
The Strategic Mindset: Playing the Hand You're Dealt
When I was working as a Six Sigma Black Belt in oil refineries, I learned a valuable lesson: sometimes the best solution isn't the perfect solution—it's the one you can actually implement with the resources available. I brought this pragmatic approach to legal marketing, a world in which we rarely have the luxury to start from scratch.
Here's Mount Insights' framework for turning your existing investments into drivers of revenue:
THINK STRATEGICALLY ABOUT DATA QUALITY
The first rule of data club is that not all data deserves equal attention. I once had a partner request that we clean all 487,000 contacts in our database. Instead, we showed him what we could accomplish by focusing on the 2,000 contacts at his top 50 target companies. The results spoke for themselves, and he indeed agreed that not all contacts are created equal.
Create different "bands" of data quality standards:
Tier 1 (Platinum): Top clients and key targets (1-5% of your database) receive the highest level of manual verification and enrichment
Tier 2 (Gold): Active prospects and secondary targets (10-15%) benefit from systematic enrichment and regular verification
Tier 3 (Silver): General marketing contacts (remaining 80-85%) maintain basic hygiene standards through automated processes
This approach acknowledges reality while ensuring resources flow to high-value data segments.
CONNECT SYSTEMS THROUGH STRATEGIC INTERFACES
I've yet to see a firm with perfectly integrated systems, but I've seen many create effective "bridges" between platforms. At one AmLaw 100 firm, we couldn't afford to replace legacy systems, so we built a data warehouse that pulled key information from multiple sources to create unified client dashboards.
Start with these connections:
Financial + Relationship Data: Combining matter information with communication patterns reveals both the health of client relationships and potential risks
Experience + CRM Data: Mapping expertise to client industries highlights natural cross-selling opportunities
Digital Engagement + Contact Information: Understanding which contacts engage with which content helps prioritize outreach efforts
Even simple Excel dashboards can bridge systems while you work toward more sophisticated solutions.
Focus on Proving Value Through Small Wins
With a small incremental budget of just $70,000 for my first year at a large firm, I had to be creative. I downloaded web tracking data, massaged it in Excel for a day, and created pretty charts showing a newly formed practice which companies were engaging with their content.
During the presentation, someone noticed a top tech firm was examining all their content. A partner who knew someone there asked why, and we later discovered that the tech firm was exploring wearables (those glasses they now sell) way back in 2017. This discovery led to significant new matters. That small win created the credibility to get funding for bigger data initiatives.
Look for similar opportunities to demonstrate value:
Create trip planning reports that show attorneys which contacts to meet in cities they're visiting
Develop "client at risk" alerts based on declining engagement metrics
Build simple industry targeting dashboards that match lawyer expertise to client needs
Implement Business Planning That Uses Real Data
After years of watching practice groups draft business plans that never see the light of day, I’ve found that data-informed planning creates accountability and drives action.
Get started with business planning by:
Creating a standardized template that identified specific target companies
Tagging those companies in CRM to track activities
Developing quarterly reports showing progress against targets
Using the data to inform content strategy and marketing campaigns
This approach transforms planning from an administrative exercise to a living strategy document.
Once this in place, track (and brag about) revenue growth!
Case Study: From Data Disaster to Revenue Engine
Let me share a real-world example that illustrates how these principles work together. When we worked with a 500-lawyer firm (I've changed some details to protect the innocent), they had:
An outdated CRM with 75,000+ contacts of questionable quality
12 different systems containing client information
A manual process for tracking business development opportunities
A database of past pitches and proposals accessible only to the proposal team
Rather than requesting a seven-figure budget for new systems, we took a phased approach:
Phase 1: Critical Foundations (Months 1-3)
Created a data quality protocol focused on the firm's top 100 clients
Developed a simple SharePoint repository for all pitch and proposal materials
Established a standardized business planning template focusing on specific targets
Built manual but repeatable reports connecting financial and relationship data
Phase 2: Process Enhancement (Months 4-8)
Implemented automated data enrichment for company information
Created standardized workflows for lateral hire data integration
Developed a basic client health score combining financial and engagement metrics
Built a tagging system for industry specialization across matters and lawyers
Phase 3: System Integration (Months 9-18)
Deployed a data warehouse for unified reporting across systems
Implemented client dashboards for business development professionals
Created an opportunity scoring model to prioritize BD efforts
Developed automated alerts for client relationship changes
The Practical Path Forward: Your Three-Step Action Plan
Based on our experience, here's how marketing and business development leaders can begin transforming their data approach immediately:
Step 1: Conduct a Strategic Data Assessment
Document every system containing client information
Map key data flows between critical systems
Identify high-value data elements needed for business development
Assess current data quality for priority segments
This isn't about documenting every field in every system—it's about understanding your most critical data assets and their current state.
Step 2: Create Your Prioritization Framework
Define your data quality tiers based on business value
Develop standards for each tier
Identify the minimum viable data set needed for key processes
Create a short-term road map focusing on high-impact connections
Remember: perfect data is a myth. Strategic data is achievable.
Step 3: Demonstrate Value Through Targeted Initiatives
Select one high-visibility use case (key client program, industry targeting, etc.)
Build a minimum viable solution using existing tools
Measure and communicate results in revenue terms
Use success to fund the next initiative
The most successful firms I've worked with didn't try to solve everything at once—they built momentum through a series of strategic wins.
Conclusion: The Multiplier Effect
When data, process, and technology align, the effect isn't merely additive—it's multiplicative. Each improvement amplifies the effectiveness of your existing investments.
I recently spoke with a CMO who described the transformation this way: "For years, we spent millions on marketing and events with limited visibility into results. Now, with our client intelligence platform, we can pinpoint exactly which initiatives drive revenue and double down on what works. It's changed our entire approach to marketing."
Remember: you don’t need to start from scratch. The data you need likely exists in your organization today—it's just trapped in disconnected systems or hidden by quality issues. By taking a strategic approach focused on business value rather than technical perfection, you can begin transforming your firm's relationship with data.
In an industry where relationships drive revenue, turning your data into intelligence isn't just a technical challenge—it's a business imperative. And from one data nerd to another, I can tell you it's also incredibly satisfying to watch the skeptics become believers when they see the results.
Michelle Woodyear is the co-founder of Mount Insights, a consultancy specializing in legal marketing technology strategy and implementation. With over 20 years of experience across industries, Michelle helps law firms transform their approach to data and technology. Before founding Mount Insights, she led transformative MarTech initiatives at major AmLaw firms and served as a Six Sigma Black Belt in the energy sector. Michelle holds degrees in mathematics, computer science, psychology, and an MBA—a combination she calls "being a couple of decades too early to the data science revolution.
