When the economy starts to backslide, law firms often look for ways to cut expenses, and marketing budgets are frequently among the first on the chopping block. However, history and economic indicators suggest that reducing marketing efforts during a recession can be more detrimental than beneficial. At PSM Marketing, LLC, we serve as the outsourced marketing department for dozens of professional services firms across the country, and we’ve seen firsthand what works — and what doesn’t — during economic downturns.
The Historical Perspective
Law firms that maintain or increase their marketing spend during down economies tend to outperform those that cut back. A study by the Harvard Business Review found that firms continuing to invest in marketing during recessions experienced faster revenue growth and captured more market share compared to those that reduced their budgets. In fact, firms that cut their marketing saw not only short-term losses but a long-term erosion in customer perception, visibility, and loyalty.
Why Cutting Marketing is Risky Business
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Reducing marketing means you risk losing visibility with clients, prospects, and referral sources. If you’re not reminding people what you do and why it matters, someone else will be.
Trust Takes Consistency
People trust firms that stay the course. If your firm goes silent during hard times, that silence may be interpreted as instability. A consistent marketing presence sends the opposite message — reliability, strength, and trust.
Rebuilding Later is Expensive
It takes time to regain lost ground. The SEO rankings, email engagement, thought leadership positioning, and brand recognition you built don’t bounce back overnight. It’s cheaper and more effective to keep your marketing going than to start over later.
Why Professional Services Firms — Especially Law Firms — Should Not Cut Marketing in a Recession
Law firms and other professional services firms are not immune to recessions — but they are uniquely positioned to succeed during them if they stay visible.
Here’s why:
Legal Needs Shift — They Don’t Disappear
In recessions, demand may dip for some legal areas (e.g., mergers & acquisitions), but it often rises in others: bankruptcy, employment law, family law, estate planning, business restructuring, and litigation. If your firm isn’t visible when these needs arise, potential clients won’t know where to turn.
Referrals Dry Up Without Nurturing
Most law firms rely heavily on referral relationships to generate business. But referrals aren’t automatic — they must be nurtured. Without regular communication (newsletters, social media, webinars, blog posts – even lunches), even your best referral sources can forget what you do or assume you’re slowing down.
Marketing Builds Reputation
Marketing isn’t about gimmicks for professional services firms. It’s about reputation management and thought leadership. Whether it’s publishing articles, offering CLEs, or maintaining a strong personal LinkedIn presence, your marketing builds trust in your expertise — something clients crave during times of uncertainty.
Competitors Will Go Quiet — You Shouldn’t
During past downturns, firms that maintained marketing gained market share as competitors retreated. This applies to everything from solo practitioners to full-service firms. Your firm has an opportunity to stand out, simply by showing up.
Clients Are More Selective — You Need to Be Their First Choice
When clients are more cautious about spending, they take longer to make decisions. They research more. They rely on online reviews, peer recommendations, and digital content. If your firm is invisible, they’ll move on to someone who isn’t.
Strategic Marketing Approaches for Recessionary Times
If your firm is concerned about budget, you don’t have to do everything. But you do have to do something. Here’s where to focus:
- Clarify Your Messaging: Make sure your value proposition addresses the specific concerns of clients right now (e.g., risk management, cost containment, flexibility).
- Nurture Referral Relationships: Use email marketing, LinkedIn, and webinars to stay top-of-mind with those who can refer you business.
- Use Cost-Effective Channels: Double down on organic social, SEO, blogging, and email. Leaning into digital marketing is very cost-effective and produces results.
- Track What’s Working: Use tools like Google, Mailchimp, and social media analytics to measure ROI. Adjust as needed.
At PSM Marketing, we work as a full-service, team-based marketing department for our clients. That means we can pivot strategies quickly to help law firms adapt in real-time without starting from scratch or relying on high-overhead internal teams.
FAQs about Law Firm Marketing During Recessions
Q: Isn’t it financially responsible to cut marketing in a recession?
A: It might seem that way short term, but in the long term, the cost of going silent — lost clients, damaged brand, reduced referrals — far outweighs the short-term savings.
Q: What types of law firms benefit from continued marketing during a recession?
A: All of them. From solo practices to full-service firms, continuing to market is especially important for practices in employment law, litigation, family law, estate planning, and business law.
Q: How much should we be spending on marketing right now?
A: That depends on your goals, market, and existing presence. Depending on your growth goals, consider spending between 5% – 15% of gross revenue to fund your firm’s marketing efforts. The key is to remain consistent.
Q: What’s the best way to stay visible if we can’t afford a big campaign?
A: Focus on consistency. Regular blog posts, LinkedIn updates, e-communications, and reaching out to referral sources are all low-cost yet can have a high-impact.
Q: How can PSM Marketing help during a downturn?
A: We serve as our clients’ outsourced marketing department — providing strategy, content, SEO, digital marketing, social media, and project management. Our team approach gives you access to experienced marketing professionals without the overhead of hiring internally. In fact, it’s common for a PSM team of five or six people to cost less than just one internal marketing manager.
Final Thoughts
Recessions are a test — of resilience, leadership, and vision. Law firms and professional services firms that continue to invest in marketing during a downturn don’t just survive — in many cases they thrive. At PSM Marketing, we are your marketing department. Let us help you navigate the uncertainty, remain visible, and come out stronger on the other side.
Let’s talk. Contact PSM Marketing today to discuss how we can help your firm stay strong and smart — even in a softening economy.