Ask the authorities--March 2009.

I've been a marketing/communications professional for years, and, given this economy, I am feeling the need to demonstrate value. Business-development professionals can show metrics, but I don't know how I can do the same. Any ideas?

Deborah Grabein

There are metrics that the communications professional can capture. Remember that the numbers you track are but one part of the value proposition for your work. Think about how your contributions can help lawyers develop business, expand the firm's brand, reach a new industry or recruit a new lateral lawyer. Suggested initiatives that can be tracked are:

Public and media relations

--The number of press releases from year to year: Was there an increase?

--Media inquiries: How many interviews were obtained?

--Lawyers quoted in the press: Was a specific practice area more successful than a previous year?

--Speeches and publications: Did these help with a new pitch?

--Interviews provided: Did a lawyer receive recognition as an industry leader?

--Set Google alerts: This will help track and measure the results of your campaigns. Collaterals, materials and other resources

--How many times did users click on electronic ads, collaterals, newsletters and other materials on your Web site or other Web sites linking to yours? Did anything lead to a new business opportunity?

--Publish success stories in your internal newsletter or on your firm's intranet. Feature a lawyer who is willing to share how the efforts of the communications team helped to create a win for the firm. Deborah Roth Grabein is the director of marketing for Andrews Kurth. She has more than 20 years of experience in management, business development and marketing in the legal profession.

Silvia Coulter

There are many ways to show value and one of the most effective is to tie activities to firm goals. Here are some tips for accomplishing this:

--Understand the firm's overall strategy to make sure the marketing/communications goals and budget support the strategy. For example, if existing client retention and growth is part of the strategy and one of the marcom initiatives is a print advertising campaign, obtain research that shows the primary reason for advertising is to affirm to clients they made the right decision and to be "there" in front of them when the partners are not.

--Project manage communications and marketing activities by creating a marketing/communications dashboard. For example, using Excel, dashboard headings include...