The Law Firm Marketing Club (LFMC) has opened its annual Professional Services Marketing Survey for 2026, the sixth edition of a study that has tracked how law firms market themselves through the disruption of the pandemic and the recovery that followed. This year’s survey picks up where the last left off, around two questions in particular: whether marketing budgets will keep rising, and whether marketing will earn a greater hand in firm strategy.
The 2025 findings are based on a survey of 130 law firms and accountancy firms across the United Kingdom. Sponsored by SurSum, the research examined how firms invest in and manage their marketing and business development, covering budgets, team sizes, channels, technology, outsourcing and plans for the year ahead. Results were reported across the sector and broken down by firm size.
Last year’s results show why those questions are worth asking.
The survey found that the average firm invested 3.1% of turnover in marketing and business development, excluding salaries. For a firm turning over £10 million, that equates to around £310,000 a year. The figure had climbed from a low of 2.6% in 2022, returning to the level recorded in 2020, suggesting that confidence had returned to the market.
Despite the renewed investment, marketing’s influence over firm strategy remained limited. Just 18% of firms said their marketing and business development team drives the strategic process, while 67% said it contributes without leading. Whether that balance shifts is one of the things the 2026 survey is designed to capture.
This year’s survey also widens its scope, assessing how firms are approaching areas from brand and content marketing to CRM, automation and artificial intelligence, and asking them both to take stock of how 2026 has gone and to set out their expectations for 2027.
Commenting on the findings, Laura Lack, Community Manager of the Law Firm Marketing Club, said, “The recovery in marketing budgets is encouraging, and it suggests firms once again see marketing and business development as central to growth rather than a cost to trim.
“The more telling story, though, is influence. Firms are clearly willing to invest, yet marketing still rarely leads the strategic conversation, and that gap between spend and influence is one of the clearest themes to come out of the research.
“Tracking how that picture changes is exactly why we run this survey each year. With the 2026 edition now open, we will begin to see whether marketing’s role in law firms is genuinely shifting, and we would encourage firms of every size to take part and add to the picture.”
Taking part is the most direct way to get the findings: the 2026 survey, again sponsored by SurSum, is open now and can be completed here, with firms that take part receiving the full report free on publication. It is otherwise available through Law Firm Marketing Club membership or for purchase upon publication. The LFMC is also inviting professional communities and networks to help spread the word, and will share the full findings with any organisation that does once the report is published.