Don’t stress. Get back to brand basics.
One of the most common mistakes among legal firms is trying to be all things to all people. Building a brand can help you stop this mistake in its tracks.
By now you know that you are in one of the most competitive business’s in the world. And depending on your legal niche, that competition could be amplified 10 fold. So in the middle of the masses of firms marketing to the masses, how do you stand out?
The answer is branding.
If you want to increase your credibility and caseload, we highly recommend going back to basics. Building your brand doesn’t have to be intimidating. By engaging in a brand exercise, you’re simply revisiting your firm’s history, values, reputation and intentions. Ultimately, you’re giving your marketing efforts a focus by answering questions such as:
What do you stand for?
What do you want to be known for?
What are your five core company attributes?
What is your niche within your niche?
What do people think of when they see your firm’s name?
If you’ve never had a conversation about brand, it’s not too late to start. Or if your firm is changing from what you thought you were a decade ago, now’s the time to think about re-branding. Whether you are in a micro-niche or the massive personal injury market, for example, it’s your job to dig down to the essence of what makes your law firm stand out from the competition.
It could be a novel approach to client services, a consistent method for solving a core problem, identification with a particular type of client sector, a corporate culture that shines from the inside out, a proven ability to obtain settlements in even the most challenging cases, etc.
If you can’t define a differentiators, re-define it.
That means create a way to say what you do and who you are—which may be nearly identical to a competitor—in a different, more engaging, more compelling way. In essence, position your expertise, service style, results, staff, resources or results in such a way that creates a new point of differentiation.
The more clear your brand, the more consistent and aligned your marketing will be. And, like anything, being focused and efficient pays off by stretching your spend. In the end, if you don’t know what you stand for, how can you expect clients to stand by you?
For some law practices, the word branding sounds too esoteric. If it’s not tied directly to a spreadsheet, it’s not on the radar. But the fact is, if you’re too paralyzed to explore branding and how to use it to your advantage, your firm is missing a significant opportunity for growth and profit.