The Business of Branding: Find Your Nugget

For law firms that concentrate in a particular area of law (i.e., Internet, technology, environmental, labor and employment, etc.) or clientele (women only, Hispanic, non-profits, public agencies), it doesn't take a great deal of digging to find what makes the firm stand out. However, for the vast majority of law firms that offer a broad range of practices and services to many different industries and clients, the task is more challenging. Unless your firm is doing something, such as providing client service, in a way that's never been done before (giving a spa treatment and full-body massage to clients while you go over the details of their litigation matters, perhaps), you will have to dig much deeper ' past the claims of superior client service, expertise, range of practices, cost-effectiveness, etc. ' to find that nugget upon which you can build your brand.

And therein lies the crux of the problem. As good as many law firms are at digging into the particulars of their clients' industries, businesses, lives and legal matters; they are not as good at digging as deeply into themselves. Quite simply, the majority of law firms are not very introspective. Branding and marketing your law firm is not about listing the attributes and services you provide, but communicating the character of the firm. Your nugget, as it were, is that approach or singular quality that defines your firm and tells clients what you're about.

Follow the Money

Financial institutions and investment firms have managed to do this kind of nugget mining very well. Prudential, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, Janus and many others offer nearly identical products and services. They all employ experienced and skilled professionals. They are all focused on providing their clients with expert advice, a high level of client service and positive results. They all have long track records of success and have been around awhile. Other than their names and logos, there is little to distinguish each firm from the other. Which is why, about 20 years ago, they shifted their branding and the messaging of their marketing away from a focus on their various products, services and professionals, and focused instead on communicating their approach in ways that would resonate with their audiences.

Financial services firms realized that it was no longer enough to provide insight, service and results in a market where those things were not only the norm, but were expected from them by the audience. To stand out, they tapped into intangible qualities ' such as the firm's philosophy and mission, investment approach, objectives ' as well as the aspirations of their clients (financial stability, paying for life's milestones, achieving personal dreams) to create brands that better defined them. Instead of taglines and themes that tout “investment solutions,” “committed to you” or “results you can count on,” they now promote themselves as the kind of firms where clients can “go farther,” “find their path” to their goals, make “rock-solid” financial decisions, “take control” of their futures or be “bullish” in their investment strategies. Their approach, investment philosophy or clients' objectives set the theme of their branding message.

Law firms would do well to follow the marketing model set by the financial industry. In fact, some already have. They have realized that at a time when law firms are scrambling to lure clients in an already glutted marketplace, making claims of delivering legal solutions, being committed to results, providing outstanding client service or offering experienced insight no longer cuts it. These firms have dug deeper and found their nugget. It might be about breaking with the traditional law firm model in a way that offers clients a new and better experience. It might be about how everything they do, from how the firm works to how it's structured, is geared toward moving their clients' matters (as well as their businesses and lives) forward. Or, it might be about how the firm's passion for the law and its clients' matters informs its innovative approach to solving clients' problems, which has led to precedent-setting legal outcomes. Messaging about their experience, expertise, products and services, performance, commitment to client service and personal attention is still there ' but as support to the overall brand message rather than as the message itself.

Start Breaking Ground

Granted, finding your nugget is no easy task. It takes a willingness to dig down and sift through the obvious attributes and services that the firm offers, as well as accepting the fact that they are not unique to your firm in most cases, anyway. But those firms who have both the patience and resolve to do both will find the true approaches and philosophies ' the raison d”tre ' that define them in the marketplace. And that's branding gold. So start digging.

Sean Leenaerts is a Director of Brand Development at Moir' Marketing Partners. You can reach him at [email protected] and connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter (@SeanLeenaerts).

Here's an interesting fact: It takes 22 tons of rock, gravel, grass and dirt to yield one single ounce of gold. Why is this interesting ' particularly in an article devoted to the branding of law firms? Because mining for gold has a lot in common with finding a law firm's unique position in the marketplace. In both cases, you have to sift through a lot of dreck to find that precious nugget.

Ask any attorney ' associates to senior partners ' what makes her law firm stand out from every other firm and the answer is often the same: exceptional client service, depth and breadth of talent, a broad range of practices and services, deep experience, cost-effectiveness, personal attention, responsiveness, a firm that partners with its clients, etc.

There is no disputing that these are all very important attributes. In fact, it's safe to say that a law firm simply can't survive without providing them, which is precisely why all these wonderful things are not the attributes that make your law firm stand out. Clients expect all of those things from their law firm today. They are the features and benefits necessary to getting into and staying in the game. But in terms of your marketing, and in keeping with the
analogy above, they are the 22 tons of rock, gravel, grass and dirt covering the nugget that makes your particular law firm unique.

For law firms that concentrate in a particular area of law (i.e., Internet, technology, environmental, labor and employment, etc.) or clientele (women only, Hispanic, non-profits, public agencies), it doesn't take a great deal of digging to find what makes the firm stand out. However, for the vast majority of law firms that offer a broad range of practices and services to many different industries and clients, the task is more challenging. Unless your firm is doing something, such as providing client service, in a way that's never been done before (giving a spa treatment and full-body massage to clients while you go over the details of their litigation matters, perhaps), you will have to dig much deeper ' past the claims of superior client service, expertise, range of practices, cost-effectiveness, etc. ' to find that nugget upon which you can build your brand.

And therein lies the crux of the problem. As good as many law firms are at digging into the particulars of their clients' industries, businesses, lives and legal matters; they are not as good at digging as deeply into themselves. Quite simply, the majority of law firms are not very introspective. Branding and marketing your law firm is not about listing the attributes and services you provide, but communicating the character of the firm. Your nugget, as it were, is that approach or singular quality that defines your firm and tells clients what you're about.

Follow the Money

Financial institutions and investment firms have managed to do this kind of nugget mining very well. Prudential, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, Janus and many others offer nearly identical products and services. They all employ experienced and skilled professionals. They are all focused on providing their clients with expert advice, a high level of client service and positive results. They all have long track records of success and have been around awhile. Other than their names and logos, there is little to distinguish each firm from the other. Which is why, about 20 years ago, they shifted their branding and the messaging of their marketing away from a focus on their various products, services and professionals, and focused instead on communicating their approach in ways that would resonate with their audiences.

Financial services firms realized that it was no longer enough to provide insight, service and results in a market where those things were not only the norm, but were expected from them by the audience. To stand out, they tapped into intangible qualities ' such as the firm's philosophy and mission, investment approach, objectives ' as well as the aspirations of their clients (financial stability, paying for life's milestones, achieving personal dreams) to create brands that better defined them. Instead of taglines and themes that tout “investment solutions,” “committed to you” or “results you can count on,” they now promote themselves as the kind of firms where clients can “go farther,” “find their path” to their goals, make “rock-solid” financial decisions, “take control” of their futures or be “bullish” in their investment strategies. Their approach, investment philosophy or clients' objectives set the theme of their branding message.

Law firms would do well to follow the marketing model set by the financial industry. In fact, some already have. They have realized that at a time when law firms are scrambling to lure clients in an already glutted marketplace, making claims of delivering legal solutions, being committed to results, providing outstanding client service or offering experienced insight no longer cuts it. These firms have dug deeper and found their nugget. It might be about breaking with the traditional law firm model in a way that offers clients a new and better experience. It might be about how everything they do, from how the firm works to how it's structured, is geared toward moving their clients' matters (as well as their businesses and lives) forward. Or, it might be about how the firm's passion for the law and its clients' matters informs its innovative approach to solving clients' problems, which has led to precedent-setting legal outcomes. Messaging about their experience, expertise, products and services, performance, commitment to client service and personal attention is still there ' but as support to the overall brand message rather than as the message itself.

Start Breaking Ground

Granted, finding your nugget is no easy task. It takes a willingness to dig down and sift through the obvious attributes and services that the firm offers, as well as accepting the fact that they are not unique to your firm in most cases, anyway. But those firms who have both the patience and resolve to do both will find the true approaches and philosophies ' the raison d”tre ' that define them in the marketplace. And that's branding gold. So start digging.

Sean Leenaerts is a Director of Brand Development at Moir' Marketing Partners. You can reach him at [email protected] and connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter (@SeanLeenaerts).