Six Key Elements Of Law Firm Branding Law Firm Branding

Rebranding is an increasing trend with law firms — but what does that mean? For numerous law firms, it means slimming down the hard name, designing a new trademark also applying a different color palette. The firms probably worked in the company of a design agency to create the new trademark — but only wonders how much, if any, of the means was guided by facts from clients.

While numerous law firms compensate little (or no) attention to what their logo is, or to managing it, cause no mistake: They still have a brand, also it is being identified also managed by the marketplace: the firm’s clients also — unfortunately — the firm’s competitors.

Certainly a brand goes well beyond a logo. In fact, it encompasses everything that a law hard wants to be within the minds of course also potential clients.

Six Key Elements of Law Firm Branding

In our logo analysis, development also administration projects in the company of law firms, we at Jaffe work in the company of six chief aspects of brand name also logo management.

1. Brand Promise — a short statement that tells clients also potential clients what they can expect when working in the company of a firm. It is not a trademark or a tagline. Rather, it is a timeless, fixed statement about the value the hard provides to clients. The promise must accurately reflect the realities of what clients actually experience when working in the company of the firm. Otherwise, it is simply an aspirational statement also does nothing to promote or set the firm’s reputation within the marketplace.

2. Brand Values — the firm’s non-negotiable core beliefs. These values influence everything from whom a hard hires to how it provides legal services. Values are the spirit of a company also should drive all that you do. Values and manual a business culture, which is the habitual collective act of individuals shaping the hard through their principles also regular actions.

3. Brand Equity — the value associated in the company of a law hard within the marketplace. Brand justice is how clients think, feel also act in the company of the brand. Client faithfulness is a measurement of logo equity, also that faithfulness increases attraction also awareness to the hard also its culture, knowledge also proven track record.

4. Brand Story — communicates critical information about the firm, its attorneys also system offerings within a compelling way that speaks unswervingly to clients also audiences. This is important because clients also potential clients are inundated in the company of options for legal services also often say that it is difficult to determine what makes a hard stand away from its competitors. The logo romance must be authentic, also it should strive to join supported by an emotional level more so than a résumé.

5. Visual Brand — the optical elements that give the firm’s logo a special name within a crowded also highly competitive market. This is where the elements of logo, typography also color palette come into play, along in the company of the style of promotional also educational materials, such when proposals, attorney profiles, websites, advertisements also leave-behind pieces.

6. Brand Strategy — the means of building also managing a brand, driven by strategic, consistent deployment of the components within alliance in the company of the logo identity. Authentic branding is the alliance of what a hard says (external) in the company of what it does (internal). A logo strategy is a series of tactics also actions that go on to articulate also promote logo strengths, differentiations also promises externally, during the time that continuing to listen also change to stay within line in the company of clients also the marketplace.

Brand Strategic Framework Process

Great logo strategy revolves around clearly also honestly articulating what makes your hard different from your chief competitors also the numerous more firms within the market. For example, numerous law firms say that standard work, depth of experience and/or consumer system is the differentiator. While that may be true, for a logo name centered around these values to have integrity within the marketplace, the firm’s clients must concur that these are, within fact, the top qualities that cause the hard different from more firms in the company of which they have worked.

Firms looking to create/refine also manage a powerful logo strategy should first assess their course logo perception. Jaffe uses a Brand Strategic Framework (BSF) to manual our work within this area. The purpose of the BSF exercise is to identify a firm’s course logo characteristics, culture also value to clients, also assess how to put up for sale supported by these differentiators also logo attributes.

Our BSF means includes five chief activities:

1. Assessment of internal perceptions of logo characteristics

2. Assessment of outer perceptions of logo characteristics also logo expectations

3. Review of competitive position

4. Brand evaluation

5. Development of logo strategy also administration plan

The consequence of the BSF is a set of recommendations that, if implemented also managed strategically also correctly, drive increase right logo identification also logo justice for the firm. Brand identification also logo justice are important determinants of a law firm’s competiveness.

Challenges to the BSF

As in the company of a bit of marketing or business development initiative, there drive be challenges that must be overcome for a logo assessment also strategy administration deal to be successful.

Beyond gaining internal support for a logo initiative, the challenges we most frequently observe are:

• Too internally focused. While it is necessary to understand how the firm’s attorneys also employees see also communicate the logo message, a logo analysis within which the number of internal members interviewed outnumbers those in the company of an outer outlook dramatically skews the analysis. It is the outer logo outlook that law firms typically perform not know, also the only way to understand (and correct, if necessary) what the marketplace says about your logo is to ask.
• Misunderstanding the outer role. Law firms often hesitate to ask clients or more outer sources for feedback, fearing negative comments. In the situation of a logo analysis, it should be understood also communicated, both internally also externally, that the purpose of a consumer interview is not to seek feedback about areas where the consumer feels the hard could improve. Instead, the centre of the outer conversations is to understand how clients describe the hard to others within the marketplace.
• Disregarding findings. If enough clients are interviewed, a firm’s logo location within the marketplace drive become evident; however, law firms may disagree in the company of the uncovered position. Alternatively, if there is agreement, they may tend to rest supported by their laurels. Neither of these drive consequence within a powerful logo reputation for very long.

Firms that want to remain competitive within the global, fast-paced also ever-changing legal market landscape need to compensate near attention to their logo strategy also administration program. Establishing also managing an right logo requires an in progress commitment to monitoring your logo regularly also having a plan for correction when there is a bit of indication of wrong logo communication within the marketplace.

What is your firm’s logo identity? What perform your clients say it is? As law firms enter the budgeting season, it is time to reply these questions or find away whether the answers are contradictory. If either is the case, it is likely that parts of your marketing means drive be allocated inappropriately.

If you would like to discuss how your hard can start the critical means of logo management, link Terry M. Isner at tisner@jaffepr.com.

Share this post