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October 2008, Issue #29

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In this issue:

Lawyer Branding 101 For Small Firms

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What is Lawyer Branding?

Branding is the art and some science of separating yourself from the rest of the pack. It is making your law firm stand out from the other law firms and lawyers out there in the marketplace. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers."

To be quite honest with you, many people look at lawyer advertisements or firm websites and think to themselves, what makes them different; they look like all the other lawyers. When you take a look at lawyer branding, you are now taking steps in the direction of ensuring that you stand out, you are memorable, ensuring that you are not like every other lawyer, and creating a "name" or "brand" for yourself. Better yet with good branding you are creating a feeling in your prospects and referral sources that taps into their limbic system (the emotional part of the brain), confirms your credibility as well as engenders loyalty in people. Lawyers have historically fallen through the cracks when it comes to branding and it does not have to be that way.

Can Lawyer Branding Make A Different For Small Firms?

Absolutely! As a small firm, you have to compete with the big dogs. You have to compete with that huge firm down the street as well as all the other small to medium firms. With lawyer branding, you are taking steps to make an identity for your firm. You are getting yourself out there and creating recognition that is more impactful and more enduring. You are also creating a salable asset that is not linked to your personal name if you are smart.

In other words, with branding, you can reach out to prospective clients and referral sources instead of hiding in the background and being like every other attorney. You make your marketing efforts more effective. While many of the big firms or competitors might look the same, because you have taken the steps in lawyer branding, your small firm can look, well, better than the big firms or your competitors. The more you "brand yourself" the more unique or different you look and thus the less you look like a commodity that is shopped for around price. You can actually charge more and get it.

How Do I Do This Lawyer Branding Thing For A Small Firm?

There are a few different things you can do with branding. But to really get started on your own, I would read this article and I won’t reinvent the wheel: http://preview.tinyurl.com/4jepq9

How Much Will Lawyer Branding Cost Me?

Here it is better to think about what will be the return on your investment instead of what it might cost. The costs come in, when you start putting branding on your letterheads, business cards, and in other elements. You can do that over time so it is not a big up front expense.

If you develop a logo for instance, you are looking at the cost of the logo itself, whatever it is you will pay the designer. Designers charge different rates for different industries, sizes, and elements. This will greatly depend on who you go with and what you are looking for in a logo, however it can be done for well under $300. Call or email me if you want some options for logo vendors. Done correctly lawyer branding will only make you money even if you pay some consulting fees to a law firm marketing expert to help you in the process.

What Is The Return On Investment From Branding?

With good branding, you will see an increase in new clients and getting more revenue per file. Of course, these people are going to spread the word also and show your lawyer branding to other people, which will then potentially cause a stream of word of mouth marketing, which we all know to be best the kind available. If you use branding strategies online the payback can be enormous if done correctly.

Do You Still Need Convinced?

There is a video that describes branding in a bit of a fun way. The fellow who does the video is Zefrank who has a very popular blog per it’s Google PageRank of 7. I discovered the video posted on "Ernie The Attorney’s" blog that I sometimes frequent where he asked "Can Someone Explain Branding Please". However, I should warn you that the video is a bit edgy and makes use of curse words (including the F word a few times), so be warned before you go. However, it provides an interesting look into branding. So if you want a bit of fun with some education go here:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/49waaw

Branding is used in the corporate world every day as you know. You and I respond to branding even if we say we do not. At least that is what market research shows. If you really want to take your marketing to another level, try some lawyer branding and see where it takes you. If you are still confused on branding then sign up for the free email course on branding via About.com here:

http://marketing.about.com/c/ec/1.htm

While the course is not the perfect answer it is very helpful. If you want me to help you with lawyer branding call me and let’s talk for awhile (my compliments) and see how many tips, techniques and solutions I can give you in 20 or 30 minutes together.

Comments, ideas, questions or topics you would like to see addressed in future newsletters? I would love to hear from you. Just reply to this newsletter and tell me what you think.

To your success,

Henry Harlow
Founder, www.Law-Firm-Marketing-Coach.com

PS: Get your #1 attorney marketing problem solved today. Spend complimentary individual quality time with me on the telephone. Dial 888-434-3006 now or get more details by clicking here right now.