Law Firm Branding: Why a Strong Brand is Important

In the field of legal services, branding is often neglected. A simple lettering with the name of the law firm forms the logo, you choose a few colors, write a few lines with a conventional Google font and the corporate identity is ready. For everything else there is supposedly no money and no time. But this is only partly true: In fact, there is a lack of understanding of the benefits of strong branding. Everything else is a prioritization! With this article we want to change that and explain to you why your law firm should definitely approach branding actively!

What strong brands do

The benefits of branding are many. Here are a few concrete benefits of a strong brand:

1. Charge higher prices than your competitors:
   There are studies that say that the price advantage of strong brands in the field of legal services is sometimes around 50%. Firms with a top brand are therefore able to charge substantially higher prices than their competitors. A massive competitive advantage! (Study by Professional Services Marketing, by Mike Schulz, John Doerr and Lee W. Frederiksen)
    
2. Winning with clients:
   Your brand helps you attract new clients and retain existing ones. Good and clear branding also helps with referrals from your satisfied clients. Such referrals gain credibility when they are supported by a strong brand.
    
3. Winning with the next generation:
   "War for Talent". Law firms need talented lawyers. Young talent is in demand. They choose the firms with the strong brands.

Your brand communicates your expertise, sets you apart from competitors and conveys your vision / values. A brand therefore has an essential influence on the implementation of the company strategy.

What a law firm brand consists of

Your brand is not just a logo. Branding is a feeling of your clients. This feeling is shaped and influenced by every interaction with your firm. The brand is a blend of a variety of ideas, statements, strategies, products, behaviors, and visual elements. What a law firm is called and what its logo looks like is only a small part of branding. Corporate identity is much, much more!

A brand is therefore the entire "look and feel" of a company. Your brand consists of the entirety of how your target group sees you and talks about you.

Of course, such a holistic "look and feel" is not something you simply get with the foundation. Without a fundamental strategy, no brand will become a strong brand. The price advantage mentioned at the beginning will remain unattainable.

Essentially, a brand consists of two elements:

1. Reputation
2. Visibility

Especially in the legal market, people are aware of the importance of reputation in marketing. A good reputation usually results in referrals. We have already discussed the importance of referrals in our blog. Reputation consists partly of services rendered in the past. If these are of high quality, a corresponding reputation is formed. But this is only half the story. The communication and appearance of a law firm and its people influence reputation just as effectively. This part of reputation building drastically affects the credibility and recognition value of your firm - and that's without relying on past performance.

Of course, a good reputation is of little use if it is not visible. In legal marketing, one therefore often speaks of "Visible Experts" - the perfect combination of reputation and visibility.

How a strong law firm branding is created

Law firm strategy

The starting point for branding is the firm's strategy. How are clients and employees acquired? How does the firm differentiate itself in the market? What is the firm's value proposition? What resources are used to implement the strategy?

Contents / Messaging

Essentially: The wording and communication of your firm's pitch. How the value proposition is communicated (in a way that's easy to understand). The tone of this messaging is essential to law firm branding.

Visual Communication / Corporate Design

Visuals, colours, shapes, typography, layout, logo, etc. All visual elements of communication play a central part in the attractiveness of the firm.

It is important that visual communication is not simply random! Many think: "It just has to look nice somehow". The corporate design must result from the strategy, i.e. on the one hand it must appeal to the target groups and on the other hand it must carry the identity, vision and values of a company.

Team / Employees

In legal advice, the employees are the product. The clients pay for the expertise of the lawyers. Strong brands are created where the employees have understood the values and visions. They know what the firm expects from them and communicate accordingly.

When new branding is appropriate

There are several reasons why a company should improve its branding. If you can answer "yes" to at least two of the following questions, you should consider optimizing your branding:

• Has your company's growth stopped or slowed?
• Is your company launching new services, new products?
• Have there been any substantial changes in the partnership/management of your firm since the last re-branding?
• Are new competitors entering your market?
• Is your company finding it increasingly difficult to attract top talent?
• Is your firm losing more pitches for larger projects?
• Would you like your company to be visually more modern and fresh?
• Do you or your employees find it difficult to describe how your company stands out from others?
• Do you feel that your company's image no longer represents you or does it no longer fit in with your corporate strategy?

What HeadStarterz can do

Branding and re-branding in the legal industry is one of our core competencies. We approach projects strategically and put your brand on a solid foundation. Aligned with the corporate strategy and the needs of your target groups. If necessary, we concretize certain questions in the strategy and messaging with you before we proceed to the visual implementation.

If you have any questions concerning your firm's branding, please feel free to contact us at any time. I would be very happy to hear from you: tobias@headstarterz.com