By Alexandra Lozano
Businesses know the vital importance of branding. Many lawyers, however, think of “branding” as a dirty word for their practices even though their practices are businesses, too. Some lawyers are even fearful of the words “branding” and “marketing” because we think that if we love the work that we do, and do it well, we shouldn’t need to “brand” or “market.”
The truth is: if you don’t see your law firm as a brand, then you lose visibility — a crucial element in bringing in the right clients, serving the people who need your expertise most and becoming a sustainable, profitable business.
As a lawyer, you and your firm should stand for something, and that something should be apparent to potential clients. Your law firm should not look like a cookie-cutter copy of every other law firm out there. You need to let clients know who you are, what you do, why you do it, and why you are different. These points are best communicated through effective branding.
Branding your law firm gives you an opportunity to create symbols and language that reflect your specific expertise or service. When done right, branding can help you make meaningful, thought-provoking connections with potential clients.
The first step is to identify your audience — your ideal client. This will be different for each lawyer and firm and will help provide the outline for building your messaging around. From there, put in place these necessary components of a well-branded law firm, aligned with this ideal clientele:
1.A tagline that touches the pain points of potential clients and explains your solutions
Figure out what your law firm stands for. Look at your values as a firm and reduce them to a short sentence that can describe your firm.
“Our clients are our family” is the tagline my firm has used in the past because we are very committed to creating a family-like feel with a client-centric experience. We display it in Spanish since our clientele’s native language is Spanish.
Your tagline lets clients know that you understand where they are hurting and that you have the fix. The more specific and tailored your tagline is to your ideal client and his or her pain points, the better.
2.A logo that isn’t just the scales of justice and is reflective of what your ideal client wants
The design of your logo can go far beyond just the first letters of your firm’s name. It can include symbols that are meaningful to you or your clients. Symbols work especially well with target clients whose native language is not English.
Once you have a logo you like, use it everywhere to establish your brand, including on your website, business cards, letterhead, envelopes, email signatures, advertising, and social media.
3.A compelling bio that helps clients get to know you and your firm
This is the opportunity for potential clients to get to know you and your firm. This is where you get to express the “why” of your work and showcase what makes you different.
Your bio should be more outward facing than inward facing. This means that you should describe what you can accomplish for your clients, not what you have accomplished for yourself.
4.A professional website that’s easy to navigate and looks current
Oftentimes, your website is a potential client’s first introduction to you and your firm. Keep your website clean, easy to read, and easy to navigate.
Above all, make sure that by reading through your website, a potential client will learn that you can solve his or her type of problem. Explain other cases you have handled and their outcomes. Use client testimonials if you can get them.
5.A professional headshot
A professional photo is a must. Phone selfies just won’t work.
Remain professional, well-dressed but not too well-dressed, and steer clear of the “folded arms, standoffish” look. This works for some attorneys but only a select few. The old-fashioned attorney pictures with folded arms and no smile can be very intimidating to clients.
Choose a pose that makes you feel empowered and powerful. Find something that expresses your brand and the feeling you would like to cultivate for both existing and potential clients. And, above all, be yourself.
The final piece of good branding tactics comes in the form of considering your client’s overall experience with you and your firm. What people say about you and your firm is a critical part of your brand. The people with whom you have relationships require nurturing: community partners and contacts, current and past clients, and colleagues. Nurturing relationships helps your business thrive and grow.
ABOUT ALEXANDRA LOZANO
Award-winning immigration attorney Alexandra Lozano is the author of Be the CEO of Your Law Firm and founder of the Association of Mother Immigration Attorneys (AMIGA), which helps solo women attorneys transform their practices into thriving businesses.