While the 150 or so firms that make up the legal mid-market vary in size, location, speciality or profit – some generating revenues of ~£100 million, others a tenth of that figure – the same issues keep their Managing Partners awake at night: ensuring growth in a crowded market; maintaining profitability while making needed investments in tech and AI; and attracting – and keeping – the best talent.
Brand is not the final answer to any of these issues – but it can help, sometimes significantly, with each one. A “you-know-it-when-you-see-it” combination of aesthetics, messaging and culture, ‘brand’ is essential for today’s law firms, which operate in a market full of competitors offering similar levels of expertise, quality, and price-points.
So how can a clear brand strategy help law firms tackle their most pressing issues of growth, profitability, and talent?
First, growth. Every firm has its own approach and way of prioritising its services. For some, creative strategies are the focus. Others find unmitigated aggression reaps rewards. Some find that an emphasis on excellent client support drives the bottom line. A clear brand identity helps clients understand the experience of working with your firm: it is vital they can clearly understand your values, your approach and whether you’ll be a good fit with how they and their teams operate. While words and strategies may sway a prospective client, an emotional imprint or connection with your brand can convince, and help retain them.
Furthermore, a strong and clear brand can help persuade a client who may use a law firm for their day-to-day needs to use it also when faced with a crisis or unusually important piece of work. A brand reputation built on trust and security helps reassure clients that the quality you provide in one aspect of your work will be mirrored across multiple other practice areas.
Secondly, profitability. Brand is a critical element of a firm’s pricing strategy: a client who intuitively understands from your brand that, say, your firm provides a premium, bespoke and discreet service, will be better prepared for, and more likely to accept, higher prices than if they understand your brand as focused on accessibility and ease-of-use. A firm with a healthy brand, tied to a strong reputation developed through considered PR and marketing efforts (underpinned by consistent messaging) can demand higher prices because it is more easily able to justify them: a GC or CEO, questioned by a CFO, can point to your firm’s brand reputation for quality, aggression, or success as the very reasons to instruct you.
Finally, talent. The importance of a strong employer brand cannot be overstated. Understanding the purpose of the firm, its priorities, and feeling part of a connected and united organisation is a major ingredient of the emotional ties that connects an employee to their company. When it comes to attracting talent, a cohesive and thoughtful brand not only helps prospective employees understand who you are, but also serves as a recruiting tool to draw in those who see themselves reflected in the values and purpose your brand espouses.
Developing a brand can be difficult for mid-market firms, especially those that are full service where the brand must encompass a range of disparate practices: from trust services for wealthy individuals to corporate disputes over intellectual property. But once you settle on a red thread you can tie to your brand throughout – from a focus on heritage to quality of service – you can draw out the similarities over the differences and find the differentiating identifier (the ‘essence’) that helps you stick out in a crowd, stay on clients’ minds, and ultimately not just succeed but thrive as a firm.
This blog draws from insights discussed in the PRCA Legal group event, ‘How Does ‘Brand’ Affect the bottom line’.
