When it comes to branding and marketing your law firm, it can feel a little too right-side of the brain for many analytical solicitors such as yourself.

Having an effective brand strategy in place for your law firm is crucial for long term success.

However, many people believe a rebrand should only happen amid a crisis, a merger, or possibly a change to partnership structure.

Happily, that’s not the case. There is no ‘right time’ to rebrand your law firm. It can happen at any time, for a variety of reasons, especially if you’re feeling stagnant.

A rebrand or brand refresh might be precisely what your law firm needs.

But before we jump straight into a new branding and marketing strategy for your law firm, let’s discuss how to prepare beforehand.

What is a brand?

Let’s start by establishing the definition of a brand, as it is beneficial to know before jumping into a rebranding strategy.

Here at Brand Remedy, we focus on two specific points that create a strong brand.

1. Branding is the overall perception of your law firm from prospective and current clients.
2. Branding is the promise and expectations you set for your prospective and current clients.

Together these perceptions and expectations raise awareness of your law firm by directly appealing to the emotions of your prospective and current clients.

What should an effective legal brand provide?

As most solicitors are, our team at Brand Remedy will assume you’re also a perfectionist.

Before jumping straight into a rebrand, there are a few things to organise and establish.

Start with a Brand Audit

Starting with a thorough brand audit ensures you have all the facts in order before you launch into a brand refresh.

After a brand audit, you’ll be able to answer questions such as:

• Which marketing and branding strategies are or aren’t working?
• Are your competitors effective?
• How do your clients respond to your messaging?
• What platforms are your target audience on?
• Does your mission statement accurately represent who you are?

Establish Your Brand Promise

Your brand promise is what sets you apart from the rest. It’s what makes your law firm, well, your law firm.

There are thousands of law firms throughout the UK. What makes yours unique?

• Is it the specific type of law you practise that others rarely do?
• How about the years of experience you have?
• Maybe, it’s the client service you offer.
• Potentially, you have a fixed fee policy, or you offer financing options.

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions.
Only that there is an answer.

Define and Research Your Target Audience

When you try to sell to everyone, you end up selling to no one.

Knowing who you want to communicate with is one of the most foundational aspects of branding and marketing your law firm.

• Do they respond to emotional or informative language?
• Do they prefer minimalist or innovative imagery?
• Do they prefer formal or informal copy?
• What social media platforms do they use?
• What time do they check social media or their email?
• Is direct mail an effective way to reach them?

You’ll never know the answers to these sorts of things until you define your target audience. Once you’ve determined them, you’ll need to research them.

Knowing your audience will allow you to realign branding and marketing strategies for your law firm.

Hiring a Law Firm Brand Specialist

While you don’t need to know every answer to these questions before reaching out to a brand specialist for your law firm’s rebrand, it’s essential to have a rough idea.

An experienced brand specialist will be able to help you define and flesh out these points before you launch a full-scale rebrand.

If you’re preparing to rebrand your law firm or simply have questions about when to rebrand your law firm, contact us today.

Richard is Creative Director and owner of Brand Remedy and one of the pioneers of branding in professional services. His sector experience includes legal, accountancy, wealth management, financial services, real estate and public sector.