Reveal Your Firm’s Totally Fair Unfair Advantage
Make it Easy for Clients to Choose Your Firm
Every industry has its share of competitors and all of them claim to better than the rest. How is a potential client going to choose?
It’s marketing 101 that people buy from brands they know, like, and trust. It takes time and strategic marketing to develop that kind of relationship — time that your competitors are also spending trying to grab people’s attention.
The easiest way to stand out from the crowd is to be different.
This means showing potential clients your special sauce – the unique blend of knowledge and experience that gives your firm a totally fair unfair advantage. To get at the core of what makes their firm stand out from the crowd, law firm leaders need to start with four questions.
1. What do clients get when they choose your firm?
Go beyond the firm’s menu of practice groups and services and consider what other unnamed benefits your firm can provide. Hint: it isn’t your attorneys’ law school pedigree or years of experience. Attorneys need to drill down – what exactly does the client get? Why does that matter?
2. What does your firm offer that your competition does not?
The aim of this question is to understand your firm’s market. Who else is providing the services your attorneys’ provide? If you don’t already know, find out exactly what your competitors offer — and what they do not. Get a sense of what other firms want to be known for.
3. How do clients experience your firm’s brand?
Whether you’ve worked at it or not, your firm has a brand. Remember that Google search in question 1? Information about your firm is just a click away, whether it’s your website or someone else’s. This is often the first touchpoint potential clients will have with your firm but it likely will not be the last. You can set yourself apart simply by understanding your client’s journey -from finding a firm that solves their problem to the closing of their matters. Just 40% of companies take the time to do this – the majority simply leave it to chance.
Related: You can learn more about client journey mapping and how it helps here.
4. What are other firms getting wrong?
This is not the time to bash your competitors, but you can learn from their shortcomings. Identify what is missing from other law firms’ services (and your own); this helps identify your law firm’s strengths so you can build from there.
Your Law Firm’s Totally Fair Advantage
Now that you are clear on why clients should choose your law firm, it’s time to put that into your firm’s messaging. It is not just the job of the business development department to spread the word about what sets your firm apart. Attorneys and staff – anyone in your firm – can find ways to align client service with your firm’s brand.
When you and everyone in your firm knows what sets your firm apart, clients will notice. Not only will this help potential clients choose your law firm, having a consistent, cultivated experience increases client retention and referrals. That seems more than fair.