Of course, the term “brand” historically referred to searing the hide of one rancher’s cattle with his distinctive mark so that it couldn’t be confused with anyone else’s.
Many firm owners and marketing professionals get carried away with the concept of branding. Most branding efforts and with wasted dollars and little results. One managing partner said he’d “thrown $100,000 down that rat hole.”
Branding is a way of “packaging” a professional firm. It should position you uniquely in people’s minds.
Branding should not only attract new clients, but reinforce your existing client’s buying decisions.
Firm Consistency
The point, of course, is that if you work hard to make your service that much better than everyone else’s, you want to make sure that the differentiation isn’t lost on your prospective buyers. In fact, you want to go out of your way to make sure they don’t miss it.
The problem in branding your firm is the lack of consistency from one partner to another.
The reason that McDonald’s has one of the most successful brands is not because of the gourmet quality of their food. It is because of the consistency of the customer experience worldwide.
The potential customer believes that each McDonald’s experience will be the same.
The same cannot be said of a firm. Each partner of associate is a separate in many firms.
Branding Is Personal
The fundamental reasons why brands work are twofold: (1) client trust and (2) service consistence.
In his book Trust in The Balance, Robert Bruce Shaw says that trust requires integrity, concern, and results.
From the client’s point of view, a professional firm can have the highest integrity and achieve excellent results.
But without concern you will be unsuccessful in establishing trust. That’s the personal side of branding.
Wrapping up
When your firm is consistent across partners, you are more easily able to build like and trust. Trust and consistency build a brand.
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