Positioning Yourself as the Perfect Fit for Your Ideal Clients
Branding is important, even for small or solo law firms. However, you shouldn’t be spending money solely for the purposes of building your brand. It should be a byproduct of all your other marketing. The copy that you write for your website and for printed ads should build trust and authority with your audience, and as a byproduct, your brand.
But the best law firm branding identifies your core values and shapes them into a message that instantly makes sense to the people you most want to attract. But before you can do any marketing, though, you need to have clarity on what those core values are, so that it resonates through all that you do to promote your firm and get new clients.
You also have to have clarity on who your perfect client is, so that your marketing attracts good clients and repels bad ones. When your branding truly resonates with your perfect clients, it creates an emotional connection that:
- Differentiates you from your competitors
- Fosters long-term loyalty and trust
- Constantly attracts more perfect clients to your firm
But how do you do that? Here are three time-proven tips for standing out from the crowd.
1. Understand Your Perfect Client Better Than Your Competitors Do
Everyone wants good clients, including your competitors. Although different firms may have different avatar clients, chances are you have more than one competitor that is looking for the same people. As such, you’re not only competing for these leads, you are also competing for their love and attention.
For this reason, your marketing materials need to show that you know your ideal clients better than anyone else does. In this way, you’ll create a memorable connection that goes beyond keywords and traffic to your website.
But how do you do this? Once you have clarity on exactly who that ideal client is, you need to focus on the real questions that clients ask you. in other words, what kind of questions do you existing ideal clients ask? Write them down and answer them on your website. By doing this, you will connect them with information that is truly valuable and helpful in their time of need.
In providing these answers, be sure to use language that they understand, not legalese. This will help you to show that you’re an approachable authority that can guide them toward positive outcomes.
2. Don’t Wait to Show Potential Clients What Makes You Different
You need to show potential clients from their very first contact that you understand their situation and care about their needs. You don’t have a lot of time to grab their attention, and then hold it, so don’t waste it. If you wait until they’ve already become a client, you’ve missed a huge opportunity—and probably more than a few great leads. Grab them when they first see your advertising.
You also shouldn’t assume that, once an avatar client reaches out to you that they will retain you. Even your perfect-fit leads will move on to a competitor if they’re greeted with a poor customer service experience or don’t feel like their concerns are being heard.
Make sure that your secretary, receptionist, or other intake person, is well trained to handle this first contact. Poor communication and unpleasant customer service experiences are some of the biggest complaints potential clients have about connecting with a new law firm.
3. Let Your Law Firm Have a Personality
Too many people looking for a lawyer see them as a commodity. One lawyer is pretty much the same as any other. That is why so many Google searches are for “[Practice area] attorney near me.” For this reason, it is incredibly important that you distinguish yourself from your competition. Set yourself apart and show them that you are the attorney they need to hire.
In addition, the simple fact of the matter is that people work with people they like. So don’t be afraid to highlight in your marketing those little things that make you human and approachable. Bear in mind that you don’t have to appeal to everyone. You only have to appeal to your perfect clients, and they respond best when you can show that you and your team are real people that are passionate and care about their clients and community.
If you succeed at doing this, clients that believe in your brand will come back to you in the future for guidance. They’ll leave positive reviews. They’ll tell their friends and family about you and keep sending all kinds of word-of-mouth referrals your way. This is the best way to build your brand, and through doing, so, grow your firm and be more successful.
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Do you need assistance in getting clarity on your ideal, avatar clients? If so, then you need to read my book, Getting Off the Hamster Wheel. Just click on this link to get a copy today. It will not only walk you through the process I’m getting this clarity, I will also give you valuable assistance and have a right website content and marketing materials that appeal directly to that avatar.
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