Where Branding Comes Into Play With Professional Services

In another terrific article from the premier issue of CMO magazine, the value of branding for professional service firms is discussed. The conclusions? Unless you already know what your firm’s strategic goals and core competencies are, branding will do little to help you. In the article’s words, “Branding is what you do after you figure out exactly what you’re trying to brand.”

The article then runs through a list of 5 “strategic marketing pillars” that include:

• strategy – addressing the firm’s corporate goals
• differentiation – what makes the firm uniquely valuable to their clients?
• positioning – where does the firm stand within their client’s mind in relation to competitors?
• branding – this is more than just a logo or brochure, but the entire emotional promise of value that your firm provides.
• marketing and sales communication – developing the tactics to communicate the firm’s value through specific words and images that resonate with your clients and prospects

Having a strategic foundation for “branding” requires research upfront. The article cites a law firm that used qualitative research techniques such as interviews and value maps to identify what their ideal prospects were looking for when they went looking for a law firm. Once they knew that, they could cater their words and images to appeal to would be clients.

» Read Article: Five Pillars of Wisdom

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