A “brand” is often thought of as a company’s name, logo, or design. But it is more than this. “Branding” is the cumulative experience a person has with a company’s product or service, and the perception that it builds in his or her mind. The aim of branding is not to have people select your business over the competition; it is to differentiate your business from all others so that they will see yours as the only business that will provide the exact solution to their specific problem.
For service business owners (including divorce services business owners), building your brand includes the following five key ingredients:
- Find your most significant message and focus on it
One common myth among new business owners is that they need to “cast their nets” far and wide to get the most clients. In fact, those entrepreneurs who are able to narrow their focus to a niche audience find they garner more clients who are looking for experts in the field, not Jack- or Jill-of-all-trades. Find the most significant thing about your business, the thing that differentiates it from others in your field, and focus your outreach on that one clear message.
- Make your message relevant to your target audience
Although your potential clients will want to something about you as a person, you should mainly center your message on your target audience. Speak to their particular needs and show how you can help them resolve a problem they care about. Every problem is causing some pain to your potential client. The key is to connect with them emotionally and communicate how you can ease their pain.
- Be consistent in your presentation style
You want your business to be recognizable so make sure all presentations about your business have a consistent style. This includes your logo, visual elements, taglines, and the tone of your writing. Using these components, make sure your advertising materials (business cards, brochures, website, etc.) have the same look and feel, and clearly show your focused message.
- Confirm your credibility
This is especially important for service-based businesses. People want to know if you “know your stuff”. Some ways to establish credibility is by listing your degrees and/or certifications, your professional associations, and easy ways to contact you on your printed materials and website. You can also cultivate your professional image by speaking at conferences, participating in panel discussions, guest blogging, and by posting articles to social media platforms.
- Motivate to action
Your brand should also motivate potential clients to become actual clients. Give them a focused message to remember you by and a compelling reason to contact you. Tell them what the first step toward achieving their goal is – whether it is to call you, email you, visit your website to learn more, read and/or comment on your blog article, etc.
You might feel like all this effort to “brand” your business is unnecessary or too much work. But remember that even if you do nothing, your business is establishing a brand – very likely a negative one. Taking the steps to make a positive brand for your business is always worth the effort.
For legal professionals wanting to start a divorce legal services business or build the brand of their existing business, I would encourage you to consider joining the Divorce With Dignity Network. Becoming part of our Network enables you to use our recognized name and logo, and be associated with this long-established and well-respected organization, which confirms your credibility. You also get your personal page on our website where you can tell your story to connect with visitors to our site and give them a way to easily contact you.
Divorce With Dignity‘s mission is to provide cost-effect divorce services to help people obtain peaceful, amicable, dignified divorces – a message that is clearly reflected in our name. We also provide referrals to other professionals (as needed) who could help our clients through other aspects of the divorce process, such as therapists, financial planners, and life coaches. All of this differentiates us from other businesses that offer divorce services.
If you are a legal professional looking for a way to establish a divorces legal services business with a positive and recognizable brand, I invite you to visit our website. Come see what we have to offer you!
The author of this blog is not an attorney and the information contained in these blogs should not be considered legal advice. The information provided here is based on the experience of the author and some of her clients whose actual names are not mentioned. Do not hesitate to seek the advice of an attorney if you have any legal questions.
