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2 Steps to Creating an Effective Core Marketing Message

The legal market place is more competitive. Technology, legal delivery options and the internet provide clients with more choices for legal services than ever before. In this competitive environment, more lawyers are targeting the top clients. How do lawyers stand apart to attract desirable clients?

How do you get noticed in a crowded marketplace?

The answer to getting noticed is to establish a personal brand that is not all things to all people. Your personal brand is about getting target clients to see you as the only solution to their problem. Having a strong personal brand is how you will be remembered, especially when someone has a problem, goal or need you excel at solving.

The foundation for building your personal brand is to clarify why your services bring value to clients and what differentiates you. Your brand is a combination of who you are, who others say you are and who you say you are.

What do you do?

“Who you say you are” requires advance planning and thought. It is your core message or “elevator pitch.” By creating a clear core message, you will be able to articulate what you do so that a prospective client or referral source hearing or seeing your message will understand your value and how it relates to solving their most important problem.

The following are 2 steps you can take to define a core message– a message that will separate you from the pack and attract not just more, but better clients.

Step 1: Clarify your target client.

Developing a core message begins with knowing the characteristics of your ideal client. Make a list of your most profitable and enjoyable clients from the last 1-3 years. Include clients who wanted and valued what you did best, paid their bills and referred other desirable clients to you.

Once you have created a list of your best clients, look for trends and similarities. What are the characteristics your best clients have in common? Your answer begins to define your target client. 

Clarify your target client by answering the following questions:

  • Who are your best clients?
  • What are the characteristics of your best clients?
  • What are the most important goals or greatest fears of your best clients?

Click here to download a free business development workbook to help guide you through the process of clarifying your ideal client.

Step 2: Clarify the value your service brings to clients.

After clarifying your target client, the next step is to articulate why your target client should select you. How do you solve your targeted clients most critical problems or help them achieve their most important goals?

Many lawyers describe what they do based on a description of their job or a list of features about how they work versus a message conveying the beneficial outcome of their service.

For example, how interested would you be listening to a legal marketing professional discuss how they conduct a SWOT analysis? If they went into detail on their process before you saw how it would help you achieve your goal, there is a good chance you would not hear or remember much of what was said.

On the other hand, if they began talking about what they do by communicating the problem they solve, i.e. I help lawyers who have no time for marketing to attract desirable and profitable clients, you may have more interest in listening to how they solve the problem. Especially if the problem they are solving is relevant to you or your clients.  You will increase the likelihood that your message (and you) will be remembered if it is relevant to another person’s goals or interests.

Clarify the value you bring to clients by answering these questions:

  • What problem do you solve for target clients?
  • What solutions do you provide for target clients?
  • What is the value clients receive as a result of your expertise?

Instead of talking about your services from your perspective, focus on creating a value-based core message that is oriented to the solutions you provide. This will allow you to effectively translate your experiences, competencies and expertise into solutions or benefits that are relevant to your target client.

Creating a strong core message will help you to build your brand and differentiate yourself in a competitive legal market place. This is achieved by conveying the value of your services in a way that is relevant to your target client or referral source. Instead of trying to tell people about the features or descriptions of your service, you will be able to confidently speak to how you solve the most critical problems your target clients face and your ability to help them achieve their most important goals and needs.

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