Your firm puts forth significant time and resources to a partner’s marketing and public relations initiatives, only for them to get poached by a competitor after a few years. Now what? Were your efforts wasted on elevating an individual who takes that high-profile visibility to a new firm? It’s a valid concern and one that professional services constantly grapple with, particularly in the current competitive talent landscape.
Berbay often gets asked about this issue when we speak to prospects. There is confusion about the “right” approach and how firms can best achieve marketing and business development goals. The bottom line is that a successful marketing strategy needs to have balance. While a strong firm reputation can get new leads in the door, the tactics that earn their trust and retain them as clients tend to rely on individual expertise and participation in marketing to drive things forward.
Effectively balancing firm marketing and personal branding requires thoughtful planning and strategy. We’ve explained the benefits of each and what you need to consider to integrate both successfully into your campaign.
The Power of Firm Branding: Building Institutional Trust
Prospects want to work with reputable firms that have a proven track record. Focus on establishing a strong firm brand to:
- Reinforce Credibility and Trust: This reassures prospective clients that they work with a respected and trustworthy firm.
- Underscore Longevity: While professionals may come and go, your firm provides continuity and consistency.
- Attract High-Value Clients: General counsel, C-suite and other corporate decision-makers often factor in a firm’s reputation when hiring professional service providers.
- Recruit and Retain Talent: A compelling firm brand showcases the firm’s culture, values and innovation, helping to attract high-caliber talent. Professionals will want to stick around at a firm that fosters pride and loyalty, increasing job satisfaction and long-term retention.
Marketing strategies to strengthen your firm’s brand include:
- Media Coverage: Securing media placements such as firm profiles, client wins, or features on a new office location or practice group creates visibility for your firm and boosts your credibility.
- Website and Digital Presence: A sophisticated and informative online presence effectively communicates your expertise, strengths and unique differentiators to position your firm as an industry leader.
- Content Marketing: Publishing newsletters, case studies, client alerts and other insights showcase your firm-wide knowledge and experience.
- Awards and Rankings: Obtaining firm rankings such as Los Angeles Business Journal Best Places to Work, Daily Journal Top Boutiques or CoStar Top Real Estate Firms provides third-party validation for your firm’s capabilities and expertise, and can level the playing field with other firms in your space.
The Role of Individual Professionals in Business Growth
While firm branding establishes overarching visibility and reputation, it’s the professionals within your firm who cultivate and nurture relationships to generate new business. You may get in front of a prospect because of your firm name, but your professionals will be the ones to convert them into a client. Business relationships are fundamentally built on personal connections and in an increasingly relationship-driven marketplace, it will be your professionals who provide the valuable touchpoints for client acquisition and retention.
Firms should leverage individual branding to:
- Humanize the Firm: Clients want to know who they’ll be working with, what expertise they bring and whether they can rely on them to get results.
- Drive Relationship Growth: Business is generally won through referrals, networking and other personal connections so it’s imperative that your professionals have visibility and are constantly expanding their network.
- Differentiate in a Competitive Market: Every firm believes it provides the best services and a distinctive approach, but from an outsider’s perspective, these differences are not always clear. Professionals can stand out with a niche expertise and compelling brand that highlights their personal experience.
- Increase Visibility Via Thought Leadership: When professionals establish themselves as industry experts through media interviews, byline articles, speaking engagements and other PR tactics, they enhance their reputation as well as the firm’s.
- Strengthen Client Retention: Clients are more likely to stay with a firm when they have a trusted, personal relationship with an individual professional.
- Create a Stronger Online Presence: People tend to engage more with other people’s content versus content a firm pushes out. Firms benefit when their professionals actively share and engage with online audiences – this extends reach and builds connections in a way that corporate messaging alone cannot.
- Recruit and Retain Talent: Top candidates want to see not only that a firm has a respected brand, but that it empowers and supports its professionals. A firm that actively promotes its individuals demonstrates to candidates that they will have the resources, mentorship and platform needed to build and elevate their own practice.
Marketing strategies to strengthen your professionals’ brand include:
- Thought Leadership: By contributing expert insights on industry trends and emerging topics, professionals can position themselves as the go-to authority in their field.
- Speaking Engagements: Speaking at conferences, seminars and webinars showcases your professionals’ expertise and gets them in front of a broader audience.
- Social Media Marketing: Maintaining an active online presence by sharing educational content and achievements amplifies professionals’ profiles and fosters connections.
- Awards and Rankings: Recognition via prestigious awards validates the professional’s skills and expertise. Whether it’s being named to influential “Top 100” lists or receiving accolades for a specific client result, these rankings boost individual reputation while reinforcing your firm’s quality of service and capabilities.
Firm and Individual Branding: Why You Need Both
Focusing solely on your firm branding or individual professionals leaves gaps in your marketing and creates vulnerabilities. Overemphasizing individual branding can lead to talent poaching concerns, where key professionals leave and take that built-up reputation – and potentially clients – with them. Conversely, if you’re only marketing your institutional brand, you’re likely missing out on marketing and PR opportunities, and the firm may struggle to build long-term relationships with clients. Individuals are a huge benefit to the firm and if you’re promoting them, that visibility is still attached to the firm. Recognize that propelling them forward also propels firm efforts.
Striking the Right Balance
When you’re developing and executing your marketing campaign, it’s important to identify tactics that make sense for the firm and those that are better suited for individuals, and how those can be integrated.
Let’s look at media coverage as an example. Securing a firm profile or feature piece on a new office location is fantastic, but those placements can be far and few between. Most journalists write on specific topics and trends and want to speak with a knowledgeable individual – not a firm. This is where your professionals play an integral role. They can serve as spokespeople within their practice area or niche, and incorporate messaging about your firm’s expertise, track record and bench strength.
Whether you’re working with a PR agency or have internal marketing staff supporting your professionals, there should be media training to ensure individuals are well-equipped to articulate not just their own expertise but also how to describe the firm, what your specialties are, etc. Also, so they can be listening for opportunities to talk about the firm. Don’t assume everyone inherently knows how to do this. A partner may be able to explain their personal expertise and niche, but that doesn’t mean they can effectively convey the firm’s broader capabilities or key differentiators. Training spokespeople on firm-wide messaging and how to incorporate this into interviews ensures consistency and maximizes the impact of every media opportunity.
Reducing Turnover Risks
Another way to fully support your professionals’ marketing while lessening concerns about them jumping ship is to have regular check-ins. Get a pulse on how they’re feeling at the firm – are their expectations being met? While you can’t always control someone leaving (there are so many personal reasons), you can have a better understanding of what their needs are and address those in real time versus being caught off guard that they are unhappy and giving notice.
You should also involve as many professionals in marketing initiatives as resources allow. Rather than focusing on one or two people at the firm or in a practice group, spread the wealth. This is advantageous because more individuals participating in marketing and PR efforts means greater visibility for the firm. It also means if a key partner leaves, it won’t create a significant gap or an urgent role to fill, as other professionals will already have established reputations. By consistently elevating multiple individuals, the firm maintains its market presence regardless of personnel changes.
A Unified Approach to Marketing Success
Professional services firms should view firm branding and individual marketing as complementary, not competing, strategies. When aligned, they create a powerful, cohesive approach that promotes both the firm and its professionals, creating greater visibility and long-term success.
Partner with a Trusted Marketing and PR Agency
Berbay Marketing & Public Relations has three decades of experience providing law, real estate and financial firms with strategic marketing and public relations services that propel your business forward. Berbay’s dedicated team has demonstrated success securing media placements, achieving nominations and rankings, revitalizing websites and social media, obtaining speaking engagements, and more.
Looking to grow your firm with a proven marketing and PR team? Contact Berbay at 310-405-7343 or info@berbay.com
