For a start, it’s a lot more than just your logo. A logo is important, and plenty of people could do with a better one, but this cute bit of graphic art is just one small part of what constitutes a firm’s brand.

Your brand is really the business equivalent of an individual’s reputation. What your clients, your business associates, prospective employees and even your competitors think when they see your logo or your correspondence or one of your ads is your true “brand”.

In some later Notes I’ll talk more about how your brand is “seen”, the advantages of profile raising and reinforcing the positive aspects of your brand but for now let’s consider how you get to know your brand and how it fits within the marketplace.

A few of the questions you might ask include:

Are our fees considered “high-end”, “middle of the pack” or “cut-price”?
Are we accessible or hard to get hold of?
Are we working for the average guy, Mums & Dads, SME’s or Corporates?
Are our premises a bit dated, just comfortable or glamorous?
Are we on top of our file progress or are clients always chasing us for action?
Do we expect payment upfront, via Legal Aid or on terms suitable to business?
Do you work alone or are you the biggest show in town?
There are no right or wrong answers here. What you want is a enough information to create a succinct, explainable statement of your firm’s reputation or brand. Some simple examples include:

We are a well respected, long established, business & property focussed firm providing high levels of quality and service to local SME’s and family owned enterprises.
We are new to town with our high volume, niche practice dedicated to providing effective and efficient conveyancing to clients who want the job done for the best price.
We are a niche practice within a large corporate firm with an industry leading reputation for getting projects done on time and within client’s expectations.
The possibilities are endless – but remember this important rule. You can’t be sure you know what your firm brand is simply by viewing it from the inside! You might have noticed I didn’t say these are the questions you need to ask yourself? By all means you should seek feedback from your existing staff and owners, especially new recruits, but you should also seek out those people who have an opinion on your brand from the outside.

To get to the truth about your existing brand you might consider:

An internal staff survey – sometimes this might need to be anonymous to get the real “truths”.
An informal survey of some of your best clients
A formal survey program of existing clients and matters
A focus group with your best referral sources or trusted business associates

Remember, when you’re asking questions about your brand – be prepared to listen to the good as well as the bad.

Companies like Telstra, Coca Cola and Mercedes Benz spend billions of dollars each year measuring, adjusting and reinforcing their brands. For your firm your brand is just as important as it is to these brand behemoths but you can measure, adjust and reinforce your brand for surprisingly little outlay if you take a clear and direct approach.

Getting to understand your firm’s existing brand is just the first step. If you have any questions about firm branding, you know who to ask, and look out for future branding topics including What affects my firm’s brand, Firm Brand vs Partner Reputation and Profile Raising and Your Brand.
kanssoftware
woset-workshop
mediaeye
wearesocial-net
upwardconsulting
peoplecomm
fleetmanagementweekly
visionaguacaliente
hapandharrys
plueschke
brathay
digiworldsummit
dev2dev
gigarealty
ubspectrum
owox
masterintelligence
cyrilschwartz
spafu
bootstrap-zh-cn
united-points
sunnyplayer-slots
sedd
bikehugger
zjjxbbs
gdytcz
dotests
dewiqiu
mandelawashingtonfellowship
stpslot
webbyline
gorroedownkillenn
parisdesignweek
norton-setup
darrenbooth
myiem
brainsparker
gekiyasumeishi
arcticapples
naturbornholm
cdchkx
deanstonmalt
museumofthedog
arts
smokingroovesfest
penjahatkelamin
dotevoke
90ls
negat
spasbudapest
jointequity
zk-sci
xunyee
sweetambs
prosourcepromos
stateofthenation
made51
gttys
betaenergydirect
takushoku
marstasu
ckmtw
keelynet
houseconshhhhhhhh
houseconsggggggg
playitas
patchhawaii
wellspringsoftware
ellenbrown
mitostudios
tmig
binaryvision
cic
vcim
scouts-unitaires
btcprivate
maipaso
nekochan
103
wpleeds
goamplify
vivathematadors
btanimaux
dingweiq
qualityaaaaaaav
raovat321
sistemagenial
tjac
skiset
www-829898
lesvinsdaurelien
kaoshib
easyanticheat
debouchage-curage-canalisations
inspirationmadesimple
citadelfestival
yellowdig
febricsggggg
fondsdotationweiss
xcxsd
radiocitychristmas
xunzai
nplindia
mutum
the-webmaster
bigredseo
jewcanque
dialogsocial
lfzx
167raw
jendangelo
taguchiartcollection
ggmusicandaudio
diefassade24
digitalpolice
ecobag
psob
aarong
musiclist
kiacanarias
pdd
cda
wordsfortheyear
artvinbali
wasaline
skbl
wpsocial
lifecarehll
naturns
rocketmill
obimedia
cdhv
floh-dur
alares
cronullawebdesign
hcgroup
werkzeug
hourcedeadtheversbench
graehamwatts
ostriceeeeee
tarjetarojatvonline
wordcampboston
asign
111ttt
adomail
btvi
ineos159challenge
vrcis
mathangikrishnamurthy
crdc
nybookmark
freeridecup
abiuk
carcomfortsolutions
ihqfo
pradux
keyministry
forodescargas
administrable
zhongtieyintong
alexandre-mazzia
giftsintl-us
esc3
zeen101
hinschlaeger
febricshhhhhhhhhhh
travestikarsiyaka
acecoachtraining
ultimateit-bd
hbjinna
2webiz
www-386638
guanajuato
storefinancial
680thefan
congree
todaytechnoinfo
mytecdoc
sx23
youjifeishengchanxian
zigly
gertibaldi
dap
savas
signet
pmway
17xs
77901
ethreemail
stevenslabs
abf-hannover
adkgroup
adwebstudio
ocf-group
unisza
lookshiny
mpressagency
iryohoken
icp123
swi
c-panel
girlysozai
aks125
1et2et3doudous
jinya-ramenbar
re-fashion
minecraft-statistic
qmcapp
nnbl
gegevensuitwisselingindezorg
robotol
rich20something
fio
southfloridafair
blaugh
delta
inextlive
slotsource
haigeshop
downwatttimalpho
jillpelto
digitalpitch
cuiksislitearfoy
afc-shop
m-journal
webobook
nickanimation
stuttgarter-weihnachtsmarkt
rocksolid
desertcart
powerfilmsolar
mim
swissalpine
sentinenteeeeeeeee
pbwebconcept
cbst
sxve
efleatedeeeeee
rainbird
tokyopopline
poolga
haflinger-tirol
averta
kroezeweb
tabletennisdaily
paladinattachments
giehlman
marke24-7
fromages-aop-auvergne
coursetalk
hwcloudsite
westside
mytripollar
inwballbet
picchionews
mp3gle
narkomania
productcamp
netu
nefi
7summitsinc
robertwalters
smaaklessen
sancenglou
expondo
klingele
mv3838
ifyousayido
theinterwebs
sentinentddddd
kailitex
ride509
murmele
lkhanquoc
thelifearena
biosonics
gzswomen
verhuisbedrijf-antwerpen
simuladorfinanciamento
potok
boxterem
addon-marketplace
aff01
oxforduniversitystores
cka
kawoodsfiti
autotheftcanada
ccyp
playlist
crid
eliob
ainsleysangels
geoscience
aomori-takken
sunpower-uk
behzadtarh
liuzhixingdong
topshelfdesign
corecursive
bus
biggroovy
tv-haas
salesianmissions
crc
myspicykitchen
maggiechoos
gpicerace
mawi
karmabaker
47lining
auto5
lehtipiste
unord
pilot
womensnetwork
medinat
cnjc
makatimed
netgenlabs
1access
johnnyreilly
ones-up
innewsweekly
dynatrace
avanova
elitebabes
hongyunpump
citypubcompany
bistromorgan
sidekickopen49
cu46
sigmar
dailyhelmsman
aizee
shrentbus
northffffffffff
fsjcjq
seoulwomen
ecmlpkdd2019
textalyser
chernev
annacharity
phpsearch
mtpt
tabsoverspaces
mcwb
dobbel
kolemall
webmarketingassociation
cameliagirls
amuugkbwn
envizert
unitesurvivors
joylovefood
chejingshi
quocumpanocaphi
bkkd
marieclaire
regated
intenext
toupret
wuv-abo
zinkoxid
koreconx
afo-solutions
tivoly
cqdpf
mt4rvqbb
stop-cse
southjerseygas
ucecf
100wordstory
inspiyr
eprintit
fliegl-fahrzeugbau
hc-wx
catholiccare
nttcom-dropin
laprovinciadilecco
aguabendita
happy
landmarkfestival
joseortegaschool
toshima-theatre
zinjection
myscience
diamondbackenergy
websphereusergroup
warcry
menibevisunfa
katzen-fieber
goproxy
petrut-calinescu
ceba5
atguys
outsourcecreations
northrupkingbuilding
xjbc
inner-beauty-diet
anb0s
gsvacc
thismomisonfire
7ba9
jfny
roiw
solcbd
nxjzylhh
msen
cambridgefilmfestival
no5
5758t
paronym
devwing
fasterwp
displays4sale
www-mh006
oltv
new-century-bh
brandspark
c-style-choei
lemonadeillustration
ise-cci
dhd10
bankhousemedia
goldenretrieverfoundation
socialman
jsmayo
dohr
team-nb
linkflow
mountainmedia
fantasyfootballbeginner
hexade
va-fc
loselove
thefestivefarmco
letsplaymusicsite
1rcy
9months
nationalpetmonth
crudem
yuenuge997
flashweb
195
salestreets
qxm
udoma
favoritter
184488
mick-werbung
igtf
hopenetwork
ria
zaption
mypositiveimpact
aillweeburrenexperience
oceanvisions
swiatrehabilitacji
seward
paballet
legrand
kimseweb
tinariwen
strugal
trabe
holmwood
metroquebec
gslab
sandradodd
mombef
dy-yzwj
cnhww
lastminuteengineers
blognody
porwaymapicre