If you could sum up your brand in one word, what word would it be?
For my company, our brand is generosity. We are relentless in sharing valuable information to help professional service firm leaders grow their businesses.
Why should service professional service firms worry about branding and client development? The answer is simple: To make payroll. That means the money to pay the most important people in the world, who are you and your team.
First, let’s define terms. By client development, I mean the process of generating new client leads and converting them into clients. Certain activities get prospects to raise their hands and say they are interested in what you do. Other activities are designed to take that interest and convert it into a signed agreement with a deposit.
What does the classic research say about how prospective clients decide if they trust professional service firms? Here are the five ways prospects judge you (Aaker, 1995, Strategic Market Management) and how client development applies:
Competence. Knowledge and skill of the professional or consultant and their ability to convey trust and confidence (you demonstrate and prove your expert knowledge by speaking and writing and by the questions you ask prospective clients)
Tangibles. Appearance of physical facilities, communication materials, equipment and personnel (you do this by the appearance of your Web site, book and how-to handouts)
Empathy. Caring, individualized attention that a firm provides its clients (educating people to solve problems before they hire you proves you care)
Responsiveness. Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service (when you promise to give people things like special reports and white papers, do it promptly)
Reliability. Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately (prospective clients will judge you on how organized your seminars, speeches and website are).
Building your professional service firm requires an understanding the science of client development, which is the systemized study of attracting, keeping, and growing revenues with clients.
The sum total of this is your brand.
The Greatest Branding Strategy In The World
“When it comes to branding, don’t overthink it,” says branding expert Yali Saar, the CEO and cofounder of Tailor Brands.
“How long should you spend working on your brand?” asks Saar. “A month? A quarter? I'm happy to tell you that both of these time frames are too long.”
Branding today is about speed, says Saar. Prior to Tailor Brands, Saar was a journalist, political spokesperson and co-founder of Raising the Bar, a worldwide education initiative with hundreds of members in New York, San Francisco, Sydney, and Hong Kong.
Branding is about creating a positive image for your professional service firm in the minds of prospective clients. Here are four branding steps from Saar to speed the process:
Focus on the fact that it's not about you, it's about them. The first question everyone asks during the branding process is, "Does this represent me and my mission?" While aligning your brand with your vision is important, putting it at the center of your brand-building process will cause you to lose sight of the most important thing: your customers. Saar says, “Your vision was created to solve a problem or answer a need, so instead of asking whether or not your brand represents you first, ask yourself whether or not it represents your clients and the reason they need your service.”
Make sure even a kid can draw it. One of the most repeated questions Saar hears is "How can I make my brand unique?" The simple answer is you shouldn't. Memorable is not necessarily unique, and you should make it memorable. Your test isn't whether people say they’ve never seen anything like it; the test is whether or not they can remember it when they go home and tell their friends about the cool product that they just bought. Memorability equals virality. And what’s the best test to ensure your brand is memorable? Show it to a 6-year-old and ask him/her to draw it. Saar says, “Did you pass the test? Great! You didn't? Try and choose a more distinctive color and simplify the rest.”
Remember that brands are all about emotions, and colors evoke those best . Brands are all about the emotions they evoke in customers. They are about creating a layer of perceived value over the actual value your product creates. And there is nothing more emotional than colors. Do you want your product to be perceived as luxurious? Don't add a splash of yellow to it and opt for black instead. You want everyone to feel relaxed in your new spa? Maybe lose the red paint and opt for something a bit more blue or purple. It's a simple trick but if you conduct any brand color A/B testing, you'll know it can have remarkable results. While you might want to just pick your favorite color, if you want your brand to succeed, Saar suggests you give colors a second thought.
Never forget that brands are about continuity. “We live in a multi-platform world,” says Saar. People will bump into your brand in the street, visit your site, and search for it on Yelp. As businesses become easier to set up, customers do their due diligence to understand exactly what your brand is all about, and there is nothing more distrustful than a brand that shows different faces depending on the platform they are on.
“While we would all like to be pro golfers that manage to hit a hole in one, brand building is an iterative process,” says Saar. “You need to try things out and see how they resonate with your clients. So instead of trying to build the best brand on the first go, launch as soon as possible and be sure to collect feedback so you'll know how to adjust as fast as possible.”
Henry DeVries is the author, ghostwriter, or editor of more than 200 business books, including his international bestseller, How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett—now in China! A former advertising agency president, he is the chief book architect and ghostwriter at Indie Books International in Oceanside, California.