Brand and deliver – why law firms must work harder to differentiate themselves

Firms that fail to develop a clear brand and business strategy will struggle to survive in today's legal sector

When Eulogy! published its white paper, 'Reputation: the key to staying afloat in the new legal world', this time last year, it caused quite a stir. We had spent 10 months analysing how the top 100 law firms were performing from a brand and reputation perspective. We looked at their marketing strategies and tactics, PR coverage and sentiment and client communication, as well as questioning lawyers, marketers and clients about their views of the legal sector. This gave the first true picture as to which firms had the best brands and reputation.

Our key findings were that, while there were several firms with a clear identity and culture, there were too many that had difficulty in differentiating themselves from other firms. This was simply not good enough when the sector was experiencing a perfect storm of change. On one side, new commercial bodies such as BT and the AA had begun to offer legal services. On the other, a new post-recession economic reality created new expectations from clients. In 2014 excelling at legal work was no longer a differentiator, it was a given.