This is an extract from an article which was published in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), 7 March 2008. To read the full article including 9 ideas for brand building go to https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/firms-draw-curtain-on-star-system-20080307-j897f

With the smart firms, their brand is about what they deliver to clients and what the experience is like working with the firm.

The biggest stars of the legal profession may find their superiors unwilling to allow them to shine too brightly. Firms are growing increasingly keen to present a single face to the market and limit the fallout from rampant inter-firm poaching and breakaway practices, branding experts warn.

In striving to develop an individual brand, lawyers will fool no one with industry memberships masquerading as expertise, Sue-Ella Prodonovich says.

"When lawyers are genuinely interested in not just the area of law but the wider issues, their connections are wider, their insights are broader and deeper, and they have great reputations," Prodonovich says. "You can't just sign up to a couple of associations and industry groups and badge yourself an expert."

Individual lawyers are desperate to distinguish themselves through the quality of their reputations because Australia is awash with high-calibre lawyers. This means being known not only for your expertise but for your willingness to make a client's life as easy as possible, Malleson Stephen Jacques’ Partner Sue Kench says. "They don't want to know that you're not around, that it's going to take a long time to get their phone call returned, or that it's going to take hours and days for structures to be developed," she says.

"They want to know that you're thinking about their problems now and it's not hard to get you."

Being easy to deal with is the latest trend in commercial branding, as professional services firms adopt what is known as "experiential marketing".

"With the smart firms, their brand is about what they deliver to clients and what the experience is like working with the firm," Prodonovich says.

If you’d like to know more, get in touch for a personalised Zoom chat or call.

Sue-Ella is the Principal of Prodonovich Advisory, a business dedicated to helping professional services firms sharpen their business development practices, and attract and retain good clients.