Rebranding Your Professional Services Firm

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

The professional services marketplace is a dynamic one. Clients' needs evolve, firms change their focus, new competitors emerge and technology and regulations seem to change every week. The result is that professional services firms are compelled to revisit and update their brands every few years.

But we find that many executive teams are not sure how to do it right. More than a few have suffered through botched attempts that wasted a lot of time and money without actually improving anything. If done correctly, rebranding should give you a powerful competitive advantage. So here's how to do it right.

Rebranding Defined

Rebranding is the process of redefining, updating and reintroducing your professional services brand. It is not simply a new logo or website (although it often includes these elements). Rather it is a systematic and comprehensive rethinking of who your firm is, what it stands for and what it aspires to become.

Rebranding often involves a wide ranging look at factors such as client perceptions, core competencies, competitive advantages, strategic goals, market positioning and messaging. Sometimes a name change or complete repositioning are needed. Other times a simple update is all that is required.

Reasons to Rebrand

The specifics are as varied as the firms themselves. Here are a few of the common themes:

• Your brand no longer reflects what your firm offers
• Growth has stalled
• Your firm is losing its competitive edge
• You are entering a new market
• You are facing new competitors
• Your brand looks and feels dated
• You are ready to take the firm to the next level

 The Rebranding Process

The rebranding process typically involves three phases that play out over several months. Four to six months is a good initial expectation. Large, more complex organizations and those that require overcoming significant resistance to change tend to take longer (no surprise there).

Phase 1: Get the Brand Strategy Right
This is the foundation of your new brand. Get it right and and your rebranding is likely to be successful.

After the goals and background are understood, the first major task is research. Research involves interviewing current and former clients, prospects, new target audiences, and even competitors or community leaders. It can also involve looking carefully at your staff and management team. The difference between your internal and external perceptions can be very illuminating.

This research sets the stage for an analysis that results in your new brand positioning statement, differentiators, and messaging architecture. This last document identifies your key target audiences, the messages to each, points of resistance and how to overcome them. This phase might even includes a visual expression that previews the brand's new look and feel.

Taken together, these documents provide the strategic framework for the brand.

Phase 2: Build the Brand
This phase involves developing each of the individual elements that go into a brand. It start with the foundational elements, such as the name (if it is changing), logo, tagline and brand style guidelines, then progresses through identity packages (business cards, stationary, etc), templates, proposal formats, sales sheets, brochures, capability presentations and so on. The most important element is a firm's website. It has become the centerpiece of most professional services branding and marketing efforts. In addition, online video is becoming increasingly important in our increasingly online business world.

In parallel, a brand rollout plan is in development. This lays out exactly how the new brand will be introduced both externally and internally

Phase 3: Brand Rollout
This final stage involves implementing the brand rollout plan. During this stage, it is important to educate staff about the need for a new brand and the shape it will take. To a large extent in the professional services, a firm's people are the brand. They must be on board with the change.

From an external perspective, you must take into account current clients, partners, referral sources, media and, of course, your target audiences. Often the rebranding process also involves an update or complete rethinking of a firm's marketing plan, as well.

How Rebranding Impacts Professional Services Firms

As you might expect, the impact of a rebranding effort can be quite varied. But there are three results that most firms experience.

The first is improved focus. People are much clearer about their firms goals, aspirations and priorities. They are more likely to be on the same page as their colleagues and feel good about it.

Second, an improved competitive advantage. Potential clients see you as more relevant and capable. A weak, outdated brand can rule you out as an option. That problem disappears.

The third benefit surprises many management teams. People often report an increase in confidence. They feel like they know how to talk about their firm now and don't have to cringe when someone asks to see their website. No apologies necessary. The confusion and second guessing are gone. And that is a very good thing.

For more on rebranding, read this article: The 5 Unintended Consequences of Rebranding Your Professional Services Firm

To learn more about branding in a professional services firm check out the Rebranding Kit below.