Expert Advice On How To Begin Transforming Your Brand Into Something Inspirational — Vol 2
This Week: Common Legal
There was such a great response to the piece I published a few weeks ago, in which I pushed the value of storytelling in marketing and sales, by examining and re-thinking the messaging for a group of startups ( which you can find here ). The response was so positive that I thought I’d do a weekly version to keep the learning going.
This week: Common Legal — http://www.commonlegal.com/
Current Messaging and Challenges
I randomly came across Common Legal a few weeks back, and it got me thinking about the value of reliable legal advice throughout the life-cycle of my past businesses.
How invaluable great legal protection was and how damaging poor legal coverage can be, and the struggles I faced trying to root out the sound options.
I’ve not spoken to the team at Common Legal, so I have no direct access to their business or current marketing challenges, this is purely a thought exercise.
Immediately upon taking a look at the Common Legal website, it’s clear that they could benefit from introducing an improved story to their messaging.
Audience: high growth tech startups, founders ( overwhelmed? ), CEOs, COOs, in-house legal teams
A Thought Exercise
Current Headline: Legal solutions for humans.
Not entirely sure what legal solutions for humans mean, is there a canine legal world I’m unaware of?
Do porpoises need ongoing legal representation?
All joking aside, I know where they were going with this. I’m certain they intended to highlight a personal touch, to remove the fear of lawyers and the legal system and introduce the concepts of being relatable and approachable ( read human ).
Having dealt with lawyers, both my own and those on the other side of the table, I entirely get this approach; the legal world is complicated, scary, impersonal and daunting for most of us non-lawyer types.
Think back to your own dealings with lawyers.
How was your experience? Was it good? Was it bad?
The human angle aside, the real problem we run into here is that Legal Solutions is the offer, it’s feature selling and doesn’t inspire or paint a bright future for potential clients.
As I keep repeating, your goal with messaging is not to tell people what you do, it’s to tell people how great their lives will be once they buy what you’re selling.
Talking features doesn’t inspire, it checks boxes.
Make Your Message Clear and Be Honest
Further complicating the messaging, Common Legal isn’t a law firm; they don’t provide the full services of a law firm.
In the copy below that main headline, which is still feature focused, they talk about supporting in-house legal teams, helping find and vet candidates when companies need to hire a lawyer, and offer to review how much other lawyers are charging.
What they seem to be in the business of, is providing support and peace of mind when it comes to the murky world of the law.
They help keep things on the up and up and offer guidance for companies who need legal protection, but don’t know what questions to ask or how to ensure they’re getting the best advice.
Proposed New Direction and a New Story
This was a bit of a tough one.
If the promised land for customers who engage with Common Legal is feeling supported and having peace of mind, then the positioning has to take you to that place.
“Know you’re covered” is about imparting that peace of mind, about letting potential customers know that you’ll have their back and that you care about their well-being.
New Headline: Know you’re covered
New Sub Headline: Legal guidance for high growth startups
Crafting a Great Headline is Just The Start
When the headline doesn’t reference the offering, both the sub-head and website body copy have to be clear and explicit about the offering(s).
For the body copy / services descriptions, I’d suggest language that keeps things accessible, referencing scenarios the Common Legal team has witnessed their past clients going through and how they’ve helped them navigate their way to success.
I’d talk about the mission to demystify the legal world, to keep clients protected from shadier legal practices, to help clients benefit from the right kind of legal protection…and to keep it all mission driven in nature.
There’s a valuable service here, we simply need to ensure that value is crystal clear, demonstrating just enough to drive potential clients to the next step in the sales process.
Use a Better Photo
I’m not excited about the photo below ( Unsplash does occasionally let you down ), but at the very least there are happy looking subjects, dressed in business attire in the picture, reinforcing the notion that Common Legal will satisfy your needs and leave you feeling cared for.
Conclusion
When’s the last time you took a deep look at what message your brand is telling your customers?
How inpirational is your message?
Are you selling what you do, or a vision of how great life will be once your customer has your product?
Are you telling, or beginning a story where they, the customer, are the hero?
Try a little exercise and go out there and pitch to someone who doesn’t currently know your brand. Tell them your mission statement. Your headline/sub-headline.
Note their reaction.
- Were they intrigued?
- Did they ask questions, or could they not have cared less?
- Did they get it?
Selling ( and marketing ) are about creating conversations; your positioning is your opener, if it engages people enough to want to ask the next question, to move the conversation forward, then you’ve succeeded.
Continue pitching, continue refining until 95% of people you pitch to, get interested.
Do this exercise, and you’ll transform your struggling brand into a rock-solid one.
Keep telling stories!
Further Reading
If you liked this story, check out another piece I did a few weeks back:
