Curing the Epidemic of Generic

Written By Meg Pritchard, Principal and Founder
Woman in full colors pointing to a group of cloned men in black and whie on a styled graphic template featuring the articles title. and company name.

Do you know which AmLaw 200 law firm describes itself as: “Sophisticated counsel that partners with clients to manage risk and take advantage of an opportunity in an evolving market”?

Perhaps you recognize the firm that declares itself to be a global firm “dedicated to helping clients achieve their strategic business goals.”

Maybe you know the firm that is "a trusted advisor to corporations and individuals navigating complex legal landscapes”? 

Actually, that last one was generated by ChatGPT from a prompt asking it to write the description of a law firm modeled after the current AmLaw 100 descriptions.   

But you wouldn’t be surprised to find that somewhere on an actual law firm website, would you?

Along with a whole bucket of stock terms and phrases ((experienced, responsive, strategic, innovative, client-focused, business-savvy), and meaningless superlatives (best-in-class, cutting-edge, preeminent, leading, premier).

 

Many (many) Lawyers and firms are “committed to client service” and “committed to client success.” And often “committed to providing strategic and innovative legal solutions to our clients’ most complex business and legal challenges,” which, of course, are usually “complex, high-profile matters.”

I call this the epidemic of generic. And it’s everywhere—website practice descriptions and lawyer bios, pitch decks and responses to RFPS, even thought leadership and branded content.

The number one complaint clients have about the communications they receive from law firms is that it’s all the same.

Succumbing to the epidemic of generic means that your marketing content is not doing the job for which it is intended: communicating to your clients and prospects why they should choose you over your competitors.

Fighting the epidemic of generic requires a two-fold approach: knowing your value proposition and conveying it consistently in your marketing and business development messaging.

At its most basic, a value proposition is a statement of the benefits that a firm promises to deliver to clients. The best statement of a value proposition articulates how working with a firm benefits clients, solves their problems, and provides actual advantages over working with other firms. To be effective in persuading prospects to become clients—which is the point, after all—messaging around a firm’s value proposition needs to convey who the firm serves (clients, industries and/or market sectors), what their needs or challenges are (demonstrating to clients that the firm knows and understands from the client perspective), and how the firm provides the ideal solution to help those clients meet those needs or challenges (differentiating factors).

It's a simple concept that is deceptively hard to implement, in particular because legal services can be perceived as fairly homogenous. It requires stakeholders to dig deep and identify what makes a firm truly different for its clients, beyond what I call “price of admission” concepts.

Every client, whether an individual or organization, wants their lawyers to be responsive, experienced, strategic, and committed to client service. These are the bare minimum of client expectations—litigators who are “trial ready,” corporate lawyers who are “business savvy,” and all lawyers who are “focused on client success.”

But what do those concepts mean in practice? How do clients experience them when they engage with a firm?

How does responsive client service look and feel?  What are strategic and innovative legal solutions—in the real world?

The first step in conveying those concepts is avoiding cliches, jargon and overused terms. Once you leave the shorthand terms and descriptors behind, you have the flexibility to be creative and original.

To show, rather than tell, clients what they can expect—and what you can deliver.

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Meg Pritchard, Principal and Founder

I’m Meg—a lawyer, writer and editor, and marketing professional who understands the content marketing challenges facing law firms in today’s competitive—and cluttered—marketplace. I founded Create Communications in 2011 to serve as an outsourced resource for law firms that want to harness the power of branded content and thought leadership in their marketing and business development. When you work with us, you get a hand-picked team of kick-ass writers and editors with legal, journalism, business and marketing experience who believe that exceptional content can be the rocket fuel that powers business growth. We’re committed to defying your expectations, every time.

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