How to successfully build your estate planning brand 

Setting up a business is, in a lot of ways, a fairly simple exercise in following a series of steps that are tried and true. It may be time-consuming and stressful at times but once it’s done, you have a business… now what? 

Now comes the real work, and we aren’t just talking about doing your job, we’re talking about getting your name out there, getting you seen, and getting you more clients! 

The tried and tested method to do this is with marketing, though sometimes it can feel more art than science and unless you are experienced in it, it is a minefield of dead ends and missed opportunity. This is where learning from those in the know will give you a real advantage. 

We at CTT have been collaborating with marketing partner for years, working together to create exciting and engaging marketing strategies to enhance our business and increase awareness of our brand. 

As such, we have picked up a few things along the way and thought we could share some of our tips with you, and maybe even start to work together with you to help build your brand. 

What’s in a name? 

It’s likely that you already have a name picked out for your business, as a self-employed estate planner, you are your brand after all. But consider what your company name communicates about your business, what is it saying about you to your prospective customer? 

The best place to start is to brainstorm ideas. Jot down anything and everything that comes to mind, give yourself no internal restrictions to ensure you explore every possibility.  

When choosing your business name, think of something that is: 

• Memorable 

• Relevant 

• Short 

• Simple, possibly initials 

• Professional 

• Unique 

It doesn’t have to hit all of these points but if you consider this list while coming up with your name, you are more likely to discover a title for your business that makes you stand out from the competition. 

Getting yourself noticed is hard. Having a clear brand image gives you the best chance at making a memorable impression. In a bustling industry, with many others competing for space, having a unique name and brand identity brings you closer to achieving your goals. 

1. Building your brand 

You’ve chosen a name, now you need to think about evolving your brand which is the image you wish to present to the world through your business. Building a brand can mean several things: anything from designing your logo to defining the personality of your brand voice. 

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the presentation of your business, but there are a few things to give yourself a better chance at success. 

2. Identify your audience 

Knowing your potential client base is key in building a brand that speaks to them.  

The best way of knowing your clients is to talk to them. Spend time listening to your clients and getting to know them. Pay attention to the words they use and the concerns they share; these are the things that matter to your audience and will get their attention. 

Another useful way to discover your audience is with the creation of client personas.  

 This is a well-known tool in the marketing world, helping to give companies an advantage when it comes to the presentation of their business.  

A client persona is created by grouping the common traits and patterns of people likely to use your services into hypothetical ‘personas.’ 

A marketing agency will specialise in gathering demographic, psychological, geographic, and behavioural data to create client personas tailored to your business. 

Armed with these, you then create your brand specifically to appeal to these ideal clients, ensuring your brand speaks directly to them, capturing a more focused group of customers, more likely to use your services. 

3. Competitor research 

What better way to determine where to position yourself in the industry than by looking at what others have done before you? 

There is no harm in looking at your competition and stealing the aspects of their presentation you think they have done well, to replicate for your own business. After all, if it worked for them, then it could work for you.  

• Pricing model – how they talk about money 

• Tone of voice – how they come across to potential clients 

• Design presentation – how their website looks and feels to use

• Pricing model – how they talk about money 

• Tone of voice – how they come across to potential clients 

• Design presentation – how their website looks and feels to use 

You can also engage in much more in-depth competitor analysis by using a marketing or SEO agency, like Formation. These agencies have the tools to look at the demographics of the people using your competitor’s sites, their market share in your sector, how effective their use of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation – how easily a site is found in a Google search, for example) is in their content, and if they are successful at what they are doing. It’s not about capturing the broadest base of customers possible, but being laser-focused and targeting specific groups that are primed to buy, maximising your chances of success. 

4. Define your purpose and position 

Why does your business exist? A big question, a question you need to know the answers to so on the days when things aren’t going so well, you remember why you’re doing this in the first place! 

But more than that, having a mission statement, a statement of intent, even if only you know about it, helps to define your brand going forward. 

Your statement describes the purpose of your business, your customers, the services you offer, and how you do what you do.  

You can find other companies’ mission statements on their websites – read our mission statement here. Take a look, see what you think; if you feel it will be useful to help define your brand, create one of your own. 

Another useful exercise is to come up with a list of core values. These are principles created to define your mission, vision, and goals. You don’t need to create many core values, 3-5 is standard practice; think of them as statements of intent, how you as a business wish to be seen by clients. Be as specific as you can, make them as unique to you as possible. Once these are defined, it is easier to maintain consistency across all of your communication channels going forward, serving to illuminate and strengthen your business identity as your company grows. 

5. Decide your brand voice 

It may not be something you’ve ever thought about before but every successful brand has its own voice. 

Another phrase to describe this would be ‘tone of voice’, and this means that the way in which when you read the content on a website informs you about the attitude of the organisation it represents. 

Using empathetic language and engaging your clients in an open and honest way, generates a level of understanding between you that goes deeper than a simple transaction. This will also keep them coming back to you for further use of your services. 

How you wish to be perceived is completely up to you. Charismatic, sympathetic, no-nonsense, whatever fits your brand.  

If you create a mission statement, it will inform you on the kind of voice to infuse your messaging and online content with. 

6. Design your brand aesthetic and logo 

A logo is likely to be the first thing a person sees when they search for your business. It is used as the banner on websites; it’s emblazoned on business cards; it’s in the imagery of your social channels.  

The colour palette and design of your logo inform the identity of your business. Even the font you use conveys meaning.  There are well-known theories around the emotions certain colours elicit in people. Since the birth of advertising, this connection between colour and how people perceive something has been explored in-depth. 

The design of a brand is all about perception, creating an instant (and hopefully) memorable impression. Look at other design and logo choices within your industry. See how others have decided to market themselves. 

Below are some examples of how design informs perception: 

• Big, bold text evokes competence 

• Minimalistic imagery and classical fonts speak to sophistication  

• Bold colours and complex imagery come across as exciting 

• Solid, compact logos conjure ruggedness 

Experiment with different combinations of fonts, colours, and design elements until you’re happy with the impact of your logo and aesthetic. 

If you’re unsure where to start, think about consulting a marketing agency. They exist to give life to brands, no matter the industry, and they do the heavy lifting of carrying out research and testing various options for you.  

If all of this sounds like overkill, it can’t be overstated how important the marketing of your business is – even in an industry like will writing and estate planning. Yes, the service you provide is vital, after all, everyone needs a will!  

What you need to think about is, why should anyone use you over the person sat next to you, who does the exact same thing? That’s where effective brand marketing comes in. 

For any support with your estate planning business, CTT’s Partnership Team are always on hand to help, and for all things marketing, we recommend our partners over at Formation – reach out to them here.