During Ep. 65 of the State of the Market for Law Firm Sales in 11 Minutes, Nicole Bergen, Founder & Chief Strategist for Elevate Marketing Research, joins to address the following 2 questions:   Question 1: What do you recommend for PI firms seeking to develop & measure their firm's brand value, including how to score high on Elevate’s Brand Report Card?   Question 2: What are your thoughts about how a PI firm's brand value can enhance a PI firm's value when planning for a sale exit strategy?   When developing brand for a Personal Injury Law Firm, Bergen emphasizes the need to focus on what is important to the consumer, urging listeners to consider advertising as “Me-vertising,” i.e., what is in it for me, the consumer – the client?   As Bergen states, “If you can't answer that question, you're not developing a brand. A brand is the answer to that question.”   Bergen also describes aspects of Elevate’s Brand Report Card, including suggesting that Personal Injury Law Firms identify their Unique Selling Point (USP) and structure “Me-vertising” with a focus on 1 or 2 USPs, followed by measuring how a USP performs in the marketplace to attract more clients based upon that USP, i.e., its brand.   Bergen suggests that PI firms consider the following:   “How can you demonstrate empathy to the consumer?”   When discussing how brand value can enhance a Personal Injury Law Firm’s value in contemplation of an exit/sale or to bolster investment, Bergen points out that data analytics can support a PI law firm’s brand value.   Poock adds that demonstrating brand value will also result in adding a separate line item to the sale of Personal Injury Law Firms, in addition to determining a multiple of EBITDA.   As Poock states, “[W]hen firms can have and present data analytics that show that “Me-vertising” is translating into sales because of brand value, that's going to add additional zeros . . . could be a lot of zeros, by the way, when you are taking on, as Nicole is saying, an investor, or when you are selling your Personal Injury Law Firm.”