Is your business not doing as well as you thought it should? Have you tried everything in your power to improve it? Well, if you haven’t hired a brand consultancy company you haven’t done everything. Such a company can turn your business around and turn it into the business you dreamed of owning.
So, if this has perked up your interest here are some factors to consider before going ahead and hiring a brand consultant.
There is a great deal to brand consultancy:
There is a great deal to brand consultancy, it is so much more than just improving the awareness of your brand or brand recognition. When you hire an agency to work alongside you, they will take your business apart, looking into all aspects of it. They will help you to determine all aspects of branding from the design of your logo to a social presence and more, all to support your goals for your business.
With a good brand consultant on board, you can develop a sustainable brand strategy to transform your business and ensure you maintain your position within your industry going forward.
What’s the difference between brand management and brand consultancy?
Before going ahead with brand consultancy you need to know if this is actually what you need or whether you need brand management, as there is a difference.
- A brand consultant – a creative professional who designs and then implements an overall brand identity
- Brand management – a team that executes the brand strategy.
For instance, brand consultancy will work alongside you to define target markets and goals. They will research the market along with your competitors and industry, work out communication strategies, work on logos, marketing plans and more.
The brand manager will conduct market research based on trends, develop brand objectives, and provide content writers, digital strategies, design and implement content and campaigns, track results, make adjustments, manage brand assets, maintain your brand over time and more.
So, do you require brand consultancy or would you be better off with brand management?
What do you want as your brand image?
There is more to your brand image than just the logo. Your brand image is what customers and potential customers see of your business. So, when considering hiring brand consultancy one of the factors you have to take into account is the image you want people to see.
Do you want customers to see your brand as being reliable? Do you want them to think of your brand as being luxurious or affordable? Things such as these all have to be considered when looking into brand consultancy. Think about these things and make a list of what you want your brand to be associated with before hiring.
What are you hoping to achieve or improve upon?
When starting with your company or considering rebranding you have to give some thought to what it is you want to achieve or want you would like to improve upon before hiring brand consultancy. For instance:
- Do you want to increase awareness of your brand?
- Do you need brand loyalty?
- Do you need to develop consistent marketing strategies?
- Need help with brand engagement?
- Make your brand image stronger?
- Get more hits on your website?
- Obtain higher Google search rankings?
- Do you need to lower bounce rates on your website?
Have a clear mind about what you want to achieve going forward or the areas in which you need to make improvements.
Give some thought to your visual identity:
One part of brand consultancy is developing a visual identity. This includes your website design and logo. Give some thought to colour schemes and shapes etc. when talking to a consultant. A consultant will be able to work with you to find out the right ones for your company based on target audiences and your company’s personality.
A good brand consultant can assist you in choosing the best design for your logo, a design that shows your business in the right light. You might want your company to look trendy, show sophistication, appeal to the younger generation or something else. This is important when you are just starting in business but it can also come into play if you have decided to rebrand because your company isn’t doing as well as you thought.
Choose the right brand consultancy:
One of the most important considerations when looking into brand consultancy is choosing the right company.
You should choose a company that realises there is no one-fit solution for all companies. The company should be able to offer bespoke tailored solutions to meet your needs.
They should be able to work with you and get to know your business inside out to ensure they can help you get your company where you want it.
The company should be able to adapt to your needs and listen to feedback and your ideas while at the same time offering their suggestions.
You need a company with experience in working with all types of brands, renowned and upcoming. They should be able to work with new start-up companies, along with being experts in rebranding.
The consultancy should work alongside you every step of the way and always be there to offer advice and guide you.
They should be adaptable and keep up to date with changing trends such as the latest digital marketing trends, new and emerging communication strategies and more.
Your chosen brand consultant should offer a full range of services including:
- Working on your brand strategy;
- Developing brand identity;
- Brand messaging;
- Print;
- Web design;
- Art direction;
- Web development;
- Copywriting;
- And more.
Giving thought to all the factors we have discussed here will help you to choose a company wisely. It is worth putting in the effort to ensure you get the best possible foundation to build your company upon going forward.
Here at Ikon, we offer all of the above. We can help your business to get on top and remain on top, with higher Google search rankings, more website visitors, more customers and increased revenue. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help improve your business.