In some circles, the term “branding agency” has been thrown around far too loosely. While it’s true that virtually any design team can help you build elements of your brand, a true partner works in a way that is more focused and effective.
We want to give you a sense of why this is, and the reason it’s so important to separate real branding agencies from all the other vendors out there. With that in mind, let’s look at a handful of traits you should look for when trying to choose a vendor to help you establish a strong brand identity…
A Good Branding Agency Helps You Establish Your Identity
The first thing a good branding agency will do is help you figure out what your brand should be and what kinds of impressions you want customers to hold about your business. In other words, they’ll help you to put together a branding strategy in addition to the individual visual and messaging elements.
Until your business has a firm marketing identity, effective branding is impossible so don’t overlook the value of this part of the process.
Your Branding Partner Can Help You Think Beyond the Obvious
One of the downsides to the popularity of branding as a business topic is that there are a lot of vendors promoting themselves as experts while offering the bare minimum. In fact, we constantly see “branding authorities” who do nothing more than redesign logos.
A good branding agency will help you to look past the simplest elements of your visual scheme and examine the entire customer experience you have to offer. That way, you won’t just see that there is so much more that goes into branding, but you will also be in a position to use the various elements of your brand to their fullest effect.
Your Branding Team Should Also Help with Marketing and Design
This is the flipside of the point we just made. On the one hand, a branding partner should do more than visuals; but on the other, it’s important they have talented designers and artists on staff.
In other words, a good branding agency should be a one-stop shop. They have to help you build a brand strategy and execute the various pieces and campaigns. Otherwise, you’ll be left trying to translate their vision and insights to a third party who might want to go in another direction. That’s not going to help you achieve consistency or make lasting impressions on customers.
A Great Branding Agency is Concerned with Business Outcomes
Branding is sometimes treated as an artistic pursuit or a luxury for Fortune 500 companies with enormous budgets. That perception isn’t accurate, though, and your vendor should see themselves as an integral part of your sales efforts.
To put this another way, a strong branding agency is going to show you how their work will lead to more sales and higher margins. Concepts and creative ideas are great, but don’t settle for anything less than a healthier bottom-line when the future of your company is involved.
See Great Branding Strategies in Action
It’s good and well to talk about the way top branding agencies work, but to really get the picture, you need to have a team of experienced and committed professionals on your side. Contact Biondo Creative in Philadelphia today so we can schedule a free consultation and show you what it looks like to put real branding expertise into action to meet your specific business goals.