How to choose a branding agency

With so many options and sales pitches, how do you choose a branding agency? First, let’s talk about how we define branding or building a brand. A brand is a perception. One person can have a very different feeling about a company or organization than another person. The various experiences they’ve had with the company will impact their perception of the brand (positively or negatively).

Your brand is a constantly evolving feeling experienced by anyone that interacts with your organization or business, and every single touchpoint can have an impact on that feeling.

Small to medium businesses (SMBs), need to think about two very important things: Money and Branding. Money is: sales, keeping the lights on, hiring, firing, conversions, clicks, buys, ROIs, payroll, customers, users, etc. Branding is: loyalty, customer retention, word of mouth, tone & voice, mission, design, marketing, trust, vision, outreach, consistency, and story. These two pillars work hand in hand. Both are essential to creating opportunities for scaling.

Focus on Story

When you choose a branding agency to help develop a brand, look for one that focuses on story. If the focus is purely visual, they’re missing the foundation. Creating a narrative should be the foundation of everything. A story-based approach brings customers into a more relatable form of consuming content. When you understand that your customer is the hero, and you are the guide to helping them achieve something meaningful in their own journey, it’s a much clearer path to connecting with your audience.

“Story is atomic. It is perpetual energy and can power a city. Story is the one thing that can hold a human being’s attention for hours. Nobody can look away from a good story. In fact, neuroscience claims the average human spends 30% of their time day-dreaming, unless they’re reading, listening to, or watching a story unfold. Story is the greatest weapon we have to combat noise because it organizes information in such a way that people are compelled to listen.”

-Donald Miller (Author of Building a Story Brand)

Choose a branding agency that has personality

If the agency you’re investigating doesn’t have its own soul – its own story – there’s a good chance it’s going to struggle to develop your story. Find an agency that brings personality to their own brand. If you can’t do it for yourself, how can you do it for someone else? 

The right pricing for SMBs

Pricing can vary depending on the depth and scope of a branding agency’s deliverables. Balance quality and quantity, when looking at agencies. If one provides a ton of deliverables, but the price is low, compared to the rest, do some research. Make sure you’re getting the right foundation, and not a mixed bag of inconsistent deliverables. 

Want to learn more about our story? Follow us on instagram or facebook. If you have any questions about hiring a branding agency, reach out to Martin. He’ll be happy to talk to you about our process, and things to watch out for. Email him directly at: martin@driftingcreatives.com

Author
Gavin Braman

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