What To Consider When Hiring A Branding Expert Everything to think about before committing on a consultant or agency.
By Tatiana Dumitru Edited by Bill Schulz
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
While you might be able to launch a business all on your own, when it comes to branding, there are some things you shouldn't do by yourself.
It can be overwhelming regarding where to start and what to expect, so here are several things to consider before hiring a professional.
Related: Don't Forget Branding as You Look to Grow Your Business
Cost
When you work with an agency, you'll find that the price for a project doesn't reflect the number of hours worked, it reflects the value they're providing. It's not about the hours and the hours aren't calculated the way you might think. After all, a seasoned branding expert might turn around a project more quickly than a newbie. It's about expertise, not timing.
I specialize in naming, so you might think that all I need to do is find some interesting words and send them to the client for approval. In reality, there is a lot of ideation, research and strategy involved. I spend time learning about the company, understanding their goals, vision, personality, and preferences. I also research their competition and perform linguistic analysis. It's not until this stage that I actually start thinking of names.
From there, I start putting words together, getting creative with spellings and checking to see which names are already taken or have a pending trademark. Once I have a few names that are available, I get them ready to send to the client, along with a rationale for each one that explains the meaning behind each moniker.
The cost usually starts at $5,000 so as to guarantee the level of work and attention to detail is always consistent. And depending on the scope of work, the rate can get as high as $50,000. If you think that's expensive, keep in mind that a re-brand will cost you much more in terms of finances and customer confusion. Invest now to get your brand name right the first time.
Hiring
Quite often, I have clients reach out to me because they think they need a copywriter to help name their business, articulate their mission, find their unique selling proposition or create a tagline. They assume they need someone who specializes in words. While this is partially true, what you need for any of these tasks is a brand strategist. Before diving into language, you need someone who understands your vision and knows how to position your brand so it cuts through the noise.
A copywriter can write website copy or craft taglines, but without a strategy and brand overview, they won't know what voice or tone to approach the project with or how to focus their messaging to capture the unique value proposition.
Brand audit
All the elements to fit together and complement one another, like pieces of a puzzle. You might think you just need a logo and you're ready to launch, but a trustworthy branding specialist should audit your brand to analyze all the other elements you've developed. A good branding agency will uncover what's missing from your brand and fill in those gaps. If you already have a strategy in place, they can help you take it to the next level by polishing the elements you already have.
Expectations
Branding is important for so many reasons, but it takes more than a catchy name in pretty packaging to make your business successful - great branding alone can't guarantee success. Clients often tell me they want a tagline like "Just Do It" or "Because You're Worth It." While these are great taglines, they're successful for more than the choice of words. These brands have run hugely lucrative marketing campaigns and millions of dollars in ad spend.
It's also important to understand that a new-to-the-market brand name won't sound as good as a well-known one because it will be unfamiliar and needs time to gain recognition. Also keep in mind that the brand names you're presented with are the ones that are still available. So, unless you're willing to pay millions to own a domain like Cars.com, you'll need to settle for something more creative.
Don't involve too many people
You're hiring a branding agency because they're the experts and you should be able to trust that they'll suggest what's best for your brand. So, let the branding specialist do their job and offer a curated list of solutions. Review them yourself, and consider the expert's recommendations, before sharing them with the rest of your team or your investors.
Related: Hiring a Branding Professional
