Why Use a Branding Agency

While many businesses are well aware that they need to brand or rebrand, they are unsure whether they should do it themselves or hire externally. With budget always in mind, the tendency is to keep costs down and use internal resources. The pros of the "do it yourself" approach is that your people know your business well allowing the avoidance of the "ramping up" period. The cons of it is that your people know your business too well and therefore are within the unavoidable silo that makes developing a unique, fresh and clear vision of your brand quasi impossible.

The main role of branding agencies is to curate the quality and message that powerfully resonates with your core audience.

1. Bullseye branding

Great branding is all about pinpointing your core audience, which should represent about 20% of your overall market, as well as developing the Key Value Proposition that resonates with them. I call it bullseye branding because it is what will take you apart from your competition and convince your audience within three seconds why they should do business with you. This takes the ability to hyper-simplify your message and clarify your offering to make it irresistible.

2. Original creativity

Let's face it, not everyone has a creative mind and those that do are often placed in such narrow environments that they end up limited in their ability to think outside of the box. Thinking outside of the box is the first step that enables creative gurus to visualize what others can't see and imagine what most can't. If you have those rare individuals on your team, bravo! I hope you allow them to fully be who they are supposed to be. If you don't have them on your team, this is where a branding agency becomes real value. The advantage of external hires is that they are able to use a "wide angle" lens to pierce into your DNA and uncover what makes it truly unique. And that means sales.

3. Planning like never before

Once your brand is aligned with your core audience and you know what pushes their triggers, it's time to plan and strategize to consistently reach them with value messages that help them not only in their daily lives but also and most importantly in their overall success. Success measurement is the only one that really matters and that will validate the accuracy of your plan. This is why implementing milestones and measurement processes will quantify and qualify the efficiency of your overall strategy. A great plan provides ROI that can't be denied and that must be systemically analyzed and adjusted to optimize your overall results and improve your bottom line.

I hope these few reminders help those of you who wonder how to approach the coming decade with wit, accuracy, breakthrough creativity and clear focus so you can be different, vigilant and relevant to those that truly matters to you.

To a wonderful decade ahead.

Catherine Oaks - Founder - Sliice Marketing