Once you’ve decided you want to use an agency as your rebranding partner, the process can feel overwhelming when you start thinking about how to narrow down the available options. Here are some helpful tips to help ensure you select the right partner based on your company, your vision, your goals, and expected outcome.
Research Your Options
Your first step is to research branding agencies and make a shortlist of the ones that appeal to you. An agency’s website is the first, and most logical, place to start. If an agency is good at what they do, it will immediately come across through the visuals and content they’ve employed to showcase their own brand.
Then review case studies to evaluate the quality of their work and to see if they have experience with brands your size.
It will be tempting to narrow down options or to consider making the decision altogether based on price alone. While it’s important to set and respect your budget, you need to avoid letting price drive your process. When you’re only looking for a bargain, you’re likely compromising on quality.
Consider rapport early on
Once you make contact with a branding agency, determine whether there’s good chemistry between you. This will be a long-standing relationship throughout the duration of your rebranding campaign. Just like you, the agency professionals you employ will have to live and breathe your brand. If you don’t like who you work with or how they work, and if there isn’t mutual respect and trust upfront, you won’t have a good rebranding experience, and that may compromise your end result.
There should be an ease to your interactions, and they should be effective and meaningful.
Take in your initial conversations and evaluate your rapport. Are you being asked relevant questions, do you feel heard, and is your voice valued? It is vital that your rebranding partners care about your business, respect your voice, and are taking the time to understand your needs, and create solutions that address them.
You will want to work with a branding agency that is organized, respectful, responsive, and purposeful with your time. A perfect fit with your professional branding agency will not only be able to get the job done but will make it feel natural at the same time.
Which questions should you ask?
Here are a few questions that can help you gain insight into the agency’s approach to branding, so you can determine if it’s right for you.
- What does branding mean for you and why is it important?
- What is your creative process?
- How will you support me in differentiating my business from my competitors?
- What is your experience like in my industry? Are you involved with any of my competitors?
- Who will be taking on my account and can I see examples of their work?
- How will you work and communicate with me?
- What are your timeframes for completion?
- What’s my projected return on investment?
Above all, it’s important to choose a rebranding agency that will do the best job based on your needs, so you can be confident you’ll get a strong return on your investment.
For more rebranding tips and insider knowledge, check out our free ebook, The Strategic Guide to Rebranding Success, to make sure you have all your rebranding bases covered. Contact us any time to discuss questions, best practices, and goals you could achieve by rebranding your business.