08 Jan How Much Should I Invest In Branding My Business?
Type “branding agency Hertfordshire” into Google and you’ll find both us and our competitors making the same point. Developing your brand doesn’t have to be ridiculously expensive, but you should be willing to put in some decent investment to make it distinct; also ensuring it stands the test of time and maximises the chances of your business being perceived as high-quality.
You should be prepared to invest in the thousands, realistically, for a solid business brand.
Unless you are a qualified or experienced brand designer, do not do it yourself. I always cringe when a prospect tells me that they’re going to design a logo, business card and/or letterhead themselves.
I may get in trouble for being so bold, but here are the bare facts. If you do it yourself, or put in pittance to get it done, then the chances are you don’t take your business or your customers seriously.
You might be one of the lucky ones and get away with it for a little while. However, it will come back to hurt you in the end. It’s always obvious when someone unqualified/ inexperienced does their logo and/or branding themselves.
From the perspective of your customers/potential customers, this almost always leads to them having the following subconscious thought:
“A company that looks poor quality most likely is poor quality, and also untrustworthy. I’m going to look elsewhere.”
Most businesses with a poorly-defined, unprofessional brand will eventually flounder because of it. Some will succeed for a while, but this is possibly the most frustrating thing of all for me to watch. It’s like seeing Usain Bolt trying to run the 100m race while carrying a 100lb backpack.
In such cases I feel like I’m watching a business trudge forward instead of powering ahead of the competition; held back from their true potential by a cumbersome, ill-thought-through brand.
There’s a reason why some graphic designers are sought after; paid staggering amounts for their work. It’s because good design produces commercial results.
In other words, successful firms recognise that their brand is their business’s most valuable intangible asset; and they are willing to find the right agency and put in the cash to protect and nurture that asset.
Fortunately, you don’t have to dish out hundreds of thousands or even millions to give your business a distinct, quality brand identity.
In general, good designers like ours at Ratio7 will have a great portfolio, and also legitimate referrals/recommendations from previous firms they have worked with. They won’t charge through the roof, but they will almost certainly charge more than a recently-graduated freelancer working from his/her parents’ basement.
The advantage of going with a branding agency Hertfordshire is that you can get awesome results for your brand; without incurring the high costs typically involved when going with a large, city-based firm or agency.
If you’d like to know more, please do get in touch.
As the Marketing Coordinator at Ratio7, Phil is responsible for devising tailored marketing strategies for his clients; generating engaging and informative content; and ensuring brand consistency across all of Ratio7’s communications. Phil has a passion for creating powerful corporate brands, and suffers from a borderline-unhealthy addiction to Google analytics.
In his spare time, Phil can be found training for powerlifting competitions, watching Jason Statham movies, and playing acoustic guitar at open mic nights.