Hiring A Branding Company 101
If your company has a good product and a hungry market for that
product, you're closer to success than 90% of the rest. But to
take that final step, some of the most successful companies in
the world have hired a Branding Company to
craft their company's brand image into the
sales and loyalty-generating machine it needs to be.
How have these successful companies--take your pick from the
Fortune 500--found these branding companies? There's no one-stop
resource or fail-safe formula. Fact is, finding one worth its
salt is exceedingly difficult. But if you're going to take your
brand to the next level, there's no way around it--you need one.
So, here are some things to remember when you're out there on
the hunt:
1. Know your needs and have an idea about how you'd like them
met. This will give you the self-knowledge you need to better
gauge the work of the branding agencies you'll encounter to
determine if they really can deliver what you need.
2. Go ahead, be a fan. If you admire the branding efforts of a
certain company, call around and find out who did the work.
3. Go with a referral, not a blind hire. Canvass your contacts.
This is always better than hiring someone with no frame of
common reference. If they left a favorable impression on one
person, chances are it's a trend, not an exception.
4. Throw a few companies a bone & see what they do with it. Give
them a general question or problem scenario. See how responsive
they are and how much time it appears they put into crafting
their response. This isn't the same as asking for free or
speculative work, which is bad form. Don't do that. Rather, this
should give you a preview to how they think and their work
ethic...and whether they would really value your business and do
a good job for you.
5. Money isn't taboo. Once you've found a company you'd like to
work with, discuss it from the outset. It's better to agree on
financial terms from the start than for either of you to be in a
precarious position somewhere down the line. This may start with
a simple question, like: "What's your budget?" or "What would
you typically charge for this kind of work?" If they ask you,
give a number if you one in mind, but don't pull it out of
nowhere. Be sure you've educated yourself on the costs involved
with the kind of work you need, and don't expect them to give
you a discount just because you have kind eyes. If you ask them,
try to be specific. Ask how much it cost to produce a specific
project in their portfolio.