Last month I went to a branding seminar. There I met a guy, who explained to me how he is trying real hard but sales are stalled. Users visit his website, read blogs, some even type in their personal details but when it comes to buy the product they bounce off.
I asked him, What is his business model?
He replied, I offer Microsoft Excel learning courses along with personal and corporate finance courses online. I sat with him and went through his website. It was good. No, I am not saying this just for the sake of it. It was really good, but the problem was not the product. Their problem was that they were offering something but not explaining it to their customers.
Today, anyone can learn anything from the internet; we all know this, and this evokes the question, why would somebody buy his finance and Microsoft Excel courses?
Then, just at the moment, it struck me: the founder was actually offering an online certificate to each of the course buyers post completion and successfully passing the course test. This was major information that, for some reason, the entrepreneur was keeping concealed. This was his unique selling proposition, and he was not promoting it.
I advised him to work on it. Last night I received a call from him explaining how his sales have grown 3x in the past month. Now, I’m not trying to flaunt it, but the underlying aspect of the whole incident was how a creative brand consultant brings life to a business or product. In fact, the right brand development strategist can reveal what’s hidden in plain sight and turn it into a strategic edge.
Today’s class, we will elaborately talk about all the benefits you will enjoy post hiring a creative brand consultant.
The Honest Opinion
One thing is pretty clear: brand consultants are not your man Friday or yes ma’am guy. They are not servile and certainly not interested in sugarcoating. The reputation of a creative brand consultant lies in them being completely honest. They do not care what delusions you have about your product. They are not hired to listen and agree to just anything you say as founders.
They are hired to offer the most blunt and brutal opinion they have about your product. Again, it's all part of constructive criticism. A brand strategy consultant offers an external perspective. Something you won’t receive in boardroom meetings.
They tell you what’s working and what’s not upfront. Of course, it’s not a debate, and there will be a healthy negotiation. A founder can express what’s important for them in the product and what’s something they can’t compromise, but still a second perspective is something that most entrepreneurs lack. That’s where the value of a brand strategy firm truly shows up.
Removes the Unrequited
This benefit actually follows the first benefit. Not only will a brand strategy consultant give you an honest opinion about what’s good and what’s bad. They will take this as a responsibility to remove the unrequited. This is imperative: when clutter is removed, clarity shines.
As a brand positioning expert, I can guarantee nothing works more directly than brand clarity itself. I often say to my clients that too much glitter often loses the glamour. Be clear, be concise. Think about less is more, not more is less. When you are clear, you are confident, and when you sell with confidence, conversions occur.
Assists in Crafting Brand Story
I’ve met plenty of founders and entrepreneurs in my career. The only glowing fact I liked among all of them was they never talk about money being the ultimate agenda. Yes, money is important; yes, it is what keeps the business operations running, and sales are evident, but I never observed them talking about their product or business from a monetary standpoint.
All young startups, founders, and entrepreneurs are solely based on the idea of adding value and solving problems. The revenue and the profit are the byproducts of it. This has been a constant trait in a lot of entrepreneurs. This also shows that there was something that bothered the entrepreneur; there was something wrong that they were able to point out. Something that encouraged them to build a product, a problem that pushed them to create a solution.
This indicates that there is a story behind the brand, and that’s what a good brand marketing strategist or consultant does. They find the latent brand story, give it the narrative construct it needs, and make it sellable.
Offers Visual Identity
Approximately 55% of brand impressions are based on visual elements, and on top of that, 81% of consumers are more likely to recognize a brand’s color than its name. These two simple yet powerful statistics are more than enough to acknowledge the significance of visual identity. This not only helps in sales but also increases a brand’s recall value.
Please don’t tell me that you rely on logo generators and online platforms for logo creation. You can’t be taking your business so grantedly. A brand identity consultant is the one who will help you derive a meaning for your logo, choose the right color palettes along with the font, imagery, and photography that will resonate with your brand, and most importantly, with your target audience.
Most people have this built-in notion that most brand strategy agencies revolve around this only. But it's high time we bust that myth. It’s just one of the key benefits and yet holds great significance.
Strategy Building
The game plan, trust me, everything boils down to this. Brand strategy consultants assess the concerns of a business and like to offer a comprehensive and exhaustively crafted strategy that not only includes the game plan but also the right time and execution aspect for the business to follow. Of course, it is only drafted for a particular time span and is open to change, update, and revision accordingly.
A strategy, in simple words, is how you plan to approach and tackle your problems. Strategy helps achieve branding goals and set new targets along the way. Strategy can be treated as a blueprint. It serves purpose and meaning and brings sensibility to actions. With no strategy, a business can just move in the air with no direction and landing.
Whether you're working with a brand management consultant or a full brand strategy agency, the key value they bring lies in designing this blueprint with both logic and creativity.
Ending Thoughts
There are dozens of other benefits that a creative brand consultant offers, like alignment, consistency, and support during the whole process. But even if a business is able to withdraw the above five benefits, they will already reap the fruit of branding success.
Sometimes, all it takes is the right partnership and external force to bring action to stagnant thoughts and operations. Do not confuse a creative brand consultant with a luxury. This is Professor Brand, taking your leave for today, but if you’re serious about scaling clarity, it may be time to look into brand strategy services that go beyond surface-level polish.
