Planning for a new logo, or changes to your product offering have prompted thoughts you may need a refresh?
Have you had the same website for 3-5 years?
Considering updates to your sales tools?
If so, you need a branding agency to bring your dreams and plans to life!
But how do you choose the right agency?
Branding agencies come in all shapes and sizes, so you need to find one that fits you.
Here are some questions you can ask to help find that one to fit.
Important Qs to ask before selecting the right Branding Agency for your business or idea
- What are your products and services?
While you may not know exactly if the services offered are everything you’ll need, ask the question as the answers will prompt new ones. Just make sure you are not paying for a wide range of services you won’t really need. When you get someone talking they’ll often give emphasis towards a particular set of services. This will help you learn if they are more digital focussed towards google marketing vs story telling vs strong design for example.
- What’s the skill level and expertise of your team?
Ask about their experience: What is their qualification; What industry groups do they belong to or professional standards do they follow?
There are a wide range of free software anyone can use. Canva for printing projects is probably the one you will have heard of the most. Whist Canva and another like it called Vistacreate are easy to use, they do attract less than experts and they are limited in their scope of the control you have in ensuring the correct colour and quality of the end product. The best professional software is ‘Creative Suite ‘, by Adobe. It consists of the main design tools, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop.
WIX or SquareSpace are website building platforms you may have heard of, but they are more DIY tools that will have limitations for when it is time to do something out of the ordinary. You want to hear your designer is using WordPress, the world’s widest used platform that has endless scope and because so many use it, you can pick your site up and transport it to another designer easily if you need too.
Design in free stand-alone software is quick, but it is just not as cost-effective in the long run as a professional using industry-standard software that integrates across a wide range of tools and disciplines as it is easier to reuse parts of designs over and over for the best consistency.
Consistency is key in branding.
- What design styles do you specialize in? Ask for case studies and examples of work.
Corporate B2B vs B2C for something like skin care products is a very different proposition.
Also, how much experience do they have designing logos? They will likely say they know how to apply it to a wide range of uses. Test this, do they know how to build a brand around your logo? The very first questions they ask you back should be, who are your customers, and what do you do differently? They should be talking about the logo as just a small part of the picture. Tag line, colour, font styles, photo styles, the story the brand is telling, and the consistency are all important in building a brand.
Ask to see some examples of their work, and ask them what problem they were solving in each of these projects.
- What is your process and how long does it take?
This is important to know how much involvement you will have to ensure you are not sold down a path. Some brand agencies will commit a whole lot of time and cost without putting the necessary approval steps in place. This isn’t art you buy in to, it is a commercial solution to a business problem and you need to have input. There is a balance between micro-management and having input. You’ll also want to know how long it takes and inform them of any critical timelines. Communicate your preference up front so there are no misunderstandings later.
- What updates will we receive and how much input do we need to have?
Flows on nicely from the last question. Communication is key. Knowing how much time you and your team will need to commit to help will help you understand the real costs. Clear updates within a timeframe that suits you will help you plan with your marketing team. Also it’ll give you an understanding for how to manage change with your key advisors such as your Lawyers for trading terms updates, IT for changes to your email accounts, when your sales force will be off the road when signage is being updated on their vehicle etc.
- What steps will you take to understand our company?
Most importantly you should be answering questions about your capabilities, your competitors, your point of difference. A good Brand Agency will offer workshops, unless you are one of the rare companies already very clear about your answers. What problem are you trying to solve? Is a very good exploratory question that will flush out what the immediate concerns are too. While you are spending time on this, in the background they should start with a brand audit and conversations with your team to understand how the brand will be used operationally.
- What are the deliverables we can expect to receive?
When you have a new logo designed you will need to be able to use it in a range of applications. Your Brand Agency will handle most of this for you, but you’ll want to know you have a set of files so you have the option to use it yourself for sponsorship, new uniforms etc. Ask for a set of digital files for office and professional use and a set of brand guidelines that include your correct colour specification you will use as tools to ensure your brand is used correctly and consistently. This can be a brand application guidelines document that includes examples of a range of applications, or as simple as a single page logo sheet. It all comes down to cost vs benefit. Let them explain the options to you.
- Do you have any recommended resources for us to read before we begin?
Investing in a new brand requires a partnership of trust. The Brand Agency will need to invest in understanding your business, and equally you will want to know as much as you can about what you are asking for and are ready for other opportunities that may come up throughout the process.
- How much do you charge, and what does that include?
The saying ‘Let price be the determinant of quality’ is often true, but before you fall into that one consider this – Does the Brand Agency have a small team and because their overheads are low, so are their prices. But before you make your decision on this basis too, if they have a small team ask how many clients they have to determine how quickly they can respond with a small team. Get other prices and ask for breakdowns so you can compare properly.
- What is the payment process?
Typically a business will want a deposit for a first project and then offer 20th of the month terms once you have determined an ongoing relationship.
The right agency will welcome your questions, so don’t be afraid to ask.
If you receive any pushback or reluctance from the agency you’re considering, that will tell you all you need to know.