Many businesses walk around with blinkers on. They’re limited to what they know. They get boxed in by what they believe to be true about their own industries. That’s typical. But is that how you would define your business? Typical? I thought not.
That’s where a brand strategist comes in. A brand strategist shows you how to be an innovator. A strategist brings new questions to the table, looks at angles you may not have considered. As a relative outsider to your industry, we’re not limited to industry standards. We’re ready to go wide and explore, look at new angles, expand your horizons as far as they can go, and then reign it all in by targeting the best angles for your business.
One of the best things about branding a business is you never know where it’s going to go. Once the inspiration really starts flowing, ideas come out of the woodwork. New revenue streams appear out of nowhere. When open minds collaborate, a brand strategy can go almost anywhere.
At cybranded, it all starts with an involved questionnaire, then by me asking those crucial questions, generating that crucial conversation as part of my process that I’ve developed over the last 13 years. And it always works. Always? Yes, always. It’s during these crucial conversations that we uncover many things that haven’t been said. Things that need to be said. Ask yourself this: would you publish a book that had never been read by a second, objective set of eyes? Neither would I.
How a brand strategist to ends up saving you money
Why not go to a cheap design site that will sell you a logo for five hundred bucks? They’re creative too, right? True. But a branding strategist gives you much more than just a logo. While a strategist looks at the competition, the dime-store logo guys don’t understand or even look at your market. A true strategist studies your target market intensively. What are the others doing? What does your business bring to the table that’s unique? A strategist is an amateur futurist. We look at how to make your business timeless. Meanwhile, the discount site gives you a logo. Period. Worse, that logo is based solely on name and color, sometimes not even that.
I get that it’s tempting for a small business to look for “only savings”. But if you truly want your business to go forth and prosper, in the end the discount price will end up costing you much more. Eventually you’ll find out the competition’s angle is too similar or that the type of logo you’ve chosen doesn’t work well for your market, or worse it makes no sense. You’ll have to redo it. And then come the really big invoices.
Yes – investing in a brand strategist will cost money, but what will doing NOTHING cost your brand? What will you miss out on by waiting another year? How many ideal clients will hire someone else? How many speaking opportunities won’t happen? How much will your brand suffer if you aren’t connecting with the right target audience? This isn’t meant to be fear mongering. Take a realistic look at the opportunities you’ll miss out on.
How will all your brand strategy work be represented visually?
Visual strategy is the way in which you use visual communication to connect with your key audiences. The strategy for the means and methods of communicating with your brand must consider how your brand will be viewed — literally. The choices you make in developing your visual identity — from colors and fonts to illustration style, use of photography, data visualization style, and more — reflect upon the choices you make when developing your brand.
When your brand’s goals and its look and feel are in competition, it’s difficult to build audience trust. Because of this, developing them together — and with the same studio — can only serve to bolster the impact of both. When executed well, brand strategy and visual strategy are inextricably linked. They each support and build upon key foundational elements of your brand.
A Brand Strategist will:
Offer outside insight. Sometimes all you need is a fresh perspective. Your biases will always color your decisions, but a new pair of eyes is the best way to see what you may be missing.
Form a strategy and a plan. A brand and design studio does the research and creates the position, language and visuals that define it. They create a tactical plan to follow.
Be accountable. It’s a lot more effective to get things done when you have someone looking over your shoulder. It is imperative to have someone to keep you on track, pushing you towards your goal.
Keep you focused. If you’re not moving forward you’re standing still. A brand consultant will prioritize high-level goals and make sure the momentum aims where it matters most.
Avoid pitfalls and mistakes. The real value in working with a specialized studio is experience. They’ve seen it all and can anticipate where you might get off track.
Cohesive branding. Helping to bring your brand to life through design, photography and content marketing. Carefully planning visuals, language, tone, and voice to deliver a cohesive identity across all platforms. From big-picture thinking to tiny details, we aim to connect meaningful storytelling with compelling visuals to create unforgettable experiences.
It’s important to understand that you work with a brand strategist for the strength of our muscles. That’s what we do. Everyday. Work those muscles, make ‘em stronger. Strategize until we’re blue in the face. My clients come to me to tap into that creative energy. They are looking for a way to stand out, and new ideas because they know I’m anything but typical. And you know what? I know you’re not not typical either.
Any strong brand strategy keeps the future top of mind. It allows space for growth — in fact, it anticipates that growth. Inevitably, many businesses will still pick up cheap logos at quickie design sites. There are lots of them. I don’t mind saying that if this was even a consideration for you, the work I do at cybranded is absolutely not for you. What I offer is high quality services for clients with businesses who truly understand that you get what you pay for. I make sure you only have to do this once.
Bottom Line: With the expert guidance of a brand strategist, you’ll finally position yourself in your market with authority and influence. And a stronger brand that reaches the right people… means more visibility and more money!
So, if marketing is not your specialty or you are just overwhelmed, it makes sense to hire an expert. When your sink has a leak you call a plumber. Why would you do anything different when it comes to your business?