Blakney Terica“Noisy” – that’s how Steve Jobs characterized the world. Had Apple stuck to their old business branding, they would have never surpassed Microsoft. So, what set Steve apart? How did he position Apple in such a unique way that the brand captured 40 percent of the smartphone market?
It’s a multifaceted recipe for success, but one thing remains clear: Apple infused their vision into every product and service they offered. This enabled the brand to establish deep emotional connections and meaningful relationships with customers. Apple shattered the status quo and revolutionized the rules of branding. Steve didn’t adhere to checklists or mimic competitors’ strategies. Instead, he embarked on a deeply personal journey, creating products that made users feel extraordinary.
Unfortunately, companies can’t simply replicate Apple’s approach to business branding. The best they can do is adopt a similar mindset and enlist the guidance of experts—enter the realm of brand consultants.
What is a brand consultant?
Brand consultants offer companies a range of services including analysis, strategic solutions, and expert marketing advice to enhance product sales. Their role involves assessing the brand’s performance in comparison to competitors. These professionals, also known as brand strategists, have the ability to elevate small businesses into formidable powerhouses using methods such as market analysis, content marketing, website audits, keyword research, and video services.
Why You Should Consider Bringing in a Brand Consultant
Brand strategists specialize in conducting comprehensive market analyses to assess competition, market trends, and online presence. Through their expertise, companies can gain insights into their main competitors and develop strategies to surpass them. Competitive analysis helps companies understand the keywords utilized by their rivals, how they optimize their websites for search engines, and the characteristics of their social media followers. Brand consultants delve into customer personas to gain a deep understanding of their pain points and the solutions they seek.
Additionally, brand strategists perform website audits to identify factors contributing to poor Google rankings. They thoroughly examine the website’s components to determine areas for improvement that can help companies achieve their objectives. Website audits encompass various aspects such as website page optimization, implementing SEO best practices like proper tagging, metadata optimization, and image tagging. Brand strategists also ensure website compliance by assessing elements like sitemaps, terms of service, privacy policies, and linking structures.
In addition to these capabilities, brand consultants excel at crafting robust business branding strategies. They conduct research on markets, competition, pricing, packaging, and aggressive product distribution approaches. By considering every aspect of the product or service, they can position it in a way that resonates strongly with consumers, surpassing competitors.
How to Choose the Perfect Brand Consultant
Selecting the right brand consultant can be a daunting task, especially for companies embarking on this process for the first time. To make an informed decision, it is advisable to interview at least three to five firms and then narrow down the options based on a comprehensive assessment of various criteria.
When evaluating brand strategists, their depth of experience becomes crucial, particularly in utilizing diverse channels and mediums across multiple touchpoints. Ideally, companies should seek a brand consultant capable of delivering both brand strategy and design expertise.
Look for a brand consultant who doesn’t simply adhere to everything the company dictates but instead challenges CEOs to step outside their comfort zones, fostering an environment of discomfort and vulnerability that fuels creativity and innovation. However, bear in mind that the consultant’s approach to business branding should be supported by a proven process that yields results. Engaging with consultants who rely on improvisation may not be ideal.
Equally important is finding a partner who genuinely believes in the company’s vision and can devise a business branding strategy that aligns with it. A skilled brand strategist is someone who can envision the company’s future state and knows how to leverage business branding to successfully attain it.
Conclusion
A brand consultant assists companies in developing focused business branding strategies to achieve their goals and objectives in a structured yet creative manner. It’s important to remember that branding doesn’t follow a strict mathematical formula; instead, it often involves a process of trial and error. Therefore, it’s crucial to find a partner who possesses both the stability of a well-defined process and the creativity and passion of a visionary.
