This smart strategy takes the guesswork out of planning for a rebrand
When it comes to the new year, are you a planner or a “just wing it” guy or gal?
Let’s take a little quiz:
Have you had your annual goals for the upcoming year planned since October?
Or is that something you think about once your New Year’s celebrations have worn off? (Shoutout to anyone else who’s Team Sweatpants on NYE)
Whether you’re a Planner Peggy or a Wing-It Wanda, if “invest in a brand (or rebrand)” is anywhere in your new year’s resolutions, it’s not too early to start strategizing. While our studio’s workload shows that most entrepreneurs love to tackle big projects like a rebrand in the early months of the year, even those of you looking for a fall or winter launch need to start planning now for your brand investment.
I’ve come up with a list of the 3 most critical strategic steps that every business owner needs to consider when they’re planning for a brand or a rebrand. If you miss any of these, you could find your branding process drawn out longer than you anticipated or your costs much higher than you expected. Whether you’re considering working with us or with another amazing agency in the new year, the last thing your branding team wants is for either of those scenarios to happen!
So let’s dive into the nuts and bolts of planning ahead for a branding investment.
1. Get clear on why you need to brand or rebrand your business.
Hold your horses: before you whip out your planner and your budget spreadsheet, the most crucial step to planning for a brand is to get clear on why this brand is important to your business.
Two simple questions that you must answer before making a branding investment: Why this? Why now?
Credit for those two questions goes to my coach and fellow brand strategist Jacob Cass of JUST™ Creative. These are two of the first questions he asks his branding clients, and I’ve started adapting them into my own discovery process with potential clients. Why? Because knowing my clients’ priorities and needs, in their own words, is critical to understanding how I can best help them.
While it’s helpful to answer these questions with qualitative data (more on this in the points below), I encourage you analytical thinkers out there to put the calculators aside and answer these questions qualitatively. Meaning: less numbers, more impact. Will this rebrand:
Help your business compete at a higher level?
Present a stronger first impression to high-ticket clients or investors?
Build a more loyal customer base through story-driven, emotionally-connecting brand messaging?
Allow you to retire early, spend more time with your kids, or travel the world as your own boss?
Answering these two deceptively simple questions will provide clarity on how this brand investment will impact your business’ long-term success and will also help clarify the necessary scope of work. For instance, if you’re only interested in a visual identity redesign at this point yet you’d say this project is important because you want to sell more products on your e-commerce site, then you’re going to need to look at all facets of your brand and website to increase sales and customer retention. Namely, a new logo ain’t going to cut it.
Sometimes, though, entrepreneurs aren’t terribly clear on the long-term direction of their business, or they simply lose sight of the end game as the day-to-day bogs down their workload. Articulating how this branding investment or rebranding fits in with your overarching business goals—both short-term as well as long-term—will help the pieces fall into place of the specific, measurable role this brand investment should play in your business.
2. Do your homework: determine your branding investment ahead of time
Asking how much a brand costs is like asking how much a car, or a house, or a pair of shoes costs.
The answer is: it depends.
I get it: it’s difficult to even get an idea of how much a brand should cost. Just a simple Google of this question will yield a myriad of different and unhelpful answers.
We often hear from potential clients that they have no idea how much they should expect to pay for a brand design, and I sympathize with that. There are so many options out there that it’s hard to know you’re entrusting your investment with the right partner, and even having a clue of what’s a fair rate for hiring a brand designer or brand strategist can be overwhelming!
Let’s clear the air here and now with my recommended brand pricing strategy:
The investment you make into branding should be proportional to the returns you stand to gain on it.
You’ll notice I’m staying away from the word budget. That’s intentional. Because often budgets are based on what we can’t afford right now, while investments are determined by what we stand to gain.
Budgets emphasize the here and now. Investments focus on the long-term rewards.
Start with the end goal in mind (which you should have clarified in point 1 above!) and work backwards. What do you stand to gain from this brand or rebrand?
Let’s look at a quick example:
Your end goal is to sell more products in your e-commerce small business and raise your prices so you can build a company that leaves a legacy for your family and future generations and allows you to run your company while working remotely from anywhere in the world.
We’re going to meet those goals by elevating your brand and positioning your product as a quality, high-end item that’s worth the increased price. We’re going to back that up with a stellar customer brand experience, a functional and engaging website, and powerful story-driven brand messaging that will build a loyal customer base for you.
By rebranding your e-commerce business, you anticipate selling 1000 more units per month at the increased cost of $50/unit, which will increase your gross revenue by $50,000/month or $600,000/year.
The amount you invest in rebranding your business should center around that final number: $600,000/year. Seeing your brand design as an investment that has a high probability of yielding the desired return, you should anticipate your branding cost to be a percentage of that return. I usually advise 2%-10%, depending on your scope of work of course. (For a further breakdown of how to calculate concrete numbers, you’ll want to check out this post).
The process of finding the right branding agency or designer will go much more smoothly if you come to your first meeting with an investment range in mind. Have the numbers in-hand for the desired yields of your business growth, and be prepared to invest a percentage of that number while keeping an open mind in case the numbers don’t match your desired scope of work. Trust that your brand agency also wants to be honest and fair in their pricing to have your working relationship be a wise investment for you.
3. Start the branding process sooner than you think.
The easiest recipe for branding disaster is to wait until the last minute to begin the process.
Depending on the scope of work and the scale of your company, your branding process could take months or even years to complete (if you’re considering working with us, don’t sweat: our typical process is 2–6 months, on average). If you have a desired completion date anywhere in the next year, it’s a good idea to begin thinking about your brand design or rebrand now.
If you’re planning to launch your brand anytime in the next 12 months, it’s time to start planning now.
Every branding agency is going to have a different process, workload capacity, or availability that will all impact how long your project takes. Some often have waitlists of several weeks or months, which adds to the length of time before your brand is completed (and trust us, a good branding partner will be worth the wait!).
Start from your desired brand launch date or brand completion date and work backwards from there. “I need this done now” isn’t doing anyone any favors—unless you’re prepared to pay significantly higher costs for a rushed project.
Even if you contact a branding agency well in advance of your completion date, you can at least reserve their future availability so you know you’ll get to work with the partner of your dreams when you’re ready!
Don’t wait until you’re “ready” to start the branding process: have a completion date in mind and begin the process of inquiring about timelines and availability ASAP. It will be well worth the time, stress, and money saved to be prepared.
