86% of consumers choose which companies they’ll like and support based on how authentic they are. However, it takes only 50 milliseconds to make a first impression, so you better use your time wisely. 
This is where branding comes in. 
Branding agencies can help show your business in the best light possible. They’ll generate awareness, make you stand out, provide value and most importantly—they’ll build a business persona around your brand that everyone’s going to love. 
Today, we’ll show you the ins and outs of choosing a branding agency so you too can enjoy an increase in revenue by 33% as other businesses that invest in consistent branding do. 
Table of Contents
What Is a Branding Agency?
A branding agency is a specialist firm that helps businesses create, design and manage their brand image or identity to create consumer recognition of the company’s products and services. Simply put, they can take your business branding from unknown to trending. 
Branding agents deliver expertise in marketing and communications to help build a successful long-term brand. The process of branding starts by creating a strategy and there are many brand strategy agencies to help with that. We recently talked to David Shultz, the founder of Sans Serif, and he agrees the best branding starts with strategy.
This strategy may include content creation, advertising initiatives, public relations campaigns and digital marketing initiatives to ensure the desired message reaches the target audience. 
But, why is branding important? 
A good branding agency will create a unique identity for your business based on research into customer habits, competition and industry trends. They can develop campaigns and content that resonates with customers and drives sales, create visuals that capture customer attention and build valuable partnerships through media relations.
With their expertise in both online and offline marketing tactics, you can even hire them for global branding. They will work with you to define goals, create effective visuals, develop an integrated communications platform and monitor the success of your brand’s reach and engagement. Plus, they have extensive experience creating effective campaigns across multiple channels—digital, print, broadcast—giving them insight into what works best in different scenarios. 
Partnering with one of the top brand agencies is essential for developing an engaging brand identity that sticks with customers long after their initial purchase or interaction with your business. 
Phases of Choosing a Branding Agency
Without further ado, let’s go through the three phases of choosing and hiring a branding agency.
1. Research Phase
You can’t go far without research. However, aside from researching possible matches, you should also analyze potential objectives. Therefore, the research phase includes:
1.1. Identifying Your Goals and Needs
Identifying your goals and needs is an important process for anyone looking to grow professionally and find success. For business owners, it helps them focus on short-term objectives that contribute to long-term profitability, while employees can create a plan for improving job performance. 
Knowing what you need to accomplish also allows you to prioritize tasks, eliminate distractions and stay ahead of deadlines. It also helps align expectations with management or clients. Overall, understanding your goals and needs will help keep you motivated and focused on achieving positive outcomes.
The same goes for choosing a branding agency. If you don’t know what you’re after, you can’t expect any agency to deliver results, no matter how good they are. 
That’s why you should consider what look and feel you are trying to achieve and the market you want to target. Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive more sales or build customer loyalty? Once you’ve identified what success looks like for your business, it will be easier to work with an agency that can help get you there.
Think carefully about the budget, timing and scope of the project. Don’t forget to define the types of branding services you require from the agency such as a logo or website design, print or digital marketing campaigns or any other advertising activities needed. 
Analyze the services in terms of how they will help promote your brand and generate potential leads to boost sales. Also, consider whether you need creative input from the agency or if you want them to take charge of executing projects entirely on their own initiative. 
1.2. Researching Prospective Agencies 
Evaluating the agency's experience, customer testimonials and success rate are all essential to make an informed decision. Look at the projects they’ve completed in the past and read any reviews or feedback from clients. This will give you an idea of the results you can expect from them—such as high-quality visuals, effective campaigns and strong customer engagement. 
It also pays to check out their portfolio website or social media accounts to get a better sense of their style and approach.
Find out whether the team has the necessary expertise to do the job correctly. Assess the tools they use and their ability to handle any potential problems. Understanding their communication process throughout the project is paramount to ensuring objectives are met on time and within budget.
You can easily get all the info you need by looking for: 
- Their portfolio. It will help you understand their creative style as well as how successful they have been at creating a unique brand identity for past clients. 
- References and recommendations from trusted sources. Word-of-mouth is often the most accurate source for this information. Asking peers or business colleagues who they hired for the same job can give you valuable insights into the work provided and how good their communication and collaboration is. 
- Online reviews as they create visibility around the quality of service, expertise, and trustworthiness of a branding agency. You can find reviews on platforms such as Google My Business or agency directories that list out pre-vetted agencies. 
2. Evaluation Phase: Questions to Ask a Branding Agency 
Asking questions is the only way to ensure the agency can meet your needs. These questions should revolve around: 
Experience and Expertise in the Industry 
It is imperative to ask questions such as how long they have been working in this sector, who are their past clients, what kind of strategies they follow and what kind of resources they use.
Additionally, it would be wise to evaluate their portfolio of past work projects to ensure their capability and creativity. Checking the level of exposure these professionals possess can play a crucial role in determining the success rate for your brand’s promotion.
How Well They Understand Your Goals and Objectives 
Knowing the company's understanding of your brand objectives will provide a better insight into their ability to deliver targeted marketing campaigns that capture the essence of your brand. 
Asking how they plan to communicate your message effectively and accurately helps you evaluate their capabilities and expertise in developing successful branding strategies tailored to your individual needs. 
Pricing and Payment Terms
This will not only help you determine the cost of the project but understanding how much the services will cost and what payment arrangement options are available can also help ensure your project stays within budget.
Ask questions regarding design fees upfront to avoid any confusion or financial hardship later in the process. Establish payment expectations early on so deadlines can be met without any hiccups.
Communication Policy and Expectations 
Determine whether they provide regular progress updates or allow you to check in on progress at any time. Establish what methods they use to communicate with you—text, email, phone call or regular meeting. 
Discuss who will be assigned to your account and how often they intend to contact you—this should be outlined specifically in the contract. It's also beneficial to determine the best times of the day and days of the week when contacts can be made as well as how long it typically takes them to respond. 
This way, both parties know what level of service is expected and can ensure that communication remains consistent throughout the process.
3. Decision-Making Phase 
During the decision-making phase, you should take into account all of the key factors in choosing a branding agency we discussed above. 
The decision-making phase requires understanding exactly what services will be provided for your company's unique brand and how those services can help reach desired goals. 
You should also ask questions about the capabilities of the agency’s design team and how they collaborate with other marketing teams to ensure that all bases are covered throughout the entire process.
Only then can you begin thinking about drafting a contract. 
3.1. Contract Negotiation 
To get the most value for your money, you have to be willing to negotiate. When negotiating, consider the costs associated with each project component, including design, development and printing. Costs have to be discussed in detail at the start of the project—it's important to be clear about what services will be provided for the money being paid and when payment must be made to maintain momentum. 
Strive to negotiate a reasonable rate that reflects the quality of services offered by the agency. Establish milestones to help keep your project on track and within budget. Determine what kind of support and maintenance is included in their services so any future issues can be addressed quickly and professionally. 
3.2. Signing the Contract
The contract should outline all the terms of service, such as projected timelines, cost estimates, project scope and deliverables, so both parties are well-informed of their obligations. It should include details regarding confidentiality and exclusivity, intellectual property rights and ownership of the resulting product. 
Include all services, liabilities, warranties and indemnifications clauses so all stakeholders know what’s expected of them.  Ultimately, signing a clear and comprehensive agreement protects you as a client from any potential disputes down the road.
Why You Should Invest in Branding 
Branding is essential for any company to succeed in today's competitive market. It helps:
- Build a strong and recognizable identity
- Increase customer trust and loyalty
- Open doors for new opportunities
- Grow revenue and profits
- Improve recognition
- Define the core values of a business
- Customers differentiate from competitors
- Enhance digital presence and visibility online
- Ensure a consistent message across multiple channels
- Create a lasting impression on both current as well as potential customers
A reported 59% of consumers prefer to purchase from a brand they are familiar with.  Customers are more likely to buy a product if it’s backed by a good reputation, and branding can greatly help with building a good brand image and trustworthiness. This can’t be overlooked as 31% of consumers claim trustworthiness is the most important aspect of a brand. 
You don’t have to be an expert marketer to know that having a well-known brand provides a competitive advantage. Investing in branding can be beneficial in both short-term as well as long-term measures, thus making it an integral part of any successful business strategy.
Choosing a Branding Agency: Key Takeaways 
Choosing a branding agency can be tricky. When settling on one, look for a company with extensive experience in the industry that has created successful branding campaigns for other businesses.
Be sure to review their portfolio to get an idea of their work ethic and design style. Ask about their pricing structures and if any additional fees will be added on top of the total cost. Make sure they have good communication channels open so that you can easily reach them when necessary. 
