There’s only one reason NOT to hire a brand professional to help you market your business, and it’s cost. But what if it will cost you more in the long run to skip this step and do it yourself? Sure, I’ve seen many examples of businesses that do it themselves, and do it very well, but I’ve also seen the ones that don’t. Here are 9 reasons why you should consider hiring a brand professional for your business.

Whether you like it or not, if you have a business, you have a brand. Your brand is more than just what people say about your business when you’re not around, it’s what people feel when they think about your product or service or come into contact with it. Each of those contact points is an opportunity for you to build your brand, and to tell your story, in the hopes that it will resonate with your key clientele.

Ask yourself who your target customer is. If your answer didn’t narrow that down to a very specific group of people, you need some help (if you came up with “homosapiens”, you’re not alone, and call me). Too many businesses will answer that question with “everyone”; that’s not good enough. You can’t effectively speak to everyone. If McDonald’s and Nike don’t try to do it with their multi-million dollar marketing budgets, why would you?

If you’re asking your staff (who presumably excel at other things) to become brand experts, I’d suggest you are spending time and energy that could be better served focussing on your core operations (what you do), than training them to be something they’re not, and may not be entirely comfortable doing. Why not keep your people focussed on making you money and spend a little bit of that on hiring a pro?

Big brands understand the value of consistency and brand awareness. Communicating with your specific target market, both with your language and your visuals, creates loyal customers, and will improve your bottom line. Not doing so develops a fragmented brand that lacks identity and resonates with no one. Being top of mind with customers means that you’re the first person they’ll think of when they need what you offer.

Sometimes you’re too close to what you do to be able to step back and see it objectively. That’s OK…your passion for what you do results in a better product or experience for your customer. It may not help you to see the forest through all of the trees, though. Bringing in someone with a fresh perspective and ideally some experience working with similar businesses can help you to further build on strengths and identify some opportunities you may not have considered.

There’s a reason why you can identify certain brands by their tagline, font, or colour – consistency. You’ve been (knowingly or otherwise) hammered with brand messaging since you were born, and the consistent application of that brand messaging over time etches those brands indelibly in your mind. Wouldn’t you like your business to be top of mind in people when they think about the service you offer?

You know you need a website, but who should you get to build it? From logo design to targeted online ad buys, a brand professional will have an extensive network of resources to draw from in order to get you exactly what you need, for the right price. And if they don’t, they can help you to effectively find them, without flipping through the Yellow Pages. So before you get your teenage nephew to build your next website, consider getting some professional help.

It’s next to impossible for you to know everything about your business and keep up with what’s trending elsewhere. Brand professionals can help steer your ship through the murky waters of marketing, identifying the right initiatives on which for you to spend your resources, not just jumping on what’s new. If there’s an opportunity that arises because of advancements in marketing (think websites in the 1990s), they can assist in determining if those opportunities are right for your business or best left to others.

The most important question a Brand Professional will ask you is “why?” Brand experts are not executional in nature, they’re inquisitors who will challenge your thoughts on what to do next and how to run your business or execute your campaigns. The questions they ask may lead you to a place you hadn’t imagined going, and might force you to think deeply about what you’re doing in your business, but will make you stronger in the end.

So, before you start thinking about your next promotional campaign, consider getting in touch with a brand professional to see if you’re getting the most out of your marketing spend. Spending some time and energy to get focussed on the aspects of your business that make you money will pay off in the long run. Talk to you soon!