What is a brand consultant

A brand consultant is responsible for making your company’s identity more competitive in its industry. Brand consultants are suitable for businesses of all sizes, including corporate branding or complex branding redesigns. They can either work as part of a branding agency or team but may be most commonly employed as an individual.

This usually involves starting with the company’s unique selling points, which is how they differentiate themselves in their market. Having a strong brand image and advertising can also be a key differentiator. Companies usually differentiate themselves in their market to:

• Boost sales;
• Help customers to remember a product and brand;
• Create loyal, trusting, repeat customers;
• Attract a wider talent pool.

In our guide to building brand awareness, we found that a company’s reputation matters to 71% of jobseekers in the UK. Building a stronger brand identity is one of the ways that a company can bolster its reputation.

We commissioned Forrester Consulting to provide a report on employer branding, which revealed that employer brand attracts talent. Focusing on employer branding may help businesses to stay competitive, as 90% of respondents claimed they would be increasing their employer brand budget. With 47% of marketing and advertising teams involved with employer branding, a brand consultant can play a role in shaping employer brand too.

When is it useful to have a brand consultant?

Sometimes, having USPs isn’t enough on its own. A company might need a brand consultant to help better communicate these to their customers and potential candidates. Company branding is a wide umbrella and encompasses:

• Website design;
• Product design;
• Employee uniform;
• Storytelling;
• Brand mission statement;
• Product descriptions;
• Social media presence;
• Tone of voice.

A brand consultant is therefore responsible for bringing a company’s brand story to life, modernising it and refining it. Their responsibilities might include:

• Consumer behaviour market research;
• Developing a brand strategy;
• Creating brand guidelines to maintain consistency;
• Developing brand narratives;
• Guiding copywriters and designers on branding;
• Creating strategies for reaching new markets;
• Helping to launch a start-up;
• Advising on branding during mergers and acquisitions;
• Helping companies build an online presence.

The different types of brand consultant

There are different types of brand consultant which address specific branding needs. Some brand consultants take a general approach. These consultants tend to focus on a range of different consulting needs.

Other consultants focus more on design, looking at brand logos, website design and product design. These types of consultants advise on how to create a visual identity that is unique yet still helps to position a business well within their industry.

Some brand consultants have more of an eye for strategy. They analyse a business’s market, customer base and current branding to provide actionable insights. Then, they usually provide briefs that help businesses to execute their brand strategy plans.

The benefits of using a brand consultant

There are some key benefits to using a brand consultant. In this next section, we look at some benefits which can help businesses make a decision.

1. Can be cost-effective

Since brand consultants usually operate as individuals rather than part of agencies, this can be a cost-effective option. This also means there be more opportunities to negotiate fees or salaries in the role. Since brand consultants can be hired on a freelance basis, businesses can hire them for a one-time job rather than paying them a salary.

2. Can provide professional expertise

As brand consultants can be highly specialised, this means that they can provide novel insights and approaches a business hasn’t considered before. This means that they can help businesses to find new ways to grow, as well as tap into new markets and customer bases. Their expertise can help refresh and modernise businesses with stagnating growth. Brand consultants can therefore be of great benefit to a business looking to:

• Modernise their branding;
• Company growth is stagnating;
• Adapt to digital transformation or other major changes;
• Keep better track of their branding analytics;
• Their brand’s narrative and ethos is unclear to customers;
• Tap into new markets and customer bases;
• Make an employer’s brand more attractive to new recruits;
• Introduce a new product to the market.

3. Can provide a fresh opinion

Brand consultants can provide a fresh outsider take on a business’s brand. If a business hasn’t updated its branding in a while, it might be challenging to come up with new ideas or see what needs to be changed objectively. What’s more, a freelance brand consultant will be operating outside of company politics. They may have specialised knowledge of consumer behaviour and trends that can better inform branding choices.

The challenges of using a brand consultant

While there’s a strong argument for hiring brand consultants, doing so can come with challenges. With these, however, there are often solutions. Below are some to note before hiring one:

1. A freelancer may not have deep knowledge of a business

One of the biggest challenges when hiring a freelance brand consultant is that they may be coming to a business fresh, without deep knowledge of the company. While it may be typical for a freelance brand consultant to do research on a company first, it may be their first time working with them. This can come with certain challenges when working on complex branding solutions, particularly when a business plays a unique role in their industry. 

It can take some time for brand consultants to become familiar with the company and the industry it operates in. This may require patience from both the company and consultant, as well as strong negotiations skills.

One way to handle this challenge is to build strong one-on-one relationships with freelance brand consultants and develop them over time. That way, companies can retain freelancers who have worked for them before and so have previous knowledge of their company.

Companies may also benefit from vetting any brand consultants before hiring to ensure they have previous experience working in their industry. This could involve a portfolio working for similar companies. Businesses can also network in order to source quality brand consultants.

2. Brand redesigns can become costly

Another challenge to consider is the overall costs of a brand redesign. Hiring someone from outside the company to provide their expertise may come with steep costs.

Businesses may therefore benefit from seeing branding consultant costs as a long-term investment. Therefore, the return on such an investment may not become clear until well into a new campaign. Consider looking at whether a consultant is charging on an hourly basis or as a fixed price.

3. Trusting the branding consultant to do a good job

When hiring a branding consultant, businesses can benefit from being able to trust their results. While consultants may say they will have results by a certain time, this may not end up being the case. Their advice may not be useful to a business’s industry, or they may not be keeping up-to-date with the latest customer trends. Therefore, checking a branding consultant’s credentials and portfolio first can be a good idea. Recommendations from partners may also be useful here.

A branding consultant can be a great benefit to a business looking to launch a product, modernise its branding or reach new customer bases. However, being able to trust the consultant will do a good job can be important. Businesses could consider getting a referral from a partner or networking with brand consultants who know their industry inside and out. Finally, it can be worth considering the costs and whether they are by the hour or at a fixed rate.