How to Prep for a Branding Conversation
In this case, I need to practice what I preach : not being a fish in water.
As a branding fanatic, I constantly need to ground myself and remember the things I’ve been absorbing for 20+ years might be completely new to a client. The idea of using color, for example, as means to convey expertise, could be a new concept.
One thing to know upfront about branding is it is not linear, and it’s all about using creativity to tap into human psychology. In other words, it’s abstract - and that can make it hard for some, particularly those who’s value lies in their logical genius.
In reality, building a brand is more like planting a tree - where you harvest a seed to grow a few main branches, which over time might naturally present different branches and leaves. The more you can intentionally pick your seed, the better you can plan for the way it grows. And more intentionally you define that seed, the easier it is to move fast when news strikes, and you have an opportunity to generate momentum with advertising and marketing.
So the following is meant to set you up for an efficient, yet thorough meeting:
Know Your Value — What truly is the business and the value you bring to the table. Clients often tell me they have built their business so far on word of mouth — so what are people saying thats clicking? As Seinfeld as taught us, everybody cannot be the best. Are you a great strategist? Do you use the best tools? Could it be that you simply make a challenging experience to the client less challenging?
Know Your Target — The value of creative decisions are sometimes intangible, but nevertheless very important and far from random. Creating a logo, a website, color palettes, fonts, etc., all need to be approached with the audience in mind. Imagine going to Porsche.Com and seeing a logo with nothing but a P - the way Facebook uses F, Venmo and V, Ticketmaster and T, etc. This wave of “logos” hints app - whereas the actual Porsche logo and its intricacy hint at a true attention to detail. Instead, the actual font is noticably wide, like you stretched the letters sideways. Why? Because that gives the effect that the font is speeding. It tracks.
Know Your Operations — If you know the realities of your operations, you can tailor the branding to lean into that - so your business works like clockwork. A recent client call unveiled the importance of the phone number. In this case, an immigration attorney had built a business to the point where past clients were sharing his number all over the globe. So the question becomes: is this ideal? Is it scalable? Is this how he wants to continue getting work? If so, great. That gives direction to your web design in the sense that you call to actions can be more call-based than contact-form based. Your sales funnel will contain more “scripts” than visual aids that could work on email. As the business expands, the concern I would raise is how well additional team members can handle the phone calls, the way he had to get to that point. For a law firm of 30 attorneys, the approach is a little different. This firm is less about building the book up and more about quality control. So rather than a “Call Now” button, which at their stage could lead to overwhelming amounts of phone calls they can’t handle, a more appropriate call to action would be “Request Consultation.” The difference is subtle, but the implications are obvious and profound.
Know Your Vision — The last point raises another great consideration: where do you want to go with your business? If the goal is to remain lean, that lends itself to one strategy. If you hope to become a well known business and take over your city, certain branding decisions will surface that have to do with operations and scalability.
Know Your Self — Separate from knowing your value, you need to know yourself as a business owner. If you build a brand around making stressful things stress-free, you should truly enjoy helping people. Because if not, at some point you’re going to hate the business you’ve made because it does nothing but test your patience. On the other hand, if you know that you don’t like the fluff and just want to get the job done, there is a whole market full of buyers who would value that, so we can write copy and create a web experience that reflects a no fluff approach.
Final Thoughts: The idea of branding can sometimes be intimidating because of its intangible nature. But when you consider the reality of human nature, and the way emotions work, branding becomes a painfully obvious necessity for any business in 2025 trying to stand out.
The more you can share about your vision, and the clearer picture you have over the above ideas, the easier it will be to land on ideas for moving forward. If you don’t have any of the answers above, that is no issue at all, think of it like a blank slate. Approaching your business from the branding perspective will shed light on all of this.
To get started now, you can always grab the brand guide PDF on our home page, when you are ready to dive in, we invite you to start with an AM coffee.
