Agile Business Navigator

I've heard of doctor's telling a patient that there is nothing they can do for an extremley ill patient. But I've never heard of a branding company telling a client - We just can't help you.

A client of mine has been having a struggle over the years in trying to determine who they want to be known as, who they offer their services to and what services they offer. Its a common struggle. We all go down the path of least resistance, if something doesn't work, we try something else. Pretty soon, we have 20 different websites, 20 different email addresses, blogs, podcasts, newsletters. This is the one I use for this group of people and this is the one I use for this group. I use this for corporate and this for individuals, this one for small business, this one for coaching, you get the idea.

Well, he visited with a branding company trying to solve this issue. Who am I, who do I serve and what do I serve? They told him that until he knows the answers to those questions, they couldn't possibly help him with branding. While I understand that a branding company may not want to undertake a confused company owner, we're all confused in the beginning. Until we discover our niche, or our niche discovers us, its a journey we have to go on. I think that a branding company should be partially responsible for that discovery process.

To just simply send the client away is inexcusable. Do you think that Bill Gates knew he was going to be the mogul he is today back in 1975? I'm sure he had dreams of where he was going, but he struggled with the issue. Microsoft - hmm, do I create software? Do I create computers? Do we specialize in PC software or are we a software company that makes software products for everyone? Microsoft re-brands itself on a regular basis, as does Apple and many others. Look at the various companies that change their branding, their packaging, their products, their everything.

Who better to have helped a client with a branding decision then a branding company? Back to the doctor metaphor, we go to a doctor to diagnose a problem and help us solve our illness or injury. We may not know why our back hurts, but that's the doctor's job to find out why. Isn't it a branding company's job to identify what's wrong with a company's branding and get it back on track? Shouldn't they have access to tools to identify the best fit for me, the best fit for a niche, the best fit for services? Then turn it all into a branding plan that incorporates what we've learned together?

Share This