Why pay for external support?

14 Jun

No one knows your brand better than you, and you have a skilled team of in-house pros who are already on the payroll, so why do you need to pay an external consultant to come in and help?

On the face of it, this seems like a valid argument, but there are several reasons why external support is a good idea when you are reviewing your brand strategy. I have spent most of my career working in-house looking after brand and marketing, so I am speaking from experience.

Sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees

One of the primary benefits of engaging external support is gaining a fresh perspective and objectivity. Internal teams are often so close to the detail that it can be difficult for them to set everyday issues and biases aside to focus on the bigger picture long enough to create an ambitious strategy that will elevate your brand. External experts bring a neutral viewpoint, enabling them to critically analyse the brand and identify untapped potential and innovative ideas that internal teams may overlook.

Your in-house team is very busy

It’s possible that there are people in your business who, given the time, could create a workable brand strategy for you. But they are busy – especially if they are the top talent most likely to have the skills for the job. So, unless they are taken off their existing projects and given leave of their daily responsibilities, they won’t be able to give this important project their full time and attention, meaning the result will take a long time to deliver and may not be as strong as it could be.

Impartiality is a powerful tool for cutting through politics

Like it or not, all businesses have politics. And when it comes to analysing and re-articulating your brand, these politics have a tendency to come to the fore. This kind of work can be sensitive and challenging, so having an impartial expert to help guide conversations in a skilled and sensitive way will yield much better results and is likely to lead to wider buy in.

Consultants bring dedicated expertise and experience

A consultant brings with them a wealth of expertise and experience that will add to your strategy. Not only will they have knowledge of the entire brand spectrum (as opposed to specific knowledge of individual areas, often found in-house), they also bring an understanding of what has worked (and not worked) in other businesses. A good consultant will assess what’s required and work with internal expertise, supplementing gaps and bringing together existing abilities to create the best outcome, tailored to your business.

It fosters creativity and innovative thinking

External support injects a fresh wave of creativity and innovation into the brand strategy development process. By collaborating with experts who possess a diverse range of experiences, companies can tap into new ideas and approaches. This outside perspective stimulates innovative thinking, leading to breakthrough strategies that differentiate the brand from competitors. Additionally, external professionals often possess creative skills, such as copywriting and storytelling, which can significantly enhance the expression of the brand.

It saves you time and money in the long-run

Developing a robust brand strategy demands significant time and resources, so you want to make sure that when you do it, you do it right. Not only does working with an external consultant expedite the process, to also ensures that the result is based on best practice and specific professional expertise, meaning that you don’t need to continually second-guess it, and can get on with putting it into action.