How Much Does Branding Cost For Small Businesses

Introduction

Welcome to the entrepreneurial world! It's a place of sweat and tears where you work tirelessly to reach your business goals, but it's also a place of inspiration, motivation and possibility. That being said, if you're starting a new business and don't know where to begin or what branding is all about, then here's what we'll cover:

What does branding mean for small businesses? What are the costs involved? What do companies get when they hire an agency or freelancer for their branding needs? Does my company need branding at all?

Before defining how much branding could cost, it’s important to understand the true meaning of branding for your small business or startup company. Here’s why branding is critical to your business’ long-term success.

Why your small business needs branding

Branding is the most important investment any small business can make when entering the market. In fact, it’s the most important investment any company can make.

Why? Generally speaking, the main purpose of branding is to make your company unique and memorable in the eyes of your target market. Great branding tells people what you stand for and why they should choose you over other companies in your industry. It gives you a valuable competitive edge in the market, which means you can grow faster than you would without it.

Contrary to the common belief, branding is actually not about the logo, nor is it about your product name or the tagline. Yes, branding is all of these things, but more importantly, it's about what your brand means to your customers.

Branding is actually an emotional connection between a business and its customers. Branding is all about how you make your audience feel, what they should expect from you as a company and what they associate with your business. Shortly put, branding should connect people who share the same values, needs, and frustrations.

The stronger the connection between your brand and its audience, the more likely your customers are to buy from you again and recommend you to their friends and family.

Besides helping your audience make connections to their lives and values, strong branding helps customers find you online, whether it be through search engines or social media. It also helps build trust with potential clients and customers, which in turn helps convert more leads into sales.

How much does branding cost?

There is no simple answer to how much branding costs: some questions need to be answered first. You should have an idea of how much you're willing to spend, how large your company is, and whether or not you need help with design elements or a branding strategy. In order to get a good idea of how much branding costs, here are some things to consider.

How much can you afford?

The first thing you should take into consideration when determining how much branding costs is how much you can afford. The price tag for a new logo, a brand identity, packaging design or website redesign can be steep, and it can be a big investment to any small business.

A small business may pay a few thousand dollars for a basic branding package, while a large corporation may expect to spend millions of pounds on a comprehensive branding campaign.

If your business counts as a small one, we recommend you think of the branding project as a one-time investment that can boost your sales and the longevity of your product or service. A well-made branding can last in use for years and is customised for your target audiences and takes their needs into consideration as a whole.

Let’s put it this way—if you invest £10,000 in branding and it lasts for 10 years, the price of the brand is only £1000 per year. Sounds pretty good, right?

You can increase your return on investment by x10 or even more, depending on how well you play the marketing and sales game once you’ve established a brand strategy and visual branding.

Now, does that sound more affordable to you?

If you’re still looking to avoid huge upfront investments, there are agencies like Ainoa that offer payment plans where you can spread the cost of your branding across several months. This helps you boost your cash flow while helping you get some sweet sales. 

We’d love to tell you more about our partnership with GoCardless. Please fill out our enquiry form here to your best abilities and one of our team members will get back to you as soon as possible.

How much does branding cost for small businesses?

Branding costs depend on what you need for your brand. For example, if you’re a service business, you won’t need any package mockups or designs. In some cases, you might want to hire a UX/UI designer and a web developer from different companies. At best, this way you don't spend extra on a website package with your branding package. Or perhaps you have a marketing team that has already conducted market research, which means you no longer need a deep brand analysis.

Depending on where you look, branding costs for small businesses can vary anywhere from £50 for a logo to £10,000+ for a full brand identity including logos, brand colours, branding strategy, mood boards, newsletter templates, social media creatives, website design, stationery design etc.

When you choose to invest in your brand, you have to invest wisely. If you recruit a Fiverr freelancer to design your logo for £50,  it may be a nice saving for you now, but when you’re trying to grow your business, it’ll just stand in your way and cost you sales.

The total cost of branding varies greatly depending on the type of the business, its location and other factors. Generally speaking, branding services are not one-size-fits-all design services. Branding is an investment, and like any investment, there are various factors that influence the price. 

Here's how much branding your small business could cost:

Forming a brand strategy: £500 - £5,000+

Brand identity design: £1500 - £30,000+

Creating a logo: £500 - £2,500+

Developing taglines/phrases: £100 - £1000+

Website design (excl. development): £500 - £3500+

The cost of branding for small businesses will depend on the complexity of your brand. The more complicated your brand is, the longer it will take to create and design (and thus the more it will cost). That's why many small businesses start with just one project at first: they can get their feet wet while getting familiar with how things go and what they like about their new look before expanding into other areas like stationery or uniforms down the line.

At Ainoa, we assess each client individually and only take on projects that our teams feel connected to. This connection enables us to step into your clients' shoes and build a strong, memorable, emotional and cohesive brand loved by many.

We value each client and their needs are different. That's why we need to assess your situation before disclosing our fees. Once you fill out the enquiry form here, you will be able to book a free consultation to learn more about our services and fees.

What’s included in a branding package

When you’re looking at small business branding packages, it can be difficult to know exactly what you're getting. When considering a package that suits your needs, it's important to remember that they all should include the design of your brand identity—your logo, business card and letterhead. Some branding packages for small businesses also include brochures, website design and social media graphic design if needed.

A brand package is a collection of elements that communicate a company's or organisation's identity. A full branding package cost is usually a combination of the following elements:

• Logos: A logo is a symbol or an emblem that represents a brand. A good logo is simple, memorable, timeless and easily recognisable. Your brand package should include various versions of the logo that transfer to all sizes, including primary and secondary logos and black-and-white versions. 

• Brand colour palette: Colour palettes can be considered the cornerstone of a brand's visual identity. They must be consistent across all materials, including your website, business cards, social media and packaging. A professional brand designer will take the time to understand your audience and use colours that will speak directly to them.

• Typography refers to the style and arrangement of text. A brand package should include a set of fonts that are used consistently across all materials, including social media and any other digital platforms. Some designers include font licences in the cost of the brand package, while other freelancers and agencies may charge extra for this service. You will need a commercial licence to use your fonts.

• Imagery is an important component of branding that gets often overlooked. Brand imagery (or media library) can include photographs, illustrations and graphics that are consistent across all materials and reflect the brand personality.

• Brand guidelines are a set of rules that outline how a brand should be used, and how it should be presented visually and verbally across different media. brand guidelines tell you and other designers things like how colours should be used, typography, imagery and logo placement. Brand guidelines are necessary to keep your brand recognisable and connected to the brand strategy.

For an additional fee you can also opt-in for aesthetic updates–every year or so (or more often if necessary), companies should refresh their visual identity by updating colours or adding new illustrations or photographs to their media kit.

It's worth noting that sometimes brand packages don't include a brand strategy. It's the most important part of the brand identity and is often needed before you can have a neat logo and signature colours. Keep reading to understand the purpose of a brand strategy.

Do I really need a brand strategy or can I jump into the visual part straight away? 

It’d be lying to say the strategy part can be skipped. In reality, a brand strategy is an integral part of branding. Branding is both a creative and strategic process, which means that both parts should be included.

What is a brand strategy exactly, then? In summary, a brand strategy is a well-researched plan that shows how your business should position and differentiate in the marketplace, to connect with its target audience. It clearly defines the brand's unique value proposition as well as the type of messaging that will resonate with customers. All in all, a good brand strategy helps to create a roadmap for the success of your business.

If you don't know who you are as a brand, it's difficult or even impossible to reach your target audience and differentiate yourself from the competition. A well-defined brand strategy will increase the total cost of branding for small businesses and larger businesses alike, but in the long run, it is a great investment; a brand strategy will help you make far better business decisions and allocate resources more effectively.

With a thoroughly researched brand strategy, a company can boost its brand awareness, sell more products and build customer loyalty. Additionally, a strong brand can help a company command a higher price for its products or services, and make it easier to launch new products or enter new markets.

In conclusion, a brand strategy is absolutely critical to your company's long-term success—especially if you're just starting out. It helps your business define its unique value proposition and communication efforts, guiding all of its marketing objectives. Without a brand strategy, companies have difficulty achieving their business goals or building strong brands.

Here at Ainoa we usually recommend setting a brand strategy in place before jumping into anything else. Brand strategy can also be helpful when choosing a business name that speaks to your audience. We are committed to a thorough research process that takes into account every aspect of your market and clients.

If you are interested in learning how we can help you get started on your brand strategy, no matter if you're building a new brand or improving an existing one, fill out our enquiry form here to book your free consultation.

My brand strategy is now all set — so, what about the visual branding?

Once the brand strategy is set, the visual branding will proceed a lot smoother. Thanks to the strategy, both you and the professionals have a clearer understanding of the foundations of your company. The next important step is to understand the true value and purpose of visual branding. We’ve covered some of the most important points below.

When it comes to visual branding (aka your logo, colours, and the like) you want to create a consistent look across all of your marketing materials: this is how people know who you are at first glance. Your customers will start associating certain colours and images with whatever product or service you offer. 

Understanding the emotional connection people have with a brand is crucial when designing for them, and this includes things like understanding how certain cultures react to colours and visuals or even words.

How much should I spend on branding on the visual end? Well, here’s some food for thought: If you've ever shopped at a big-box store, you know that there are hundreds of items on display in any given aisle at any given time. And while there may be only one item that catches your eye, there are probably dozens more that you didn't notice at first glance. How do they get noticed? All of the products have different packaging, which allows them to be easily differentiated from each other. But it’s their emotional qualities and needs that they fulfil for people that truly set them apart.

The ultimate goal of creating a strong brand identity is to make a connection with your audience and establish trust. When customers see your logo, they should think of the qualities and values associated with your product or service you have established in your brand strategy.

For a small business, it might be hard to compete with the big guys, especially when the budget is much lower. However, in the end, good branding gives you an edge over them. Are you willing to give up that advantage?

Still wondering “How much should I spend on branding?”

The ultimate answer is, “As much as you can.”

It may seem like an obvious statement, but it needs to be said: branding is an investment in your business and your future. It will help grow your business and attract customers, but also stand out from the competition by creating a memorable identity for your company. 

The more resources that are put into building this brand identity, the stronger it will be when integrated into marketing strategies and designed into everything from website design to packaging materials or even t-shirt designs for staff members (if appropriate).

Conclusion

If you’re wondering “How much does branding cost for small businesses?” there isn’t a simple answer but you should spend as much as you can. Your business is worth it! 

Marketing, sales and branding go hand in hand and can help you stand out from your competition. 

Cohesive branding will help your customers know what to expect when they visit or call your company, which makes them feel comfortable enough to buy from you instead of your competitors.

If you’re ready to take your first steps into the world of branding, we’re here for you.