What’s the best way of writing a branding proposal that captures a potential client’s interest? What information do you need to provide? Is there a standard structure that’s known to be effective?
In this article, we’ll explore all these questions and more. We’ll also give you a few tips on how to spruce up your proposal so that it’s head and shoulders above the competition.
Branding proposals—a quick overview
When you’re attempting to sell your own branding expertise to potential customers, you have to nail your own branding strategy first. You already know that, because as a branding specialist, you’re well aware of the importance of a cohesive brand identity. But when you’re offering your branding services to others, you need to be able to explain to potential clients:
- Why good branding is about more than just funky color schemes
- Why you are the right choice to trust with their branding project
This is where crafting a persuasive branding proposal is key. Bear in mind that you’re jostling with a wide range of competitors. Every branding agency, branding business, and branding expert that contacts your prospective client will be submitting their own branding pitch – so it’s crucial yours stands out.
After all, if you can’t grab a client’s attention with your own business proposal, why should they believe you can help them grab their potential customers’ attention either?
Key elements of an effective branding proposal
A successful branding proposal always incorporates a number of core elements. This applies whether you specialize in traditional branding approaches or more innovative branding techniques like guerrilla marketing. It doesn’t matter. Any persuasive proposal has to be built around the basics.
Visual appeal
An impactful brand proposal needs a strong visual identity for several reasons:
- To engage the reader and make them want to keep reading.
- To set out crucial information in a clear and straightforward way.
- To showcase your ability to create eye-catching marketing materials.
Make sure your cover page has an impact. The proposal cover is the first thing your potential client will see, so make that first impression count.
Of course, designing an attractive cover isn’t enough on its own. The rest of the document should be just as engaging, so it’s worth spending time getting the design process right.
Benefits of branding
Many people have only a vague concept of what branding actually entails. Sure, they’ll be aware that it involves choosing a color palette and creating logos for their business cards. But the deeper nuances of how you develop a strong brand identity and why you should do so might not be clear to them.
This is why branding proposals to clients should always include a section explaining why an effective brand strategy is about more than just the basic visual branding elements. Outline how all the different elements of branding work together in harmony to create impact. Include concrete figures that prove your point.
Concise company overview
Your potential client will want to know about your experience, so take the chance to introduce yourself. This section shouldn’t be too long; it should simply explain who you are, what your background is, and what value you can provide for your clients.
You can drop a testimonial or two in, but don’t overdo it. You don’t want to come across as too salesy at this stage. Right now, you want to offer the prospective client ample opportunity to discover how effective your work is without actually forcing them to read pages and pages of marketing blurb.
Service details
All branding proposals should set out the scope of service you offer. Break it down in detail so that the client understands exactly what to expect. This means listing:
- Basic scope: What work will you do, and which materials will you deliver?
- Project cost estimates: What is your pricing structure? Could there be any additional costs to take into consideration?
- Detailed timeline: How long will the work take?
It’s vital to give your prospect as much information as possible upfront so they can more easily decide whether your offering will be a good fit with their branding goals.
How to do it—creating a branding proposal
Let’s now look into a few crucial steps to follow to create your brand proposal. Following these will help you build a document that has genuine impact.
1) Market research
One of the most important elements of any business proposal is that you need to demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about. This is why crafting a professional proposal requires a tailored approach. And that means doing detailed market research before you even think about putting the proverbial pen to paper.
Do a deep dive into the business environment the potential client operates in. Think about:
- The main competitors.
- Trends in their space.
- Typical customer behavior.
- Common challenges.
The more you know about the market, the better the branding solution you’ll be able to deliver.
2) Understand client needs
Another upside of doing comprehensive market research is that it will help you identify what your potential client’s goals are. Of course, you won’t know for sure until you get an opportunity to work with them more closely (by the way, having a VoIP number can be a fantastic way to communicate with your prospect as and when you need it).
Once they decide to work with you, you’ll be able to have a more detailed conversation about their branding aspirations, from which you can develop an appropriate custom branding strategy.
But there’s still a lot you can do at the proposal stage. Understanding market trends and doing a competitor analysis will enable you to determine what kind of strategy might succeed, and therefore how to pitch it.
Could the client’s corporate identity do with a complete overhaul? Talk about the power of storytelling to facilitate repositioning. Should they be primarily focused on expanding their customer base? Explain how your branding strategy would make it easier to reach out to new customers.
3) Structure your proposal well
First of all, remember you’re not writing a novel. The proposal document should strike the perfect balance between informative and succinct. There’s no reason it should be longer than ten pages.
Ideally, you want to lead the reader through your pitch in a logical way. Start with the background, then move through identifying pain points and how your branding expertise can help solve them. After that, fill out the details of your offer before finishing with a clear call to action. The structure should look something like this:
- Eye-catching cover page.
- Introduce your company.
- Explain the power of branding.
- Identify needs specific to the potential client.
- Explain the scope of your service.
- Pricing tables.
- Project timelines.
- Call to action to get in contact.
Putting your proposal together in a straightforward way like this will give you the best chance of not being immediately relegated to the slush pile.
Top tips for getting it right
Is there anything else you can do to fine-tune your approach to writing a branding proposal? As it happens, yes. Here are our top tips for making sure your proposal sparkles.
Tip 1: Assume nothing
It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming that much of what seems obvious to you about branding is general knowledge. There could be aspects that you might not think need to be explained.
Bear in mind that the most important element of your proposal is persuading the potential client of the value you can bring to their business. That means you should always be clear about exactly how a professional brand makeover will achieve this. Never assume the reader already knows.
Tip 2: Use templates
There’s a lot of preparatory work to do when you’re drawing up a branding proposal, particularly during the analysis phase. So anything that helps save time when it comes to actually drafting the document is worth looking at.
Consider using a proposal template. These help you structure your document and generally give you plenty of leeway to add customized design elements. All in all, they’re extremely useful for giving your work a professional finish.
Tip 3: Follow up in a timely manner
It can be tricky to know exactly when and how often to follow up. On the one hand, you don’t want to leave it too long in case your proposal slips out of mind. On the other hand, it’s vital not to annoy the client by contacting them too often.
Follow up with a quick message after about one week. If you still get no response, again after a couple of weeks to remain engaged. If the potential client is interested in your offer, they’ll get back to you. And remember, a video call is often a much better way to engage with people, so consider using video meeting platforms to schedule a video conference.
Final thoughts
Crafting a branding proposal is as much of an art as it is a science. You need to hit a sweet spot where you’re engaging and informative, but not overly salesy.
But if you’re conscientious about doing in-depth market research, are clear about your offering, and make sure the document design is sleek, there’s no reason your proposal can’t have the kind of wow factor that sells.
