Is it Time to Consider a Brand Experience Agency?

It’s competitive out there. Businesses are fighting for every customer, for every good review and every viral moment. Finding these valued assets is tough, and if any business is too slow to adapt, it finds itself falling down the search engines and out of people’s minds extremely fast.

That is why most businesses in the B2C space are harnessing the skills of brand experience agencies. Now, for some businesses, this may just sound like a buzzword, and unfortunately, it’s that lax way of thinking that means they are the ones who might falter when those around them are starting to thrive.

When terms like brand experience agency are thrown about, the assumption is often made that only large businesses can benefit from them. Whilst the larger multi-national and national businesses may use them to stake a claim at the top of the tree, the lower hanging fruit can also benefit from this marketing method to help them stand out from others at the same level as them.

So, in this blog, we look at brand experience agencies and why they could be what you need to elevate your reputation and presence.

What is a brand experience agency?

A good place to start would be to explain what a brand experience agency is. A brand experience agency is a specialist agency hired by a business to create and manage a brand’s experience with its customers. This will start at the initial enquiry or visit and run through to the end of the customer journey.

The agency uses its specialist team to create something that stays memorable for the customer and connects them to the brand in a meaningful and positive way. The end goal being that the customer views the brand more favourably than others in the same space and now becomes, ultimately, a loyal advocate.

The experience doesn’t have to be felt or enjoyed in one fluid movement. It’s part of the all-encompassing vibe the brand creates. Think, for example, of a TV ad or social media campaign. This might be the first touchpoint for a customer, the next might be the sign-up for a mailing list. A further touchpoint is then attending a brand event or live stream, with the final aspect being the purchase of the product. Each part of this must deliver an experience that satisfies the customer, and it may take days, weeks or even months for them to complete their journey.

I know my customers best! Why should I hire a brand experience agency?

It’s this type of thought that, unfortunately, leaves some businesses behind. Where others adapt, some stay still. Hiring a brand-experience agency allows you to focus on the areas you are the expert in, while a specially trained team takes care of the parts you may not have had the most success at.

Experience

It’s that word again! Experience! Brand experience agencies bring experience by the bucketful. They have spent years helping businesses grow and have spent just as much time perfecting their own skills. As a result, they give you a wide range of experts, each able to fine-tune every aspect of the customer journey.

Many agencies will have worked with a business just like yours, as well as those considerably smaller and much bigger. With their knowledge and expertise, you can save time and money as the team of marketing gurus finesse a strategy that helps you become the market leader.

Resources

Where you might be limited by a lack of knowledge, budget, or experience, you might find helpful resources difficult to come by. Designers, social media experts and PR specialists all cost money. Hired separately, they can be a massive drain on cash, and it can be even harder if you don’t know where to look! Handing the reins to a brand experience agency means you don’t have to do anything! They use their in-house specialists to take care of all aspects of crafting the brand experience.

Data analysis

Brand experience agencies understand that certain metrics will determine the success of their efforts and your business. As a result, they will have a host of tools to measure a wide range of KPIs. This will help both you and them understand what worked, what didn’t and where some fine tuning can be made if needed.

Collaboration

Having worked with a host of businesses, the network of a brand experience agency is likely much larger than yours. This allows them to collaborate or outsource specific parts of your campaign to make it even better.

Why is a brand experience agency important?

A brand experience agency is important for several reasons. The factors we listed above are essential, but it’s way more than just how it reduces your workload or finesse some sticking points.

Creates your USP

Every business has its unique selling point, and this isn’t just the products. It’s what makes the brand stand out. Now think of some of the biggest companies in the world. What are your first thoughts of them?

If Apple sprung to mind, it’s likely you thought of innovation, quality (maybe cost?) and style. Apple has made itself a lifestyle brand through how it presents itself. Its sleek devices, modern stores and stylish adverts help it stand out and remain memorable. Where other brands exist in the same space, Apple has cultivated its own group of dedicated and loyal customers.

A brand experience agency will help you achieve the same, perhaps not to the level of Apple just yet – it makes you stand out in the area you specialise in for unique and memorable reasons.

Develops consistent brand voice and identity

An agency will help your brand develop an identity that ensures it stands out. They will help formulate a voice, tone and identity that resonates with your customers. If, for example, you were a fashion brand aimed at young women, you’d have a distinctly different tone and branding from a company selling toys to children or laptops to working professionals.

The agency will help guide your brand in the right direction, so it taps into the exact demographic you need it to.

Enhances or refines your branding

Similar to the voice and identity, you need to make sure your potential and existing customers have consistent messaging. This can range from emails to online shopping, from the look of your app to your social media accounts. This helps enforce your brand message and keeps you consistent across all customer touchpoints. Earlier, we referenced a fashion brand aimed at young women. If you look at White Fox, a hugely influential brand right now, from their packaging to their emails, to their social media, through to the online store, everything shares the same feel.

Builds a noticeable strategy

With all this fine-tuning of your brand, you still need people to see it, right? A brand experience agency will look at ways to ensure customers land on your site, in your store or at your event. They will look at paid media campaigns, Strategic PR, enhanced organic content and attending industry events. In many cases, they will even help you host your own events that help enhance the customer’s experience.

How does a brand experience agency enhance customer experience?

We’ve seen what an agency does and how they can help you, but what do their efforts translate into?

A connection and loyalty to your brand

With all the points we touched upon above, your brand starts to foster a connection with its customers. The experience the agency creates for you, be it through fine-tuning how you interact or hosting live events, gives your customers a feel for the brand that puts them front and centre. They are no longer just a number, but a valued part of the brand, regardless of how much they spend. With positive emotions and experiences, the customer becomes a brand ambassador through sharing their experiences.

Enhanced engagement

Brand experience agencies may create live events or social campaigns that encourage engagement. With immersive and interactive experiences, customers become active contributors to what the business is doing. This then leads to those “instagrammable” moments that help put the customer and the brand together.

A leap ahead of the competition

We said earlier how you can be left behind if you don’t adapt. Having the agency on hand allows you to get the jump on the competition. Having a unique brand experience that makes the competition look dated or not on the pulse, sets you apart and ensures you remain a memorable brand in a competitive area.

Increased reputation

With memorable experiences, a unique branding and a “feel” that resonates with customers, it is only natural that reputation will increase. Where customers feel that every step of their journey was positive, they’ll tell people about it. With engagement encouraged at multiple points, they will share it, and with positive online reviews, new and existing customers will gain an enhanced impression of the business.

How do you know what brand experience agency is right for you?

It would be easy to say, look at reviews and costs and take it from there, but that isn’t the only thing you need to be considering. Whether you need a brand experience agency in London or one that operates overseas, you’ll want to check that it aligns with exactly what you need.

Find out whether they have experience in your industry, how quickly they can complete certain aspects of the project, how much they charge and what other people say about their work.

If all seems positive from here, see if you can organise a meeting with them where you can lay out your objectives. For some businesses, it’s about brand awareness, for others it’s all about sales and for many it’s about transforming how the brand is perceived. Having this conversation will give the agency a clear understanding of the task at hand and allow you to assess whether they are up to the task!