There is one important decision you will have to make and that is developing your brand identity. It is by far the most crucial decision you will make. Your brand identity is how you want to be perceived in your market space. Any branding agency worth their salt will try and help you develop a brand identity that is targeted correctly.

If Volvo equals safety and Nike equals performance what will your company equal? This is critical. What will you stand for? What will be the soul of your company? These are then decisions your branding agency should help you with. They should recommend strategies and tactics that will help you leverage this brand identity and positioning in the marketplace.

So now you've made the decision that your brand identity will be to enrich the lives of your clients. Optimism is your new weapon and positioning. Take the Life is good brand; they are all about being optimistic and enriching people's lives. They are clearly positioned and their brand identity is set in stone. You want your brand identity to be set in stone as well.

A branding agency will help you clearly position. Using other companies like ad agencies or graphic design firms might be a bad idea. You want a firm that has no motivation to sell you any one specific tactic. Ad agencies want to sell media and graphic design firms want to redesign your logo and make pretty pictures. The most important thing to consider is the strategy to leverage your branding.

Now you need to execute the strategies and tactics necessary to leverage the new positioning. What you should do is make a wish list of tactics that will help you propel your branding. Start with a list of tactics that will not only bring your branding forward but also help to create sales. Choose the best tactics with the highest return on investment. Some of these tactics may be web design, search engine optimization, advertising, direct mail and more.

So those are some of the things to consider when selecting a branding agency. Remember your brand identity is at stake so choose wisely.