The ROI of Branding: Why It Pays to invest in your Brand as A startup or Small Business

by Marielle Reussink

Is it important to have a great brand from day one?

After having worked with over 200 founders and startups, I have realized there are 2 very different schools of thought when it comes to branding a startup or small business:

Firstly, there are those entrepreneurs that believe their branding is an essential step as part of their journey. They invest time and effort into finding a company name that they love and creating a logo and brand identity they feel proud of.
On the other hand, we have entrepreneurs who feel that branding is not that important. Getting a logo is just one of the many things to tick off on a long checklist of to dos when setting up a company.

The first group will typically aim to find a proper designer or branding agency that can understand their vision and help them bring it to life. On the other hand, the second group will often try different ways to “DIY their logo”. This may range from doing the logo themselves on whatever software they can use, AI logo makers or generators, cheap freelancers on Fiverr, friends or family that did some graphic design once upon a time and even crowdsourcing.

These solutions may be relatively quick and cost effective and can produce a logo that’s decent enough to launch a business but what about when you want to grow and scale, attract more big ticket customers, grow your team or attract investment?

Is the shortcut really worth it?

Let’s break it down. Here are 4 reasons why investing in your branding even as a start or small company pays off in the long run:

1. Your logo should be meaningful

A logo is more than just a symbol; it's the face of your brand. Professional designers understand that a powerful brand identity conveys your company’s mission, values, and unique story. “DIY logos” are often generic, combining a nice symbol with a good font. They lack authenticity, making it difficult to create connection.

2. Your logo should be distinct

DIY logos often follow pre-designed templates. This means your logo could end up looking like many others, making it difficult for your brand to stand out in a competitive marketplace. Professional designers will take care to truly understand your brand to create custom logos tailored specifically to your brand’s vision, mission, and goals. This ensures a unique and memorable visual identity.

3. Your brand should feel professional

Designers will carefully consider how your logo will be used across collaterals and placements. By choosing layouts, colors and fonts that will work in different settings (for example website versus social media versus print), your brand will feel elevated and professional. Plus, you will have a logo pack with all the logo files you need to easily activate your brand across channels.

4. Your brand should be consistent

Consistency is vital for building brand recognition and trust. DIY logo creation options typically only get you a logo, making it difficult to execute your brand consistently across channels. A professional designer or branding agency will develop a mini brand kit or a comprehensive set of brand guidelines to ensure your logo and other brand elements are consistently applied across all your channels, taking the guessing game out of your branding journey.

Final thought: Rebranding is expensive

Some businesses see branding as something they can focus on later, not recognizing its immediate value. While a DIY logo might seem like a quick solution in the short-term, it can lead to challenges in the long run. Once companies start finding success, they often find their “off-the-shelf” logo becomes a stumbling block and can’t support their growth plans. At this point, they need to invest in rebranding, which is a much greater exercise than branding a new company, as the company already has brand awareness.

Investing in branding is about more than just creating a logo. It’s about building a robust, cohesive, and adaptable brand that can help you grow and succeed. So make sure you put your best foot forward from day one!