Three reasons branding is vital for your exit strategy

You’re ready to activate your exit strategy and want to secure the best price from the right buyer. You’ve taken certain steps to get here. But if you didn’t make them at the right time – or at all – you now face the very real risk of knocking zeros off your desired sale price. 

One factor you might not have considered is your branding. What role does branding play in your exit strategy, and when do you need to invest in it to see the outcome you want?

Read on to learn why branding is as vital for the end of your business as it is for the beginning.

Before we delve into why branding is essential for your exit strategy, let’s clarify the importance of branding for B2B firms in particular. 

Too often, we hear B2B businesses dismiss branding as something for B2C companies to focus on, believing it’s an unnecessary or indulgent thing to consider as a B2B business.

In fact, branding is critical if you want to differentiate your B2B business from your competitors and demonstrate the value you offer to your customers. 

After all, you’re still selling human to human, so B2B purchases and investments are also driven by emotion. So, if you’re not invoking the correct emotional responses in your B2B customers, you’re likely losing out to a business that’s created that essential foundation for success.

So, with all of that established, what difference does your brand make when it comes to selling your business or taking it public?

Your brand cannot be built in a day. So, when you delay investing in your brand, you harm your exit strategy by failing to make the most of your potential value to buyers.

Building a successful brand takes anything from two to five years at the very least, and many exit strategies are shorter than this.

If you leave brand investment until your exit strategy is in motion, you lack the necessary time to establish your brand in the marketplace. And the reality is, you’re likely to reduce your eventual sale price if you delay or rush the branding process.

Like your customers, potential buyers want to know your story to buy into your business. And this narrative is formed and crystallised during the branding process.

After all, your brand encapsulates your values, vision, and culture, which are fundamental parts of your identity and how the outside world perceives you.

Without investing in branding, you could be projecting a fragmented, contradictory, unclear, or unappealing image of your business to potential buyers. If they don’t buy into your narrative, they won’t want to buy into your business.

When evaluating the feasibility of a business, buyers will take a keen interest in your sales and profits.

They’ll look at your marketing budgets and measure your success in securing ROI from your campaigns.

You may be wondering, what has all of that got to do with branding?

For your sales and marketing to be effective, you need a solid brand strategy that forms the foundation for success in all areas.

In fact, your branding influences every part of your business, including your employee engagement, loyalty, morale, productivity, reputation, and customer service.

If you’re investing in sales and marketing without a strong brand, you’re going to be wasting money on the wrong types of marketing. A clear brand and brand strategy enable you to understand your position in your industry, how B2B customers perceive and experience you, and how to reach them meaningfully to see the results you want.

When you invest in branding, you save money and see more ROI in all areas of your business. And this is extremely attractive to buyers who want to back a company with clarity, direction, and vision.

If you’re thinking ahead to your exit strategy and feel your branding may be holding you back, now is the time to take this seriously. It’s never too early to invest in your brand, and it’s always better to do it sooner rather than later if you want to see the results you’re striving for. 

The process of branding for your exit strategy starts with an informal chat to explore how we can work together. To discuss how we’ll help you achieve your vision, email hello@studiolwd.co.uk, or call 01253 892031.