If you’re growing your business intending to sell, here’s something you can’t afford to overlook: your brand.
We work with companies every day that are building toward an exit. The ones that get premium offers all have one thing in common: buyers know who they are before they even open the books.
Not your logo. Not your tagline. Your brand.
Because when the time comes to exit, it won’t just be your balance sheet on the table. It will be how well people know, trust, and remember your business. In other words, how strong your brand recognition is, and how much brand equity you’ve built.
And for growth-minded business owners, especially those in competitive industries, brand ch is more than a nice-to-have. It’s one of the strongest levers for driving long-term growth… the growth that drives your eventual exit price.
Branding: The Most Undervalued Asset on Your Balance Sheet
Imagine two businesses, nearly identical in size and service offering, go to market. One sparks a bidding war. The other barely gets interest. The difference? One has a brand people already believe in.
Brand equity isn’t just about a pretty website or a consistent color palette. It’s the cumulative value of trust, visibility, and perception your business has built over time. And when it’s time to sell, those things matter… a lot.
The 60/40 Rule (and Why It's a Guideline, Not Gospel)
Here’s something savvy marketers and strategic CEOs understand: Long-term growth comes from balancing brand building with sales activation. The 60/40 rule is often cited as the gold standard: 60% of your marketing budget focused on long-term brand efforts, 40% on short-term lead generation.
But in practice? It’s not always that clean. Sometimes it’s 80/20. Sometimes it’s 100% brand-building – like during a product launch or major rebrand.
The real takeaway is this: Emotional connections drive purchasing decisions. And those connections are built through consistent, long-term brand exposure, not just one-time campaigns.
Yes, you need lead gen. Yes, you need sales today. But if you’re not investing in the kind of brand people recognize and trust, you’re limiting your future growth potential.
Brand Recognition Builds Trust. Trust Builds Equity.
A recognized brand doesn’t just make people feel good. It makes your business more efficient. When people know who you are, it shortens sales cycles, reduces friction in the buying process, and improves conversion rates.
It also lowers your customer acquisition costs over time. That’s because each new marketing effort builds on the last. The more people have seen you before, the easier it is to earn their trust (and business) the next time.
Want to get better at measuring what’s working? We wrote about that here: Small Business Data Analytics.
A Strong Brand IS an Exit Strategy
Let’s say you reach your growth goals, and it’s time to sell. What makes one company more attractive to buyers than another?
Brand equity.
Buyers aren’t just purchasing your assets or customer list. They’re buying the strength of your reputation. Your visibility in the market. Your ability to retain customers even when leadership changes.
When private equity firms or strategic buyers look at your business, they’re not only thinking about revenue. They’re thinking about what happens after you leave. Will the customers stay? Will the sales pipeline keep flowing? Strong brands answer those questions before they’re even asked.
All of that is brand equity. And it’s hard to quantify until the due diligence phase, but it’s one of the biggest ways to stand out and command a higher valuation.
Yes, Branding Belongs in Your Marketing Budget
When cash is tight or growth is fast-paced, it’s tempting to treat branding as optional. But that’s a mistake.
Branding isn’t a luxury. It’s a growth multiplier. Companies that continue to invest in branding – even when the market gets shaky – are the ones that bounce back faster and grow stronger.
Need help figuring out how to fit branding into your budget? This might help: How to Build a Realistic Marketing Budget.
How to Start Building Brand Recognition
You don’t need to overhaul everything. Here are a few practical ways to get started:
- Stay consistent with your visual identity and messaging.
- Show up where your audience spends time (social, search, community, etc.). A solid marketing strategy will help.
- Invest in content that helps, not just sells.
- Share your values.
- Think beyond today’s leads. What do you want people to say about you a year from now?
Want to Sell Your Business Someday? Build a Brand, Not Just a Balance Sheet
At the end of the day, a company’s value isn’t just in what it makes, but in how it’s remembered.
If your goal is to eventually sell, start thinking now about what you’re building because your brand will do more than attract customers. It will attract buyers. It will justify your asking price. And it will continue delivering value long after you’ve stepped away.
Start early. Be consistent. And invest in your brand as if your future depends on it. Because it does.
Want to talk about how your brand fits into your exit plan? Let’s chat.