Inside-Out Branding: The only (good) option for expertise-driven orgs
If you run a business built on expertise, you need to design your brand to illuminate what makes you uniquely special.
If you’re chasing market trends and your brand is just a reflection of what your audience tells you, you’re setting yourself up to fail.
There’s two big buckets here that I’ll explain. Two fundamental starting points to build your brand. There’s outside-in branding (which is bad and dumb — and most agencies and consultancies do this). And then there’s inside-out branding (which is good and smart — and more agencies and consultancies need to do this).
What is outside-in branding?
This is the crowd-sourced model. It starts with the audience and works inwards. You pick some market research, try different content ideas, see what gets the most clicks, double down on what your audience appears to gravitate toward, and let those themes shape your brand. Many newer agencies and advisor firms like this approach (or think that it’s smart) because it’s quick, adaptable, and “data-driven”.
Agencies, consultancies, advisors, brokers, and coaches that utilize an outside-in branding approach try to build around what they think clients want to hear. They might ask clients what they’re looking for, maybe do keyword research, and then build their brand around those answers. It sounds logical, sure. But it lends itself to trend-chasing and inconsistent branding.
What is inside-out branding?
This model gets to the core of your business. It starts with what makes you different and awesome and works outwards. You start with a deep exploration of your unique strengths, values, expertise, and track record. You define what problems you solve better than anyone else, outline how your perspectives are different, and define what drives you. You build your brand identity and messaging from this anchor. And then you bring yourself to your audience with the purpose, clarity, and personality that comes from authenticity.
Agencies, consultancies, advisors, brokers, and coaches that utilize an inside-out branding approach build around their expertise, experiences, and unique outlook on problem-solving. The upfront work to brand this way can be a little bit of a heavier lift (it’s surprisingly tricky to turn the microscope on yourselves), but the output is stronger, differentiated, and stands out.
Inside-Out Branding
Built around your strengths, expertise, and values.
Grounded in what makes you distinct, not what’s trending.
Confident in its voice and direction.
Authentic, consistent messaging.
Sustainable because it doesn’t depend on fads.
A magnet for the right clients, not “everyone”.
Harder for competitors to copy.
Why inside-out branding works
Inside-out branding starts with identity. It gets to the core of who you are, why you do what you do, what you’re great at, and why it matters. Instead of trying to guess what the market wants, you look inward and build outward from your experience, values, and proof.
Outside-In Branding
Built around what you think your audience wants to hear.
Shaped by trends, feedback, and competitor moves.
Generic, safe, and often forgettable.
Reactive instead of strategic.
Shallow, surface-level messaging.
Constantly changing as the market shifts.
Easy for competitors to replicate.
Why outside-in branding doesn’t work
Outside-in branding plays off user behaviour. And when you build a brand around what your audience wants right now, you’ll constantly be chasing their next move. You’re reacting, not leading, and you end up with a brand that’s built on your audience’s whims instead of your firm’s purpose.
The benefits of building from the inside out
Authenticity: You’re not performing for your audience or trying to give them what’s shiny right now, you’re showing them who you really are.
Clarity: You make decision-making easier because decisions are guided by your core purpose, not by shifting external opinions.
Connection: You attract and appeal to your best-fit target audience because they believe what you believe.
Differentiation: Competitors can’t copy you, because they don’t have the same unique drivers, beliefs, personality, and purpose as you.
Confidence: This is the way you stop chasing trends and start owning your space.
The takeaway
Outside-in branding starts with market opinions and trends. Then you build messaging and offers to serve those ideas, and let the market know you do the thing they think they want.
Inside-out branding starts with your unique differentiators and business motivations. Then you build messaging and offers that solve a proper problem, and educate the market why they need your help.
The most successful professional services brands start by looking inward, assessing their core competencies, unique approaches, and genuine differentiators. Then they build market-facing positioning around these internal strengths.
