How do you know it's time to rebrand?
OR AT LEAST, TO UPDATE IT
ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT REFRESHING YOUR BRAND?
Check my post to see if it's time.
And what happens if it is time?
No worries.
Download my free workbook to see if you can do it yourself ››››
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Is it time to rebrand? Always a tough question.
Your brand is your tool to attract your customers, tell your story and market your products or services. You want it to be as relevant as possible at all times.
Now here’s the debate:
Rebranding when not necessary is a waste of time and money and can confuse your audience, while waiting too long to rebrand can cripple your business.
Good news is, a rebrand doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul of your business with every present detail thrown out the window and replaced with trendy, shiny, popular elements.
A rebrand can also be an update to your brand, to help clarify your message or improve your position on the market. Your audience might not even be able to point out the difference. Just that now they get you, now they see you.
The benefits of a rebrand are often crucial.
So how do you know if the time is right?
I collected some situations.
If one of these applies to you, you might wanna think about a rebrand.
If more than 3 apply to you, DM me asap and I'll put you front in the row.
YOUR BRAND ISN'T COMMUNICATING ANYTHING
Your brand exists to communicate your message visually. Have you ever thought about what your different brand elements represent?
Your brand voice and visuals need to deliver your message to the world about who you are and what you do. This helps you attract the right people. The ones who’ll be excited about your offers. If your branding has no real thought behind it, it might send confusing messages to your audience. And people don’t like to be confused.
Do that rebrand and create a style that communicates what your business is about.
YOUR VISION AND GOALS HAVE CHANGED
This happens a lot more often than you’d think. One might even call it a common thing.
With time, and with all the experience we gather on the way, our vision and business goals tweak slightly all the time. Just pay attention when the tweak turns from slight to considerable.
As you gain clarity in your business, you also need to bring your branding inline with your vision.
Your visuals tell a story for you. You don’t want it to be about your ex.
YOUR BRAND IS NOT CONSISTENT
You know how we, people are? Lazy!
If your brand is not consistent, we’ll just assume your business is not set yet. Or we’ll get confused. And frustrated. And leave.
To have a professional, trust-worthy image, your brand needs to be consistent at every point of your online and offline presence.
And by consistent I mean two different things:
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Be recognisable. Use the same brand elements all around.
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Your visual brand should be true to your business vision. If you’re the nice, approachable safety queen, don’t be cold and distant in your messaging. If you’re hi-tech and innovative, don’t go with those pretty 19th certury images.
Synchronise everything.
You don’t want your brand story to be about your ex. You also don’t want it to be one of those David Lynch movies that noone gets.
YOU’RE NOT REACHING YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS
There’s a therapist I know who kept getting inqueries about how to make or break a curse.
She wasn’t happy about it. But after a while she realised, if there was that many people asking about woodoo tools, her message might be a bit off.
If you’re struggling to reach the group of customers you’d love to work with, take a look at your brand and see if it alignswith your business. If not, a change in your branding can help shift the perception of your business to the right direction.
If you want your clients to see you as a therapist, you have to look, sound, and feel like a therapist. And your brand is the tool for that.
YOU ARE NOW CLEARER ON YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
This could be for many different reasons. A change of heart for one. Working with astronauts seemed like a good idea at the beginning but scheduling calls is a nightmare. We get it.
An other possible reason is that you had your branding planned and designed when you were just starting out and ever since you got to know your audience better. You gained a much deeper understanding of who your target customers are and what appeals to them.
And you also know that right now, your offer is not what lures them in.
Define your ideal clients, define the ideal offer and consider what you can change about your branding to reach that.
YOUR BRAND ISN’T STANDING OUT
This happens a lot in industries that are crowded with people who are all claiming to do the same thing (yep, branding is now one of these industries).
Lucky for you, one of your brand’s task is to make you stand out.
„Should I use bright colours then and a costume when showing up?”
Well, that might be a solution but that’s not what I meant.
Find out what makes you and your business different from others and translate that into your visual brand.
That will help you connect with people who need exactly what you have to offer.
YOUR VISUALS LOOK OUTDATED
Have you ever run into a website thinking „wow, this is so 90’s” or „hah, this must have been made by a granny”?
Though WordArt is not common anymore, visual trends change over time. Even McDonalds and Coca Cola have refreshed their brands quite a few times already. Why wouldn’t you?
Your brand is the public face of your business, and you definitely don’t want it to look outdated. Sometimes, especially if your original branding was designed using visuals that was very popular at the time of designing, your presence can quickly appear out of date.
If your brand is following a trend that has long since come and gone, it’s probably time to revisit and redesign.
YOUR AUDIENCE DOESN’T CONNECT WITH YOUR BRAND ANYMORE, THE MARKET HAS CHANGED
This is unfortunate but still happens to all of us.
If you notice not having the same outreach for your services as before, (while maintaining the best quality of service), it’s worth considering that your audience might have changed interest.
A lot can happen in a year or two!
Have you done a market research lately? Sometimes it’s not the visual trends, but business ones.
And rebranding isn’t limited to visuals.
You brand is your way of telling your story. Revisit your business foundations and see what to change to become a leader again. And of course, come up with the matching visuals.
YOU DON’T FEEL CONNECTED TO YOUR BRAND ANYMORE
How do you feel when looking at your website, social media presence or that brand board you created?
Is it content and excitement? Do they still represent your values?
This might not feel like a biggie. Mostly when a designer created your brand, and it still looks professional.
The problem is, when you stop feeling connected and excited about your branding, you’ll feel uninspired and it will affect your productivity, and the way you connect to your audience.
Don’t have second thoughts, go and rebrand your business.
Does this happen to you way too often?
Try coming up with a brand based on strategy, not just visuals. They usually last a lot longer.
YOU’RE NOT PROUD OF YOUR BRAND
You created a business! Yay! Now be proud and talk about it to everyone you know!
Your brand should give you confidence and make you proud. If it makes you feel ashamed on any level, it might prevent you from showing up, sharing your business or seeking opportunities.
That’s not a good way of doing business, if you ask me.
If when handing out your business card or sending your website over, you feel like you should have a disclaimer attached to it saying “I know this isn’t great, I did it a long time ago” then it’s time for a rebrand.
Does any of these seem familiar? It's normal if it does. And as I said, I'm here to help you!
Until then, here’s a little help for you to build a new brand, if you need it:
Grab the free “Brand That Works” workbook ›››
xoxo,
your favourite brand strategist, Zsofi