WHEN TO REBRAND YOUR BUSINESS: TELLTALE SIGNS IT’S TIME FOR A REFRESH

Over time as you develop and grow your business, you may at some point find yourself at a crossroads where something about your brand doesn’t quite feel right anymore. Perhaps you no longer feel connected to your core identity, or perhaps you feel as if you’ve outgrown what’s already established.

These thoughts may lead you down the path of considering the option of rebrand. Many people like yourself then experience questions like ‘how do you know when it is the right time for a rebrand?’, ‘how do you decide what to change and what to keep the same?’ or ‘how can I be sure this is the correct decision?’. After all, rebranding isn’t a small task that is undertaken on a whim, it’s a huge strategic decision that drives the future of your business.

In this article, I’ll aim to provide some clarity to the questions and with it, give further insight into the rebranding process to help you decide whether or not this is the option you’ve been searching for.

The Right Time to Rebrand

Everyone’s experience with rebranding is different, and it certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Some businesses leave these decisions until they’ve fully surpassed the lifespan of their branding while others sometimes action the decision to rebrand early due to other circumstances. Whichever boat you may find yourself in, there are some pretty common indicators that can signal it’s time to step off and make the change:

Your brand no longer reflects your business:

Businesses evolve. You could be at a state of growth where you have expanded your service offering, entered new markets or shifted your focus. You even may have started as a local one man band but have since become a national team. If your brand no longer accurately represents who you are or what you do anymore, there is a disconnect that needs addressing.

You’re no longer standing out:

Markets are becoming more competitive and standing out has become crucial. If you find yourself blending in with your competitors, or possibly standing out for the wrong reasons like being left behind or looking generic and outdated, you’re at risk for being overlooked and left behind. A rebranding strategy presents an opportunity to evolve and make sure that a repositioned approach differentiates you from the crowded market.

Your audience has changed:

Audiences change behaviours and move with market trends. You might find yourself in a situation where your original target market is no longer your primary audience and a misalignment between your brand and the people you aim to serve has developed. Your demographics may have shifted but your brand hasn’t, so realigning your business with a new audience will present the opportunity to create new connections or rekindle old ones.

Your branding is outdated:

Design trends come and go. The branding you have that was once modern and trendy before could now very well be stuck in a time past. Outdated branding will always make your business seem behind the times, even if your practices, products and services are not. Something that was designed 10 years ago, will almost certainly feel stale in the current market. Revitalising your business with a rebrand can correct this issue incredibly effectively.

Your brand is inconsistent:

Brands with a multifaceted branding approach are a common issue. Some businesses have multiple logos, deploy many different colours and fonts, have an irregular voice and don’t follow any sort of guidelines that consolidate their brand into a recognisable and memorable format. If people aren’t able to recognise and remember, there is a serious issue. A rebrand to help bring everything together under a new direction can build a bridge that improves recall and helps to establish trust and loyalty within a customer base.

Your leadership has changed:

Structural changes to businesses happen all the time. Whether it’s a merger, an acquisition or a simple leadership shift, the new direction in which a business is headed often requires a course correction to be reflected through its brand. The new state of business will benefit from having these big changes communicated successfully, and one of the best ways to do this is through rebranding.

Your business is affected by negative association:

Sometimes a business faces public backlash or bad PR for a vast variety of reasons. If your brand name or brand image is tied to negative experiences or even outdated or poor practices, you may find your business in a sticky situation that makes restoring a tarnished brand exceedingly difficult. Once the smoke settles, rebranding can be the vessel that helps you to move forward and regain trust with your audience.

It may be the perfect time for you to consider a rebrand if you have found yourself identifying a parallel between one of these indicators and your own business. If you’re at this point, you’re probably now asking yourself where do I start and how far should I go? Let’s tackle that now.

When to Keep, When to Change

The best way to understand your rebranding approach will depend on your current situation and the reasons why you’ve now determined that a rebrand is a viable endeavour for you. Rebranding strategies are entirely unique to their circumstances, and the outcomes are decided on a brand-by-brand basis.Some of you will benefit from a brand overhaul, starting new and revolutionising your brand from its foundation, while others of you will be better suited to evolving your brand into the next refreshed phase of its life cycle.

An overhaul focuses on a complete transformation. It’s a radical switch that can involve redesigning everything about your business from the logos and brand identity, to your strategy and your voice. Sometimes this can even involve re-evaluating your name.

An evolution isn’t as comprehensive as an overhaul, but it still involves a lot of change. It hones in on updating and reworking your brand without losing the elements that hold value to your business or at the core of things. This is the more tactical approach to rebranding and is where you can be more resourceful. To aid you in the decision making process of figuring out whether or not an overhaul or an evolution is the right course of action, there are certain factors to consider:

• If you have a brand that already possesses great recognition and holds a strong standing in its market, it’s likely to also it has an established following. An overhaul in this case could alienate your existing relationships and negatively impact your audience. It is almost always best to preserve these elements and find a way to update your brand in a safer way to keep these relationships protected, so an evolutionary approach would be best suited.
• If you have a brand that is about to undergo large-scale change that affects the core of the business or its offering, you’re likely about the experience a detachment from the existing strategy and identity that’s currently in place. To reconnect and communicate the new changes and the new direction that’s on its way, an overhaul will likely be the best option in this scenario.
• If you have a brand that has a known history or a reputable legacy, an overhaul may come across too strong and effect the associations that you have with your established past. This may cause a negative ripple effect through your brand where these connections could become disconnected. In cases like these, it’s worth finding a strategic way to preserve these elements through an evolutionary approach.
• If you have a brand that has hit a wall and is being surpassed by its competitors or feels like traffic is drying up, there is a good chance that your business is falling behind the market for whatever reason. It’s worth re-establishing your core and finding a new way to revitalise your business and create new opportunities to find a new audience. An overhaul can be the perfect way to take advantage of this.

You’re likely now sat with a better idea of rebranding, and have a better outlook on the approaches that you can take. There is now one last question that needs answering.

Is Rebranding Right for Me?

We have established that rebranding isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s a powerful way to reposition your business for long-term success and should be treated with serious consideration. If you have now been able to recognise the flaws in your current approach and can begin to see where things require change, then you likely know where a rebranding solution can be the problem-solving process to help you with moving forward. These flaws aren’t a failure, they’re an opportunity to breathe new life into your business, attract new audiences, and ultimately help your business grow.

Your brand is the most important asset to invest in as a business owner and the more time and effort you spend connecting with your brand, understanding its successes and analysing its shortfalls, the more opportunities you can begin unlocking for the future of your business.

If you’re now in the position where you are looking for further information regarding rebranding or are looking for assistance with creating your own rebranding strategy, head over to my contact page and reach out. I’d welcome a chat about how I can help resolve your issues and action your rebrand with clarity and confidence.