We live in a fast paced world. Businesses change direction, companies grow, markets contract and new competitors arrive on the scene. No brand remains the same forever, it has to evolve to keep ahead of the competition.

For those of you who have an existing business, it’s important to take some time and evaluate your brand to highlight what you’ve been doing right and what needs to be improved upon.

Too many small businesses will refresh their logo and leave it there. But what they don’t realise is the impact having a complete brand can have on their business and how they differentiate themselves to stand out from their competition.

If you feel you already have a strong brand that fits with your business that’s great! It may just mean looking at refreshing your brand or tweaking elements within it so it stays relevant. (Try the Free Brand Worksheet to help figure out your brand)

“Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business”

Steve Forbes

But if your company has grown, taken on a new direction with a new suite of products or services, or has merged with another company, you will really need to consider a rebrand.

Remember it’s not a quick-fix, so don’t follow the latest trends in design to match what everyone else is doing. You need to stand out and create a brand that will hold up over the years.

So how do you know if it’s time to rebrand?

A rebrand can mean anything from a change to your logo or image style to a complete review of your brand and strategy – which may include a new company name and logo design.

There are many reasons why a business needs to rebrand. Below are eight of the most common questions that come up when considering a rebrand:

1. Are you looking for a way to grow your business quickly?

You may be just starting out and want to create a big splash within your marketplace so investing in a professionally designed brand can help position your business quickly and stand out form your competitors.

2. Have you merged with another organisation or have been acquired?

This could require a new name, new logo design, and reviewing all brand materials, but with a clear brand strategy in place, and working with an experienced brand designer, can make the process easier.

3. Have you introduced an innovative new product or service?

When starting out, your business may have offered one type of product or service and a brand was created to fit, But as you business has grown or changed direction, its products, services and aspirations may have grown too, which means its branding may need to be refreshed to reflect these changes.

Britannia Quickmove Removals came to us to look at how they could setup a new Quickmove brand, separating away from the established Britannia brand so that they could target and grow a niche, local marketplace:

4. Are you developing a new strategy that will change the direction of your organisation?

Your target audiences, brand positioning and market share can all change over the years. What was once a highly impactful brand is now starting to lose it’s effectiveness and your business is slowing. This means it’s time to update its branding and reach new target audiences. If you feel you’re not sure where your brand is, a Roadmapping consultation may prove a worthwhile exercise.

When approached by Next Door Consulting they were developing a new strategy to define their business and wanted to refresh their brand identity, we looked at their brand name, logo design and website, updating the design to fit their new strategy, including a new logo strap line.

5. Do you need to introduce your products or services to a new audience?

As you expand and diversify, your original brand design may not fit a wider demographic. Perhaps your new product ranges or service offerings can be redesigned within the brand style or rebranded to fit each target audience.

6. Has it been more than 5 years since you reviewed your brand?

Changing marketplaces, evolving trends increasing competition will make it harder to stand out. You may find that rebranding may help. But be careful and research well before launching onto your existing audience.

Zedcore needed to update their brand identity after six years in business. Their original logo looked dated and didn’t fit with their current client base.

7. Does your brand tell the wrong, or outdated story?

Stories have always captured the human heart, ever since we all huddled round a fire and related our stories to each other. A brand story connects you with your ideal customer. If you have expanded and grown into other markets, you may have lost this connection. If you’re not sure how your story sounds today, then it may be time to look at your brand strategy and your true brand story.

8. Do you struggle to recruit and retain the best talent?

More and more businesses struggle to hire and keep the best people. Having a clear, open and honest brand promise that communicates to not only your customers but your team will help to retain the best people. From about us webpages that talk about your workplace to Employee Welcome packs – all go towards building your brand for the better.

If you feel any of the above rings true, it may be time for a rebrand. And if your situation doesn’t appear in the list, you may not need to do a complete brand overhaul, but It’s important to take some time and evaluate your existing brand to clarify what you’ve been doing right and what needs to be improved. A roadmapping session can help you get clear and align your business goals to your branding.

A brand is much more than just a logo design

Having a beautifully designed logo on its own doesn’t make your brand great. A brand is much more than this. You need to consider the ‘bigger picture’ as a brand, and this can involve a range of customer ‘touchpoints’, a logo, suitable tagline, a responsive website design along with relevant content, and how you are viewed on social media.

We conducted a positioning and roadmapping session with Quickmove Removals to help clarify their brand strategy and identity before rebranding and building their new lead generating website.

Your branding also reflects how you communicate with your customers, your staff and suppliers through online and offline activities. This can be down to how you answer your telephone, your email, your invoices, even how you meet and greet. (Limp handshake anyone?)

It’s not just about your products or services you provide in their respective elements, but the overall impact your company creates in a customer’s life. A strong rebrand will connect with your customers, unify your business, inspire your employees and ultimately increase sales for the long term.

Before committing to a rebrand, have a think about where you business is now and where you want to go.

FREE Brand Worksheet & Questionnaire!

To help you out I’ve created this worksheet and questionnaire

So take some time to answer the questions as best as you can. It will really help you get to the heart of your brand and figure out your business mission!

Are you ready to rebrand your business and take it to the next level?
If you need help with your rebranding let me know 🙂 and we’ll see if we’re a good fit.