5 Signs Your Business Needs A Rebrand
Most brands are the result of weeks, months, even years of time and effort. We get it – your brand is your baby. But there comes a time in most successful companies’ lives where the need for a rebrand presents itself.
Despite the emotional struggle you may experience when waving goodbye to your current well-loved branding, delaying a required rebrand can have detrimental effects to a business. Problems such as loss of clients, lack of staff interest and stunted financial growth are among a few of the issues you could face.
Firstly, let us determine what actually makes a brand. Essentially your brand is your business’s identity. It is the first impression, and first impressions ALWAYS count.
Common elements incorporated into a brand package include:
- Logo
- Business Name and Taglines
- Website Design, Layout & Guidelines
- Visual Elements E.g. Images & Graphics
- Style Guide including Colour Templates & Fonts
- Brand Voice & Written Content
- Core Values, Vision & Personality
Other brand elements include:
- Watermarks
- Email Template Designs
- Stationery
- Letter Heads
- Business Cards
- Flyers
- Brochures
- Adverts
- Social Media Accounts
Here are 5 signs YOUR business needs a rebrand.
#1 You’ve outgrown your current branding
Most businesses evolve over time. In fact, if you have had an established business for a while and it has not evolved with the times and your customers’ existing requirements, that is probably an issue you need to address prior to rebranding.
So how do you recognise when you have outgrown your current branding? Largely, if your brand no longer fits in with your identity, goals and purpose, or it simply does not represent the services you offer well, you would do well to execute a rebrand.
#2 Your brand lacks quality
The word ‘quality’ is fairly broad, and the reason I chose a broad term is because the multitude of factors required to create a brand is broad, too. With so many aspects making up a brand as a whole, as listed earlier in the article, there are several opportunities to slip on the professionalism of your brand – particularly if it was not created by a specialised design team.
A few question you should ask yourself are; Is my brand identity consistent in all elements and platforms? Does its ambience and value reflect those of my business? Does it lack eminence? Do I have a distinguished brand? Does it appear amateur? Am I embarrassed by my brand? Did I create the brand when I was a start-up, and, do I have the means to upgrade now?
#3 You’re attracting the wrong clients
If you are implementing all the right marketing strategies, but you are pulling in an audience that just won’t convert, it could be a branding issue. A brand should represent the services or products it provides, so if your branding is not indicative of your trade or your objectives aren’t clear, chances are you won’t attract your desired results. That being said, I do not recommend conforming to becoming just another service in your niche. You want to stand out of the crowd, but with a style that is consistent to your core values, identity and services.
#4 Your target market has changed
If your former client demographic has differed to those you are targeting now, it could be a sign you need a rebrand. For example, as a start-up business, you may have focused on a client market with a small financial budget. However, if the type of business you own allows your existing customers or clients to grow with your evolving business, your target market may have altered from those you were pursuing previously.
#5 You have seen a plateau in business growth
Is your brand a little timeworn and overworked? If you answered yes, this could be the reason for your progression stunt. I am absolutely not saying you need to undergo an annual rebrand, however, a new and exciting rebrand is a way to re-spark the relationship with your current customers and build a rapport with new, potential customers.
Final note: If you have a **** brand, people will think you have a **** business.
Final, final note: No one ever said their rebrand was a bad idea.
