Following on from last month’s post about the difference between a logo and a brand, we thought we’d take you through the pros (no con’s here) of rebranding and why it could be the right time for you to evolve.
The centerpiece of your business branding is generally a logo, yes, but a brand encompasses so much more: from colours, to fonts, to company personality, your website, email signatures, even your social media graphics. Think of every single touchpoint a customer might have with your business as your brand – the way you send emails & answer the phone are part of that too!
You could be in a situation where your brand has served you well for many years, but sales have started to take a nosedive. Or there’s been a massive shake-up in your market, forcing you to adapt with new products or services (hello Covid). Or maybe you’re just sick and tired of your outdated branding. That’s where we come in.
If your branding is no longer serving the needs of your business, it may be time to think about talking to a professional (that’s us).
If you can’t clearly communicate to your audience who you are, what you do & why they should choose you, there is probably a big old mismatch between the way you think about your business and the way your audience sees it.
Your logo might focus on one aspect of your growing service offering, or maybe your tone on social media is geared towards teenagers but you’re now targeting people in their 30’s. Whatever the reason, your brand essence is what drives every customer engagement, so it needs to make the same impression every single time.
If you’re embarrassed to hand out your business card or you avoid directing clients to your website, because ‘it’s a work in progress’ (translate: it’s horrible, please don’t look at it) then it’s probably time for a refresh! Maybe you did your branding yourself when you were just starting out and what may have been a great business name 10 years ago most likely isn’t as cool anymore.
You might not need a full rebrand, it could simply be a professional refresh of your look and feel while your brand message and foundations remain the same. Everyone loves something shiny and new!
We see this all the time – a brand created with little thought to how it will be actually used in different situations. Your logo could be the wrong colour or shape for being printed on your fleet of machinery, or your business name has a location in it and you’re now a national company. If your brand wasn’t crafted by a professional, it probably doesn’t have the room to flex and stretch down a slightly new path.
At the beginning of your business journey, you may have been targeting a very specific target audience, which is perfectly ok! However, you may have found that targeting these customers hasn’t been as successful as you thought it would be and you’ve seen an uptake in an unexpected audience. Or perhaps your ideal customer has changed over the years as your business evolved.
Rebranding can be a great way to either increase your brand’s appeal with your original target audience or to focus on a completely new one.
Your branding should make a lasting impression, differentiate you from the competition and form an emotional connection with your target audience. Great brands are memorable.
So, how can you differentiate yourself in a crowded market? Your brand should send the message to your customers that you alone can solve their specific problems. Think about your unique value proposition and if that isn’t as obvious as possible, I mean if it doesn’t hit you in the face, that’s your sign to rebrand right there.
Maybe you’ve come up with an awesome new product that is a slight step left from your original business position. Or there’s been a change in ownership, like in the case of a merge between two separate businesses, the goals and objectives of the new mega business probably differ from the originals.
Rebranding can signal these changes to your target audience, saving them from confusion and you from a hit to your sales (ouch!) and launch this new phase properly.
This could never be truer than it is now. In the last year, many industries have experienced huge challenges due to changes in demand, new challenges, and specific needs.
These changes force you to react to keep ahead of the competition. If customers are looking for something different from what they were when you first started, it’s definitely time for a change so you can stay relevant.
As your business adapts, your branding may also have to be adapted because the way you represent your innovative brand to customers is vital to staying relevant in a changing industry.
Rebranding doesn’t have to be a daunting task that keeps dropping onto the too-hard basket to-do list. It could be something minimally intrusive like updating the layout of your website to improve user experience, or something as big as redefining the brand with a new name and logo to relaunch your business to the world! In either situation, that’s where an agency like Evolution comes in and handles that pesky to-do list item for you so you can get back to doing what you do best.
Businesses need to be adaptable. If you know that your business is not as successful in its current form as it could be, it’s time to act. Call in the professionals so we can help you completely transform your business for the better!
If you want to receive monthly emails from the Evolution team with our latest blog post, hot off the press, please sign up here.
