Your brand and its identity, mission, style, culture and voice are intrinsically integrated into your business. Therefore, when your business goes through a major change (we'll get into what that could be soon), it might be time to reconsider your brand overall. Before we get into what may necessitate a rebrand, let's explore what rebranding is.
Essentially, it's upgrading your business's image. Rebrands can include:
- A new name.
- A new mission and/or vision statement.
- New branding, such as colors, fonts, photography, graphics.
- A new website or website redesign.
- A new voice or type of language used in your copy.
- A revamped company culture.
Now, let's get into the five signs that it's time to rebrand your business.
1. You've gone through a merger or acquisition.
This is a clear indicator that it is time to rebrand. Sure, the two entities might operate in the same space or industry, but there's a good chance that your existing branding will not fit the newly acquired business, nor should you try to make it fit. Instead, if you're set on fusing the two together, it's time to create something entirely new.
2. It's hard to differentiate yourself from competitors.
Standing out from the crowd can be very difficult. As a business, you're competing with others in your niche so it's necessary to differentiate yourself from the competition. If your brand identity is starting to look too similar to others—or if it's uninspired or dated—it's time to switch things up.
3. Your initial branding was put together on a budget.
It's natural to be attached to the brand you created when you were building your business from the ground up, but now that you're established and have years in the business, it could be time to evaluate whether you want to go through the process of rebranding your company.
4. You're struggling to attract the right audience.
If you can't seem to attract the right clients or customers, review your website, voice/language and branding. Then do some market research to find out who your target audience tends to gravitate toward. Through this process you may realize what needs to change in your own branding to attract that audience.
5. You're embarrassed of your website, business card, etc.
If you are experiencing this, clearly something needs to change. Ask yourself what you're embarrassed about—is it your outdated logo? Website? Company culture? Once you identify that, follow up by asking yourself which brands you admire and what it is that you admire about them. This is a good starting point for getting the process of a rebrand started.
Courtesy of West Michigan Woman.
A version of this article originally appeared at Serendipity Media.
