5 Ways You Know It’s Time to Rebrand

How do you know it’s time to rebrand? Just like clothing styles, hairdos and hermit crabs, brands need refreshes to stay current. First impressions matter and a brand that’s not visually appealing, looks dated or doesn’t fit your business can send the message to a potential client or customer that you’re operating in the 2010’s.

It matters for you as a business owner, too. Your brand needs to be aligned with who you are today–it needs to evolve and transform as you grow and as you level-up, so should your brand.

Here are some questions that I’d ask when doing a Brand Audit with a client:

1. When was the last time you refreshed any of your visual brand assets? Large organizations do brand overhauls every 5-7 years. Smaller, more agile businesses that adapt and change their offerings more frequently refresh their branding every 3 years.

Visual brand assets and touchpoints are anything that a person interacts with that gives them an impression of your brand. These include your logo, typography, colors, brand photos, marketing materials, ads, videos, website, social media posts, packaging, signage. 

What do your visual brand assets communicate? 

While you don’t want to get caught up in styles that are “trendy” you do want to align your brand fundamentals with the times and optimize them for the way people consume information. For example, a logo that used to show up well in print with it’s color shading and gradients to make it look 3-D and pop off the page won’t translate well in the digital world as a simple minimal design. 

2. Is it time to up-level your brand elements? You DIY’d till now (which is totally fine! We all start somewhere and done is better than perfect when you’re just getting started or experimenting with a new offering) But, now that you’ve got some traction, you know your client and your market, it’s time to invest in yourself and your business so the outside looks as good as the inside. 

3. Are you expanding? Are you scaling your business or moving into new markets? Is your strategy less about relationships and warm leads and more about cold-traffic and building the know, like and trust factor with people who are new to you and your brand?

If so, you need to make sure you make a first impression that will prompt people to respond to your call to action–sign up for your newsletter, give you their email, take the call from you, respond to your pitch or buy your product or service. When you’re entering new markets or launching a more sophisticated advertising and marcom strategy, you’ll need to have a professional looking brand to help you break the ice and up your credibility factor.

Alternatively, are you contracting? We live in a culture that says bigger and more is better, but I’ve actually helped quite a few business owners scale back their business in a way that feels much more aligned and manageable. If you’re downsizing, a rebrand can reflect the shape of the new business.

4. Are you and your business pivoting? The first few years of this decade (the 2020’s) were all about the pivot. Customer behavior and markets shifted and many businesses responded by shifting resources and changing their business model to adapt to the current reality.

While some made minor shifts, others completely changed their offerings, client base and brand positioning. If a pivot put your business in a new category, it’s likely time to rebrand so you have clarity for yourself and for your market.

If your brand doesn’t communicate what you do today, for whom and how you do it you can risk confusing potential clients and losing out on new business opportunities. Confused people don’t buy.

Is your business a personal brand? This is typically consultants, coaches and thought leaders that do business under their own name and sell their expertise as a service. When you look at the current branding, does it accurately reflect who you are today, what you offer and the work that you do?

Just like you’ve evolved, through experience, training, refining your process and the value you deliver, your brand has to now match. You’ll get your yes or know answer from an inner knowing…you’ll feel this one and know that it’s time to build a brand that reflects where you’re taking your business. 

If after noodling on these questions you have a feeling it’s time to get the help of a branding professional, here are some questions to make sure you find the right fit for yourself. Click here for questions.