Argghhhh! Whenever you think of rebranding your business, it might feel overwhelming to you. After all, you spent so much time branding it in the first place, right? It’s like moving —anyone who has sold a house and moved is usually in no hurry to do it again anytime soon. But, sometimes rebranding is necessary, and here’s why.
7 Signs That You Need to Rebrand Your Business
Your overall branding includes things like your visual elements (colors, fonts, templates), your values, your company’s vision, and your company’s voice. When these considerations are well developed and executed, your business will experience the benefits from loyal followers, repeat customers, and increased sales.
If even one of these scenarios applies, you should be thinking about rebranding. If several or all of them apply, friend, let’s get this show on the road now. Your business cannot afford your old branding!
- Your current brand is out of date. Whether it’s dated colors, old fonts (hello, Comic Sans), or a motto that sounds decrepit, if your brand appears dated, you’re likely losing business. Dated brands appear out of touch, not current, and dusty/musty. Not too many people gravitate towards that. One caveat: If your brand focuses on the fact that your business has been around forever and it’s somewhat iconic, you can actually play that up to your advantage.
- Your sales have fallen off. Hear us on this one. Sales may have fallen off for lots of different reasons including poor customer support, inferior products, or inadequate marketing. But if you’re fairly confident those kinds of things are strong, you may need a brand update. Studies show that consistent branding done correctly can increase revenue up to 33%, so it stands to reason that if your branding isn’t strong, your bottom line will suffer.
- Your business model changed. What if you offer a totally new service, or your product focus has shifted? Time to rebrand! If you used to be a garden designer but now focus on garden coaching or consultations, your brand should reflect that. Changing from retail to wholesale? Adding a brick-and-mortar shop? Switching from flower stand to subscription bouquets only? Rebrand.
- Your business has recently changed hands. If your business was recently sold/purchased, or merged with another company, consider rebranding. You may not need to throw everything out and start over, but something to signify a new beginning is in order. A local HVAC company in one of our teammates’ towns used to be owned by two brothers, and their branding highlighted that family connection. Their older mom used to be on commercials with the tagline, “They’re such nice boys.” Then the brothers had a falling out (it happens) and one left the business. Time to rebrand that company.
- Your logo or overall brand has a negative association. We don’t want to get too political, but there’s always that angle to consider. What if your brand for 30 years has included the Confederate flag, or implies something negative about women, or includes outdated ideas/gender roles/cultural norms? Do you want people thinking your company is insensitive, out of touch, dangerous, or not trustworthy? No, you don’t.
- You rebranded and it didn’t work. We are 100% looking at you, Kia. Who can even read that new logo of theirs? Not us! What about Weight Watchers with the new-ish “WW?” Yes, sometimes you try to update something and it backfires. Update it again. The Gap did it a few years ago —they rebranded their logo, customers hated it, and they switched back just days later. If The Gap can do it, so can you.
- Your demographic has changed. Your business used to be geared towards retired people with some benjamins to play with, but you recently switched to marketing towards Millennials buying their first homes and starting to garden. Your branding needs to reflect this change in demographic, from the way you speak to the colors you use. What resonates with Boomers will, almost every time, not resonate with a much younger generation. Tip: If your business has shifted its demographic to Millennials or Gen Z, video will be your best friend and should showcase heavily in your branding.
Your branding is worth reviewing on a somewhat regular basis. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, but do be open to updating and overhauling when it’s needed.
