How to know when it’s time to rebrand your business

Date Published:

Aug 12, 2021

post categories:

It’s not always easy to know when it’s time to update the look and feel of your brand. Here are five common signs you’re ready to dig in and rebrand your service-based business.

Let’s set the scene. You’ve been in business for a length of time – perhaps six months, one year or five years. You’re getting a string of clients coming in, you’re starting to see some consistency in terms of revenue and you’re showing up regularly for your community. Overall, things are lookin’ pretty damn good.

Except.

Except every time you go to create a new social media graphic, you feel like you’re starting from square one. And you’re a little embarrassed to send people to your website because it doesn’t accurately reflect the true value that you deliver to clients. Speaking of clients, you’ve shifted who you’re working with since you began offering services. And your logo? You bought it as a template way back in the day and have seen a few other businesses in your industry with something very, very similar.

If any of this sounds familiar, you my friend, may be ready for a rebrand.

What does it mean to rebrand your business?

When we think about the Witt and Company definition of a brand, it’s how people think, feel and act in regards to your business’s identity.

Given this thought, a rebrand is intentionally changing those thoughts, feelings and actions. More often than not, this is done by updating the brand’s strategy, messaging and visuals.

How do you know when you’re ready to rebrand your business?

Now that you know what a rebrand means for your business, the next question is how do you know when it’s the right time to go through the process?

After nearly four years of working with branding clients, I’ve come to the realization that there are five main reasons why a business would want to embark on the rebranding adventure.

Reason #1: You’re serving a new audience
When I first started Witt and Company, I went all-in on targeting bloggers. Having had our blog North Country Nest for nearly two years, it seemed like a no-brainer ideal client. Fast forward about a year in and I decided to make the switch to service providers. I knew that the way I communicated to this new niche was going to change the overall look and feel of my brand, so I went through my own branding process.

Similar to pivoting an offer, changing up who you serve can significantly affect how your brand is experienced. You’re going after a new market filled with people who have different desires, outcomes, visions for success, problems and challenges. Meaning, the way you communicate your brand may be very different and the overall experience should be aligned with that new niche, ideal client, market, category, etc.

Reason #2: The visual brand doesn’t effectively or accurately communicate the brand experience
Whether you hired out the visual brand design or did it yourself, you’ve come to realize that how you want people to think, feel and act when they experience your brand isn’t being reiterated through the visuals.

Perhaps they’re filled with muted colors, soft script fonts and pretty floral patterns, which would be great if you wanted the brand experience to be elegant, romantic and sophisticated. Except, after working in your business for some time, you now realize that you want a loud, excitable and fun brand experience.

Here’s the thing: your brand should enhance how you want people to think, feel and act whenever they come in contact with your business. Whether it’s on social media, on your website or in an email, every brand touch point should embody the overall personality of your business. If there’s a disconnect, you end up confusing your audience. And, spoiler alert: you never want someone to be confused by your brand.

Reason #3: You’ve DIY’d everything to this point and your brand lacks a consistent or cohesive style
This is the most common reason I hear from clients and for good reason – when you start your business you’re on a budget, you’re learning all the things and the goal is to sell your stuff. So, you piecemeal everything together as you need it. After all, that’s the path of least resistance, so why not?

There’s no shame in the DIY game, especially as a new business owner. However, there will come a time when everything gets so jumbled together that you end up with no consistency and a lack of cohesiveness. This usually leads to confusion among your audience and as stated above, confusion is never a good thing when it comes to creating space for your audience to trust you.

The positive of being in this space? You probably have a tried and tested business model that is bringing in consistent revenue, so you’re ready to make the investment. And, you have a great set of information to pull from which can make the goals of your rebrand much more clear.

Reason #4: You’re pivoting what you offer and how you serve
When we think about how our brand is experienced, a lot of what happens gets tied to how exactly you’re serving your ideal client.

For example, let’s say you’re a social media manager and work primarily in Instagram and TikTok but decide to shift your offerings to content management with a focus on email marketing. While it’s not a complete night-and-day difference or shift, it might be time to stop and consider how your brand experience will be shifting with this update in services. Will you be communicating the same way? Will you want people to feel the same way when they experience your brand? More than likely, the answer is a hard and fast, “No.” Which means it’s probably a great time to freshen up your brand.

Reason #5: You’re changing your business name
This one may be the most obvious. If you’re going through a major overhaul of your business and changing the name, it’s a great time to go through a rebranding process.

The name of your business ties to a specific identity and when that identity changes, so too can the entire plan for communicating your brand. In addition, you can use this change as an opportunity to reevaluate how your brand is being experienced and update accordingly.

Perhaps you’re changing from a business name to a personal brand so now would be a great time to bring more of YOUR personality into the entire brand experience and the best way to intentionally do that is by working through the entire rebranding process.

What should you consider before going through the rebranding process?

So you’ve checked off at least one of the above reasons and you might be ready to rebrand. What should you take into account before diving in feet first?

Because the goal is to change the overall identity of your business, a rebrand is not just about getting a new logo and calling it good. This means it’s not a quick process, so the first consideration is whether or not you have the time and energy to go through the update.

Yes, when done right, the rebranding process can completely transform the way you show up. However, if it’s half-assed because you aren’t able to devote the time, then you might not get the results you’re envisioning or hoping for.

Which brings me to the next consideration – have a clear understanding of why you’re wanting to rebrand and set measurable results that you’re looking to reach with the new identity. This allows you to stay on track throughout the entire process and ensure you get the outcome you’re after.

Need support? We got you.

The process of going through a rebrand can be a bit overwhelming and a little daunting. Good news – here at Witt and Company, we’ve supported quite a few service providers through the rebranding process and I’d love to chat if you’re thinking about it! Click here to schedule a discovery call. This will give us an opportunity to talk about your business and see if rebranding is a good fit for your goals.

Happy branding!

All my best,