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As your business grows and evolves you may begin to question whether you are outgrowing your brand. There are many pros and cons to deciding whether you should refresh or remain steady with your branding.
Why you should remain consistent with your brand
Consistency is important in branding. It usually takes multiple interactions with a company or product for someone to start to recognize and trust a brand. You may be tired of seeing the same colors and fonts, but your prospects are probably not as bored of it as you are.
There are many good reasons to avoid changing your brand too frequently.
We build trust through familiarity. It’s very difficult to make sales until you create recognition and trust.
If you change your brand, you lose that brand recognition. It’s like starting all over again with the educational process of teaching prospects about your business.
When is it time to rebrand?
There’s no exact formula for determining when to rebrand. Usually, the need for a rebrand is created by some event or circumstance your company encounters.
For most small businesses, rebranding is advised when your company has changed significantly.
As your company grows and matures, you may add or change the products or services you offer. When this happens, your current branding may no longer represent what you do or may not be attractive to your ideal customers. This is the most common situation that drives companies to decide to rebrand.
Rebranding signals that something significant has changed in your business.
Consider a brand refresh
A brand refresh usually means that the core pillars of your business remain unchanged but that there are parts of your brand that need a redesign, realignment, or redo. You might need to redesign your visual identity to feel current and fresh. Or, you may need to rewrite your messaging or tagline to express what you are offering.
Successful ways to refresh or rebuild your brand
Making changes to your brand can be risky because you’ll need to educate customers and prospects about your new identity. You may lose brand recognition and have to work harder with your marketing. That is why a complete rebrand is only recommended when the positive outcomes from a better-aligned brand outweigh the potential cost of the work and the loss in brand equity.
A well-executed rebranding or refresh often connects the new brand with the old one. Some successful ways to do this include:
- Redesign your logo using the same concept but refining the design.
- Redesign your logo using a new graphic symbol but keeping the old color.
- Using the old font for the new name.
The amount of change you make to your brand should reflect the amount of change that’s happened in your business.
For example, if your company name no longer represents what you do, you probably need a completely new brand. This rebranding will require a new logo, and domain name for your website, registering new social media handles, and updating business listings. This expense and effort are probably worth it because having a name that misrepresents your core products or services is likely confusing prospects and limiting your business growth.
Nearly every business changes over time, and so do design trends. If your logo or visual style looks outdated it can make your whole business appear out of touch. A brand refresh that modernizes your visual style will show that you keep current and up to date.
A poor brand—one that misrepresents who you are or what your mission is—will make all of your marketing and communications efforts more difficult.
A well-executed rebrand is an opportunity to show your prospects, clients, and partners that you have more clarity about the direction and growth of your organization. It is a signal that you are excited about a new phase of growth.
