Is it time for a brand refresh?
When you’re in the weeds running a business, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day without making time to think critically about the big picture. One of the areas that so often gets overlooked is Branding.
How much thought have you given to your brand since you first created your logo and style guide? If the answer is ‘not much’, you could be missing out on opportunities simply because your brand hasn’t evolved and is no longer appealing.
Rebrand or refresh?
If your branding isn’t a true reflection of the kind of company you want to be today, it could be time for something new. Executing a complete brand overhaul can be a major undertaking. However, you may not need a complete rebrand to make an impact. A refresh with a few tweaks and updates can go a long way toward supporting the growth of your business.
So, which one should you be opting for? In this post, we’re sharing the key questions you should be asking yourself to answer this question.
Consistency is Key
Branding encompasses all of the visual elements of your company, including your logo, fonts, colour palette, and imagery, but it’s so much more than that. Strong brands have a clear, consistent point of view across every touchpoint, which sets them apart from everyone else and makes them instantly recognizable.
If you’ve ever unwrapped an Apple product, been in an Apple store, or spoken with Apple’s customer support team on the phone, you probably know the impact of an intentionally designed, consistent brand experience.
Just because you’re not running a billion dollar company like Apple doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the power of creating a cohesive branding experience. Give your audience confidence that everything you do will live up to their expectations by making sure the total experience of your company looks, feels and sounds unified. Here are just a few examples of touchpoints to consider:
The voice you use on social media
The copy on your website
The tone of your emails
The in-person interactions your you and your employees have with customers
Any product and their packaging
The level of service provided by customer support on the phone, chat, email and social media
Any print materials - from business cards to a billboards
The style of your photography and your videos
Your office and events
The list is endless - and completely depends on your business.
There’s nothing more disappointing than falling in love with a brand on social media only to be confronted with an unfriendly employee when you send an email or walk into a store. If your brand experience isn’t great across the board, you’re probably losing customers.
How can you fix this?
Ask Yourself: How consistent is your brand across all touchpoints?
Examine every touchpoint of your business and make sure your entire team understands your brand. Based on these learnings create a unified approach to ensure every customer interaction with your company is one you’re proud of.
Raising the Bar from Your Early Foundations
Many new businesses have limited resources, which typically means starting out with a basic foundation, rather than going all-in on branding.
If you started with a basic visual identity package (logo, fonts, colours and value proposition), think of your branding as something that can happen in phases.
Over time, as you have more resources, more traction, and more familiarity with your market, you may be able to invest more in your brand. This could mean developing your personality, tone of voice, aligning your brand messages with your audience personas and really delving into the details of what sets you apart.
Hopefully, you started out with a solid foundation, and all you need to do is build upon that. In some cases, if your visual identity wasn’t very well aligned with your business to begin with, it could be a good idea to consider updating your visual identity or doing a complete rebrand before you go any further.
Ask Yourself: Could you strengthen your brand by building on your existing foundation?
Evolving Your Brand with your Business
If you’ve been in business for more than a year, chances are your company has made some changes since you first launched. If those are minor iterations and you started with a good foundation, you probably don’t need to worry about making major changes.
However, if your business has shifted significantly, your branding may not be working anymore and it could be really useful to realign your brand with your business. Here are a few common signs that it’s time for a rebrand:
You’ve pivoted your business and your brand is no longer a meaningful representation of what your company does;
You’ve shifted your target audience and you’re no longer appealing to the right people;
You’ve gone through a digital transformation and your brand feels misplaced or doesn’t set you apart in an online world;
You’ve been around a long time and your brand no longer feels modern;
You have an important new product or service that doesn’t work with your existing brand;
Ask Yourself: Is your branding aligned with your company’s offerings and your business goals?
If you’re interested in learning more about why branding matters, what makes a great brand, and how you can improve yours, get in touch for a chat!
Marielle Reussink
Founder of The Emms, Marketing Professional, Entrepreneur & Advisor to Start-ups