Do You Need a Rebrand? 5 Ways to Know It’s Time
Similar to most things in life, your brand might need a refresh to align with your business grows and changes over time. This is commonly referred to as a rebrand and it is not just for big corporations.
To help you avoid rebranding out of fear of missing out on yet another trend, we have compiled a list of five key ways to know whether it is truly time for a rebrand.
As a small business owner, these are things you should consider from time to time, based on your industry and the scale of your business.
You’re Not Attracting Your Ideal Clients
If you get the feeling that your business is no longer attracting your ideal clients, it could be a sign you need to rebrand.
This could happen because your target audience has changed, or because your brand’s audience is no longer drawn to what your brand is communicating and offering.
Multiple factors could be at play here, such as a maturing audience, geo-location, etc. Life changes people and people change as they learn and grow — your business has to remember that regardless of whether you have a service-based or product-based business.
Your Offerings Have Changed
As time passes, it is common for facets of your business to change as well.
Small business owners sometimes find that a service they once enjoyed providing is no longer serving their business, or they might identify other products or services that fill a niche for their target audience. Either way, as these changes arise it is critical to make sure that your branding reflects those.
As a general rule, you can expect that every five years people and culture will evolve, shift, and become newly defined. You should consider that time variation when assessing how your offerings could change in the future too.
It’s Been A While
All brands, no matter their size, incorporate design trends into their marketing and these trends simply change over time too.
Unless you’re a legacy brand, it is likely that the name, logo, and color palette you chose eight years ago looks like it is from eight years ago (sorry to break it to you!). Except for having a strategic reason why your visual branding should look tied to a specific time period (i.e. Coca Cola), there is no time like the present to get with the times.
Your target audience will notice if you’re behind and might look elsewhere to have their needs and wants met.
Your Branding Is Not Accessible
The internet is ever-changing, so you can’t expect normalized ways of the past to be applicable in the present day. The way people consume and interact with content changes as well.
What we know about different groups of people expands yearly. In this way, web accessibility is an ever-changing thing too. If inclusivity is important to you (and your brand), then it is important to ensure your branding reflects that.
From ableist language to low-contrast color palettes, there is a great deal to take into consideration when creating an accessible brand. It is important to stay in the know about accessibility best practices so that if/when issues arise they can be addressed quickly.
Sometimes this update is as simple as changing the font and background colors on your website, but other times you might need a complete overhaul.
Do not allow the thought of how much changing will cost to deter you — inclusivity was never intended to be an easy feat. It does take commitment, which you must have as a small business owner. And at the end of the day, having an accessible brand means you are ultimately expanding who can engage with your brand.
Your Business As A Whole Has Changed
Did you start out as a business of one and now you have multiple people working as a team? Have your values become more core to your brand than they previously were? Or, did your values shift? These are tell-tale signs you need a rebrand.
All of this could affect your overall business structure. For example, if you’re a massage therapist and you’ve hired a team, you want to make sure that your branding doesn’t make it seem like anyone who books a massage will be working directly with you. We also see many of our creative clients swapping to “XYZ Studio” rather than “XYZ Photography” when naming their business to better reflect that they have a team of associates.
Overall, rebranding can be hugely overwhelming! But, if it is done intentionally and strategically, it can serve your business and customers or clients for years to come.
Need help with your rebrand? Get in touch with VVITCH. We offer branding and design services, and rebrands are one of our favorites to handle for clients.
Kate Schaefer - Brand and Marketing Strategist
Kate has worked in digital marketing and publishing for seven years. In 2013, she identified a hole in the wedding market and started H&H Weddings, a wedding resource specifically for the LGBTQ+ community.
Kate believes every business should thrive and is dedicated to helping marginalized folks even the financial playing field because capitalism is a bitch.
Brittinee Phillips - Copywriter
Brittinee has worked in marketing for a little over ten years. She has a passion and talent for storytelling. Brittinee's philosophy is that storytelling is the most integral part of the consumer and product experience, which is why she makes it a focal point in her approach to product and brand messaging.
