Ready to Rebrand? Here’s What You Need to Know

The truth is that whether you’ve built your business intentionally from the get-go or it just sort of “happened” along the way, you have built a brand.  

Yep.

And, if you’re here, you may be considering the effectiveness of that brand you’ve built and questioning if it might be time for a rebrand. So let’s take a look at how you might’ve gotten here and your brand’s impact on your business thus far.

How it all starts

Just as a flower blooms with a combination of sunshine and water, the ingredients to a passion-filled business are typically an idea paired with the burning desire to see it flourish.

However, this can be a dirty, tiring, and sometimes fruitless endeavor, just like gardening.

When you first start your business, you may not have a lot of resources to dedicate to the idea of “branding.” You may be too busy with operations and focusing on sales. Many business owners then seek the guidance of business coaches, other business owners, and family (non-entrepreneurs who love you but may not understand what being a business owner means) to help find their footing and envision a way forward.

If you can find your momentum- way to go! However, as your business continues to expand, things begin to change again. Maybe sales are flattening out, and you are now starting to take a step back and look at ways to help you grow. Or maybe you’re questioning new directions. We all know the importance of nurturing a business during its growth spurt. One of those ways is rebranding.

Your brand, despite all the talk of logos and aesthetics, is the foundation of your business. So even when you may have skipped out on focusing on it from the beginning, as I said earlier, you have built your brand with every image you share, each word you publish, and each conversation you have.

The impacts of skipping ahead

Now that you are ready to get to the next level, you might be questioning what that string ties everything you’ve been doing together as your “brand”?

Especially as women, our businesses are often the most intimate expressions of who we are. Our brand is our voice, but it is also the first impression for our customers, clients, and members, the first entry point to our values and offerings. It is no wonder that almost all of us struggle to uncover exactly what our brand is.

When you have no set brand strategy, there is most often a lack of clarity. Clarity around your message. Clarity around what your audience really needs from you. Clarity around how you convey that message.

I often hear clients talk about feeling stalled, stuck, or lacking the confidence to do the things they know they need to do to move their business forward. For example, not hiring the support staff you need, signing the lease on the building of your dreams, launching new services, etc. This feeling of being disorganized and stuck comes down to that lack of clarity and the accompanying decision fatigue that makes us question our every move.

Maybe you are also ready to raise your prices, adjust your products/services, and start attracting premium clients. What is your brand saying to them (or not)? Has your message changed over time?

Ultimately, does your brand match up to everything that you’ve built with your business?

Are you ready to rebrand, then?

So if you’re feeling any of these impacts or you’re just unsure, I’ve compiled a list of questions to ask yourself to see if yes, indeed, it’s time for you to rebrand your business.

Ask yourself honestly:

1. Do you know what really matters to your clients when it comes to the services you offer?
2. Do you know what matters the most to you when it comes to your business?
3. Has your brand been looked at professionally in the last three years? 
4. Does your brand represent your business across all of your platforms (social media, website, print) equally and professionally?
5. Does your brand still represent that idea and passion that fueled your business when you began (or is your garden full of weeds and dead plants)?

Rebuilding Your Brand

If you answered no to any of these questions, it’s time to look at what a rebrand will make possible for your business.

The first step in rebuilding your brand into the one your business deserves is to assess your current branding practices- are you changing a logo or changing everything as it stands? It can be a big decision. If there has been no concerted effort made to build a strong image for the business, then it might be time to rebrand everything from logos and taglines down to marketing materials, including your website, so all of these present a unified front with consistent messaging, it is probably time to go all in. Then it’s time to dig into the who (your audience), what (their needs), and why (you’re the best choice they can make!) of how to move forward more intentionally.

Old Ways Won’t Open New Doors

Whether you bootstrapped your way through startup or inherited it from your Mom & Dad 25 years ago, the rebranding process is something every business owner should consider as they plan to grow and scale. It forces you to look at every aspect of your business and recognize opportunities for improvement.

You might be surprised by what other changes could help take your brand from good to great.

Rebranding means digging deep but it doesn’t have to be scary! Reaching out and connecting with a skilled brand expert can help you better understand your business and give you direction. Don’t hesitate to reach out today, and we’ll discuss if rebranding is right for you and how it could benefit your current customers as well as attract new ones!

Schedule a free project fit call with me today!