More than ever in this time of uncertainty is the time to take a step back and analyze what’s been working and what isn’t in your brand. Are your strategies and plan making a positive or negative impact during these new times of the online business game? Sometimes we feel as though it’s difficult to make the shift we need in our business when the visual branding no longer matches our vision for the future. Have your goals for your business changed? Has the mission? Has your style aesthetic for your products changed? Or maybe you want to build a premium or even luxury brand, but your branding says you’re a stay at home craft-aholic? (Not that there’s anything wrong with home crafts.) But how do you know when it’s time to rebrand your business?

HOW TO KNOW IT’S TIME TO REBRAND YOUR BUSINESS

Even if you have the entrepreneurial gut instinct that it’s time for a rebrand, sometimes it may seem like a distant goal for the future with all the hustling you need to do on a daily basis. But, what if I told you, you could work smarter not harder, and for a lot fewer hours per week if you did a rebrand that elevated your brand to new heights and introduced you to a plethora of new customers? According to LinkedIn, “There are 2.1 million negative social mentions about brands in the U.S. alone, every single day”. Would you rather thrive with a strong brand foundation, or waste precious hours doing damage control? I bet you’re thinking, it’s definitely time to make sure your branding is as solid as can be.

There are two types of rebranding, partial and a full rebrand. A partial rebrand is something common and recommended for brands every few years or so to remain relevant with the times. In other words, adapt or die, while still remaining true to your brand vision. A full rebranding is only done once or twice in a lifetime and usually only done after for example, a merger or a change of ownership and/or direction of the brand. For you, unless your brand is merging with Virgin Galactic and the Richard Branson team, you’re looking at a partial rebranding to structure your brand focus.

HERE ARE 8 SIGNS YOUR BRAND IS READY FOR AN UPGRADE:

1. YOU’RE NOT ATTRACTING THE RIGHT CUSTOMER: If you started your business with a target customer in mind, you were on the right track. But maybe after some time you realized, it wasn’t the right customer. Maybe you thought you had the right demographic but realized in order to provide a beautiful product you needed to raise your price points. That most likely priced out your original demographic and now you need to target a higher end customer. Or, perhaps you did have the right target customer in mind but failed to make the connection of what catches their eye, what attracts them to your product, or the values that matter most to them when purchasing your type of product.

[Not sure who your customer is? You’ll want to read How to Identify Your Ideal Customer In 4 Simple Steps ]
2. YOUR BRAND NO LONGER REFLECTS YOUR BRAND VISION: Sometimes this happens, as it happened to me. You start with one idea for your brand and as it evolves you begin to discover what truly sets your soul on fire and what you love and don’t love creating. And this is absolutely ok. In fact, it’s better than ok. This means you’re growing and expanding ideas, and it means you’re learning new skills and ideas to create something bigger and better. If your original idea doesn’t seem big enough to you now, or you have a stronger brand vision, it’s definitely time for a rebrand.

3. YOU WANT TO SHED AN OLD IMAGE: This is a continuation of the first two points on this list. Whether you need to target a new customer, or you want to change directions in your brand vision, they both lead to a brand new customer with new needs and a different aesthetic. Knowing exactly who your target customer is and learning what catches their eye is the most crucial and important part to understanding when it’s time to shed an old image and start fresh with a new brand vision that’s more modern, relevant to the times, and relevant to your customers.

4. YOUR BRAND HAS LOST FOCUS: Sometimes when we get wrapped up in the daily hustle of making a profit, we end up working in our business rather than on our business and we lose focus of the primary mission of the brand. When I say the primary mission, I don’t mean selling x number of products a day or week. I mean, selling is the end goal, but creating a product your customers can fall in love with and become loyal die-hard fans for life is the real secret. Maybe when you first began, you started your brand with one strong product and one focus and over time, expanded your line into several different categories and now your brand has no focus. If you’ve lost that focus of what your product offers and how it differentiates itself from every other brand, you’re ready for a rebrand.

[Ready to regain your brand focus and increase sales? Read Why focusing on product features is not enough to make the sale.]
5. YOUR BRAND IS NOT STANDING OUT: Again, just like the point above, if you are not standing out, it means you’ve been spending time looking at what everyone else is doing and copying their “strategies” instead of discovering what makes your brand different. The world doesn’t need another Tiffany’s. But how many jewelry brands exist with their own story to tell? There’s Harry Winston, BVLGARI, Cartier, and several others. But they don’t copy what the other is doing. It would be brand suicide. Instead, they focus on their customer, the lifestyle their customer aspires to have, and what excites them. Each customer for each brand has a different story they want to tell the world about themself, and if your brand helps them tell that personal story, that’s when they fall in love with your brand. If your brand doesn’t have its own story and it’s own values and lifestyle it stands for, guess what, it’s time to rebrand.

[Want to learn how to stand out? You need to read What business are you really in? It’s not what you think.]
6. YOUR BUSINESS IS GROWING AND SCALING OUTSIDE YOUR LOCAL AREA: This is a simpler point to reach. If you have a business that was founded and built based on its location and now you’re either expanding out or moving your business to a new location, readjusting slightly is in your favor. Maybe your business name included your city, it makes sense to rebrand your business in order to continue to grow outward.

7. YOUR BUSINESS MODEL OR STRATEGY HAS CHANGED: No matter how long or how short it’s been since you first began your brand, sometimes over time as our ideas and strategies evolve, so must the brand vision to match it. Whether you are serving a new market, perhaps you designed a new product that doesn’t necessarily fit your original product line, or maybe changes in the technology you use or the way you reach out to your customers has changed. If the strategy and way you operate your brand has changed, then so has the perception of those you serve, and that means, your branding should also realign to remain consistent with your new strategies. If you have a new idea or new product that doesn’t align with your original strategy or business model but you have a strong and exciting way to pivot your brand into this new vision, then it’s time to consider a rebrand.

8. YOU’RE EMBARRASSED ABOUT HOW YOUR BRAND LOOKS: If this is you, you know. You may be having a discussion with someone about your business but maybe when they ask for your website you cringe a bit and give them the full warning that your site needs an update, or that your photos aren’t as professional as you’d like, or maybe your social media channels lack a lot of luster and engagement. You should feel incredibly proud of your brand, whether you’re at the beginning stages or you’ve been in business for years. If you can’t be excited about your own brand, how do you expect new customers to get excited? If you’re not motivated or inspired to work on your brand, it may be time for a rebrand.

It’s not always as clear as day to know if it’s time to rebrand, but if you’re here reading this article, there’s a very high probability that it might be time. If any of the tips from above applied to you and your brand, that’s your confirmation a rebrand is in your best favor in order to get back on track and excited for your brand. Just remember, whether you decide to rebrand now or decide you can wait a little longer, the market and your customer’s needs and desires are evolving every single day. A rebrand is inevitable if you want to stay profitable in your market. The only question is, how soon do you want to start making a strong positive impact on your business by rebranding if it’s time? Head back here next week where I’ll share with you the next step in the rebranding process and how to rebrand your business in as simple as a few steps.