When you first started your business, you were probably thinking about how you would become the best in your industry. You just started. Rebranding your business was the last thing on your mind. It’s a beautiful time, you’re bright-eyed and Googling everything, trying to learn more about your business. You were probably scoping out how the competition was doing, and how you could get the word out about your service. But now, it’s been years and something feels off. You aren’t as excited about your website or brand anymore. It just doesn’t reflect you. That sudden change in feeling is what tells you it might be time to start exploring rebranding your business.

Why Bother Rebranding Your Business?

Rebranding your business is a big decision. You are essentially starting over. You are taking the time to reevaluate your company and what you want it to stand for. This could mean asking questions like: Do your services have the same impact as they did when you first launched them? As you peruse through your recent leads, can you really say you’re pleased with the quality? If you’re dissatisfied with much of what you’re seeing in your business, don’t worry, rebranding is why it’s worth the hassle.

What Does it Mean to Rebrand a Business?

Rebranding usually points to a change or pivot. I like to look at it as an introduction. Remember when you were in the early stages of your business? You were laying down the foundation. Your sales or lack thereof provided you with data to make decisions. Rebranding takes that data and uses it to make new decisions.

Some of the most common results of a rebrand include new branding. The includes logo design, fonts, colors, and patterns. Another common result of a rebrand would include the redesign of your website and a new website copy. The goal of the redesign is generally to better reflect where your business currently resides in the market. It also aids in attracting the types of clients you want to serve in the future.

When Should You Rebrand a Business?

There are a few signs to look for when deciding if you should rebrand your business.

1. When your company’s image is no longer reflective of your business.
2. Do you like the type of clients you’re attracting to your business? If not, this can be a sign.
3. Are you embarrassed when sending out your website to others?
4. Do you find people struggling to pinpoint what exactly you provide them?
5. Are sales slow and no longer resonating with your target audience?

The time to rebrand a business is when you are going into a new market or want to try to expand your customer base. Rebranding is a great opportunity to establish a new image for your company and to reach a new set of customers. Rebranding can be very beneficial, but most people miss one important step when setting out to rebrand – strategy.

Having a Rebranding Strategy Is Key

A rebranding strategy is a key to a successful business. I would argue it is the most important step. Without a solid rebranding strategy to guide your rebrand, you could end up out of time, money, and effort. Even worse, you could end up stagnant and still dealing with the same issues you did before.

As a branding and Showit website designer, I always dedicate the first portion of rebranding to brand strategy. This includes:

Market Research

In order to adjust the foundation of your brand and website, you’ll need to make sure you understand the current foundation of your brand. What is your audience saying about you? Do they fully understand your business? Can they explain your services in their own words? This phase may look like speaking to a few ideal clients and conducting an interview. Generally, I advise my clients to ask a series of questions and ensure we’re using their audience’s language in the upcoming brand message so that when marketing their audience knows we are speaking to them.

Audience Analysis/Audit

Who is this new brand targeting? Dive into the demographics and psychographics of your ideal clients. This information is imperative to ensuring the design of the brand isn’t too playful or contrarily too serious. It will be exactly what your specific ideal client is looking for.

Services Overview

Are there any services that aren’t working anymore? Perform an audit to make sure the new website only features services that your clients want. Many people forget this step. Rebranding your business isn’t just about pretty graphics, but the entirety of your company.

Future Short Term and Long Term Goals

Where do you want to be in 6 months? Or 6 years? These questions will help you understand if there are any gaps in your business. For example, if my client mentions in 6 months they would like to expand marketing efforts to another platform, then as a brand designer, we may discuss any marketing collateral that may need to be created to support that expansion.

If in the upcoming year, you will want to add another service – say a group coaching program, you may need to look over your current sales funnel and value ladders. How can you easily transition your clients to continue to move from one service to another?

Current Marketing Strategies In Place

Look over your current marketing platforms. Which platforms are the most profitable? Are there any platforms that seem to lack results? Or are there marketing strategies you could put in place that are missing? This is your time to review industry trends and see if it’s the best move for your business to make that pivot.

Rebranding Your Visuals (Branding and Website Design)

After you have the proper rebranding strategy in place, now you can focus on your visuals. In best practice, you should work with a skilled branding and website designer. This will ensure it gets done right, the first time.

Your designer should guide you on:

Creative Direction – based on the information gathered in the brand strategy stage, what will be the best brand aesthetic to draw in the right ideal clients?

Brand Design – Taking the aesthetic, what is a beautiful timeless brand that fits in that direction? This includes variations of logos, colors, and fonts to provide the perfect image.

Brand Photography – Many people miss this. When rebranding your business, oftentimes you need new photography to match. Partner with a photographer and designer that will heed your new creative direction and get you images that showcase you in the best light.

Website Design – Your website is arguable your most powerful marketing tool. Partner with a copywriter and website designer to plan and execute a website that will work for your business around the clock.

Rebranding Your Business Can Be Successful

Now that you know the importance of rebranding your business, let’s see it in action. Rebranding is a long tedious process, but the payoff is HUGE in the end. I want to show you an example of a client who banked in BIG time after rebranding.

Meet Whitney, Charlotte, North Carolina Bridal Makeup Artist

Her Problems Before Rebranding

Whitney is a bridal makeup artist who is extremely talented at what she does. Going into the new year, she wanted to increase her prices and tap into a more luxury market. She knew she was undercharging and also knew that meant redesigning her brand and website so that she could attract high-quality clients.

Before meeting with me, Whitney spent thousands on another designer who didn’t nail her vision. She was so embarrassed by her website, that she went without one for months. With big goals for the year, she wanted to try again so she asked for my help.

Her Results After Rebranding Her Business

After her rebrand, Whitney booked out her yearly goal within the first 3 months of the year. None of her leads questioned their price and many said her website is what made them feel she was the right artist for their big day.

As a local business, SEO is a big component of one’s marketing strategy. Whitney said the majority of her clients find her through Google based on the SEO strategy we put in place for her website.

THAT is the result of highly successful rebranding.

Rebranding Strategy Playbook

Trust me, as a rebrand designer, I understand rebranding your business can have a huge impact on your income and growth. Still, frustrated on how to get it done? Well, how about I show you my entire framework? Download the Rebrand Mastery Playbook to get my framework for helping my clients rebrand their businesses and attract ideal clients they LOVE working with!