8 Signs It’s Time for a Rebrand

Your brand is one of the most important aspects of your business. It is how people perceive you as well as your business. If your branding no longer connects with your vision, does not connect with your audience or is no longer accurately portraying what you’re trying to get across, it might be time to think about a rebrand.

Rebranding is a way to recreate your brand identity and also how consumers perceive you. As your business grows and changes, your brand needs to reflect that growth and those changes, too.

Perhaps your brand worked for you in the past but now you want to serve a difference audience. Perhaps you went the DIY route and now that your business has grown, it has outgrown your current branding. Perhaps your brand no longer conveys your vision or your vision has changed completely. In any of these scenarios, it might be time to think about a rebrand.

Rebranding is an exciting time for your business, but it can also be a daunting and intimidating task. There is a lot of work that goes into a rebrand. This work goes not only in the end product that consumers see, but also behind the scenes, on your end as well as your designers. However, if done correctly, a rebrand can help elevate your business, get you in front of the right audience and represent what you’re all about – where you’re going, not just where you’ve been.

Here are 8 ways to tell if it’s time to rebrand.

Your brand no longer represents your vision.

Businesses change. They grove and evolve. Your business is probably not the same as when you first started your entrepreneurial journey. As business owners, we change too. And that is really, really exciting. But it can also be crazy scary.

When we first start out in our businesses, it can take some time to really get our feet wet. However, after a few years (maybe sooner, which is awesome if that’s you!), we typically begin to find our groove and figure out who we really resonate with and what services we gravitate towards offering.

Maybe your focus has shifted and your branding no longer fits what you want to represent. Maybe the entire vision for your business has changed. It’s hard to have a solid visual presence and brand strategy if your brand no longer represents your vision. If the groundwork for your business no longer aligns with the values you had when you first started out, those changes may ultimately mean you need to change your branding to align with the visions you have for the future.

Your foundation is such an important piece of your brand and your business as a whole, I can’t emphasize that enough. If your mission, goals and values have shifted, you really need to hone in on those and realign them with your business. Once you have a solid foundation, the rest will fall into place.

You don’t stand out or you are standing out for the wrong reasons.

You want and need your business to stand out. But you want to stand out because your brand resonates with your audience. It connects to your audiences’ emotions and needs, and looks amazing while doing so. You don’t want to stand out because your branding is a hodgepodge of colors and patterns and is inconsistent across your platforms.

Consistency is key. If You need to have a consistent style, color scheme, etc, brand throughout all platforms, from your voice to your social media to your website. You need a professional, consistent presence, and if you’re standing out for the wrong reasons or you’re not standing out at all, it’s time to do something different.

If you don’t stand out can be a little trickier. You don’t want to rebrand just because everyone else is. If everyone in your industry has a similar color palette or style as you do, that can obviously be a problem, but doesn’t necessary mean you need to switch everything up.

A rebrand can help definitely you stand out and be differentiated in a sea of sameness, but again, it comes down to your foundation. Be clear on your vision and the goals you have and use what sets you out to attract your audience. If what sets you apart and makes you special isn’t coming through in your branding and that is why you’re blending into the masses, then it might be time for a rebrand.

You have outgrown your current brand.

When you first started out, you might not have had an abundant budget. Because of this, you may have resorted to DIYing your website, which may or may not have included any thought or focus behind your branding. Or perhaps you worked with a designer who was just starting out, which got you the basics to get you up-and-running, but only the basics. Or maybe you even had the whole shebang – a top designer who really understood you and your vision and made all of the pieces of the puzzle come together seamlessly. But now a few years have passed and you and the rest of the world can tell.

If your branding is outdated and your colors, fonts or graphics are no longer current, you could definitely use a refresh to revitalize them and reposition your company in the market. Even if your services remain top notch, an outdated brand doesn’t look professional and may seem no longer relevant.

If you have outgrown your current brand or are working with an outdated brand presence, it can keep your potential clients from recognizing what you’re actually offering and negatively impact your business. You may have even outgrown the current name of your company and need to change it up to stay current and convey your new growth and your new direction.

You’re not attracting the right clientele.

Are you constantly getting inquiries from people who aren’t quite the right fit for your business? Perhaps they keep asking for discounts, push past the scope of your work agreement or are requesting services that you don’t offer. Or are you getting traffic but aren’t getting any engagement or conversions? That’s not good.

On the flip side, do you have inquiries from people who absolutely love what you stand for and who would love to work with you, but you’re not in their budget? If any of these things are happening, you’re not attracting your people, and getting in front of people who are not your target audience is a big problem.

Attracting the right clientele is essential to your business and your brand. If your brand aligns with your vision and focuses on the needs of your target audience, it can help attract the right clientele to your business.

Your audience has shifted.

Sometimes we start out by working with a particular type of client but over time, we shift to working with a different audience. Maybe your market has shifted since you first started out and you’re now starting to work with a different audience.

When you develop a strategic brand, your visuals are designed around your target audience. They’re made to attract a specific type of person and make them feel certain emotions. But if you don’t have that foundation in place (I know, I know, foundation again), your brand is going to be scattered all over the place and won’t successfully speak to the right audience.

That’s normal. If you’re trying to reach a new audience because your audience has shifted, remember that one size does not fit all. Instead of focusing your time and energy on your old audience, work on building up a brand that attracts your new audience.

There’s no emotion in your brand.

You most likely created your business to fill a need and solve a problem. You probably also created it to make money, but there was likely another driving factor (your why).

When you first started, you probably were also incredibly passionate and excited (hopefully, anyway!). If that passion has started to wane and you no longer have the drive that you once did, your potential clients notice that. If you’re no longer connected to your brand, there’s no reason for your audience to have an emotional connection either.

Does your brand represent you? When you think about your brand, how do you want your audience to feel when they come in contact with it? The visual elements of your brand put off a certain vibe. If your brand is not putting off the right vibe, it’s not going to attract the right audience or make them feel connected. If that’s happening, a rebrand will help.

Your niche has changed.

This could mean that your niche has either expanded, narrowed or changed altogether. Perhaps you initially started out serving a broad group of people – too big of a group, and as you’ve been in business, you’ve honed in on and refined your ideal client and who you really enjoy working with.

Alternatively, perhaps you started out with a very small, specific niche, but you’ve expanded and added more products, services or people that you serve. That’s great! But in either case, your brand identity isn’t aligning with who you are now serving (or want to serve).

It’s a natural progression to hone your skills and fine-tune your niche and offerings over time. But if your niche has completed changed, you’ve repositioned yourself in the market or you’ve changed the types of products and services that you offer, it’s probably time to seriously consider a rebrand.

You’re ready to level up.

You want to appear high end. You want to work with a more refined clientele. You want to raise your prices. You want to work less and make more. You want to .. You want to .. You want to .. insert whatever it is you want to do here.

In any case, you’re ready to make a move in your life and your business for the better. But none of those things are likely to happen if you have a brand that isn’t speaking to the right people, doesn’t represent you or isn’t presented professionally and cohesively.

Your current brand shouldn’t restrict what you want to do or who you’re able to serve.

Since brands come down to consumer perception, if you’re currently with a lackluster, outdated brand not speaking to the right audience, it’s going to be very difficult to successfully level up without a rebrand (not impossible, but very difficult). The price that your potential clients are willing to pay ultimately comes down to what your perceived value is. If you’re struggling to raise your prices or your brand is unprofessional or unappealing, you need to reshape the way that consumers perceive you.

The best way to do that? Rebrand. 😉