Your brand is a reflection of your company's values, goals, strategies, and culture. Branding is how you establish your business in the market and set yourself apart from the competition. Changing or updating your brand is an important part of your growth strategy especially if you are starting up or going through a growth phase. It’s okay that your brand is evolving, there is no way you nailed it on the first try and, hopefully, you’ve learned more about the market, your customer, and your business that can inform your branding.
Here are five reasons why you need to update your brand:
1. To Reflect Your Company's Growth
As your company grows and changes, so should your brand identity. What worked for you when you were first starting out might not be the best fit anymore as you expand into new markets or introduce new products and services. Updating your branding can help reflect these changes and show the world that your company is evolving along with the times.
A rebrand can also be a great opportunity to refresh your messaging and visual branding, which can help attract new customers while still resonating with your existing ones. If done well, a rebrand can give your business a much-needed boost – so it’s worth taking the time to do it right, especially if version one was done in haste.
How do you know a rebrand is worth it? Choose some metrics and talk to your customers. Do this to set a benchmark for how your brand is performing today and come back to it once you’ve introduced the new logo or updated your marketing materials with the new branding style guide. It’s the only way to know you’ve made an impact.
2. To Stay Relevant
In today's environment, it's important to keep up with the latest trends to see if you need to adopt them in order to stay relevant in the eyes of consumers. If your branding feels outdated or no longer speaks to your target audience, it might be time for an update. Introducing fresh elements will help keep people interested in what you have to offer.
Now, that doesn’t mean you need to jump on the bandwagon with every design trend, make sure your brand style guide and customers dictate that. If your target audience is buying products on that trend and you fit within a similar industry, it might be worth considering. If your audience values a sense of stability and reliability and your industry dictates that you portray those qualities, changing your branding too often could be detrimental to your image. Staying relevant is based on the context of your industry, product or service, and target audience.
3. To Simplify your Brand
When it comes to branding, less is often more. A streamlined brand identity can help you better focus on the core aspects of your business, which will make it easier for consumers to understand what you do and how you can help them. A brand refresh can be a great way to simplify your message and make your brand more memorable.
Oftentimes, especially when you’re starting or growing a business, a lot of services or value propositions are added to see what sticks but over time you’ll quickly understand what your customers actually want which gives you the opportunity to cut out the noise. Use a brand refresh to cut everything down to the basic, most important core needs of your customers. It will simplify both your messaging and your visual design and keep your business laser-focused on the value your can offer.
4. To Expand your Business
On the opposite end of the spectrum from point #3, maybe you have kept your business small and simple but you have the opportunity to expand. As your business grows and evolves, so should your branding! A brand refresh can help you better connect with new audiences and communicate your expanded offerings as you enter new markets or expand your product line.
Whether you’re targeting a new demographic or simply want to update your look to reflect the growth of your company, a brand refresh can be an extremely effective way to achieve these goals. Use a brand refresh exercise to ensure you don’t just slap these new offerings onto your existing messaging and cause confusion.
5. To Highlight Your Mission Values
Your company is growing, your team is expanding, and your product or service is getting better every day. Your mission statement, on the other hand, has largely remained the same for years.
If your mission statement no longer reflects your company’s values and goals, it’s time for a brand refresh. A brand refresh is a perfect opportunity to revise your mission statement and ensure it’s still relevant to your current business.
I have experience seeing values evolve at companies as they grew. Values that meant one thing in the early days may not make sense and as you add new team members, you want to make sure your values are genuine and meaningful. Take a moment to reflect on what has changed and add/subtract values and update your mission statement to ensure everyone is on the same page. Your audience will notice the difference.
How to Update Your Brand
Before you can update your brand, you need to evaluate what’s working and what isn’t. Take some time to look at your current brand and ask yourself the following questions:
· Does your logo reflect your company’s values and goals?
· Is your brand easily recognizable?
· Do you have a strong online presence?
· Do you have a consistent brand voice across all channels?
· Can a new customer understand your offering within seconds of visiting your website or landing pages?
· Do they know what sets you apart from the competition?
· Are you attracting your ideal customer?
Taking the time to reflect on these simple questions is a great way to evaluate your current branding. If you don’t know the answers, go to your customers and offer something for their time to answer these in a short survey. You might be surprised how they perceive you versus how you perceive your own brand.
Torch Digital Labs can help you get the revamp that your brand needs. We create online digital strategies to help you grow your online presence. Get in touch with us today to learn how.
