Rebranding your small business takes time, patience and a bit of strategy. Once you know you are rebranding for the right reasons (if you aren’t sure about that, check out this post), make sure you’ve given some thought to the steps below so that you can make the most of your time and your budget. As with most things in life, a little prep goes a long way. Do your homework to be rewarded with a rebrand that results in making your business more money over the long haul. Good rebrands do just that, while frivolous, surface rebrands result in a look that makes you feel nice and trendy for a while, but have you rebranding again in a few years searching for that elusive return on investment you haven’t seen yet.
know the goal for your rebrand
And no, it’s not just to be prettier. The prettier part of your rebrand is a side effect of your project (albeit an awesome one), not the main goal. Your look HAS to get more sophisticated, more intentional and more beautiful to better communicate a particular idea. So what’s that idea? Before a rebrand, you should know exactly what you want to gain from it instead of just jumping in excited and blind.
Do you have a brand that attracts clients that can’t afford you, or are you attracting no one at all? Are you constantly being haggled for lower prices or spending time with inquiries that would love to book but it’s just not in their budget? In that case, your goal is probably to build a brand that attracts a completely different audience.
Are people confused when jumping between your social media feeds, your website and your in-person experience? Maybe you need to align ALL of the pieces of your brand to build trust and make your customers feel confident in what you can provide.
Is your pricing and your product or service in line with your look? If people act surprised when they get your prices, then probably not.
If you have a concrete goal for your rebrand, your designer will know what to focus on when building it. And you will be able to easily see the return on your investment.
What specific results will deem your rebrand a raving success? Jot them down in a notebook or on your computer and be sure to communicate those goals to your designer at the beginning of your project.
know your ideal client
Repeat after me…everyone with a wallet is not your ideal client.
How does your customer base now compare to who you really want to work with? Comparing present and future starts to paint a picture of exactly where your brand needs to shift. You should be able to specifically identify the type of person you want your brand to best connect with.
Before a rebrand, spend some time thinking through who you would ideally be selling to. What kinds of things do they value? What do they struggle with? What are their biggest fears? What kinds of emotions surround purchasing from you? What do you have in common, and how can you play that up? Where do they spend their time and what do they enjoy?
know your competition
Your goal is to stand out from the crowd, not disappear into a sea of sameness. The point of knowing your competition is not to envy or copy them. It’s to know exactly what makes you different, so you can play that to your advantage. Once you know who your ideal client is and what they truly need, look for holes in what your competition is offering and fill them. Each business has unique aspects that appeal to different people, so emphasize your differences to make the choice between you and your competition obvious. Sometimes that emphasis will mean that you’ll miss out on leads that know you aren’t a good fit. That’s a great thing! No need to waste time trying to woo people that aren’t a perfect fit for you. Let them go to focus on the ones that will be happiest with what you do in the unique way that only you do it.
know where your traffic comes from
This is where you should focus your branding efforts first. Obviously, you want your rebrand to extend across all platforms for consistency sake. But knowing where most of your traffic comes from gives you insight into where to start AND what’s most important. Why spend tons of time obsessing over the look of your Instagram feed if almost everyone finds you through Pinterest? What is the touchpoint most people see first? Is it social media? Is it your website? Is it in person? Know where that is and make sure that first impression is where you focus your energy and budget for a rebrand first. Then you can continue extending that same look and feel in all the nooks and crannies of your brand for a full package that builds trust and loyalty.
know what you want your brand to say
You don’t need to know how to say it. That’s my job. You just need to know what you stand for and what you want people to think and feel when they encounter your brand. This is deeply rooted in your brand values. What’s really important to you personally and in how you run your business? Customers like to buy from brands with values close to theirs, so don’t make them have to dig to know what those are. Why did you start your business? What drives you to get out of bed in the morning, knowing you are making a difference?
Before a rebrand, do a little bit of homework to make sure you hire the right person, they understand your end goals and that it will be a rebrand worth your time, energy and money so that you don’t have to do it all over again in a few years.
ThiS is so sPot on! I love thaT you’ve taken tHe time To write this all out – too often, people want to rebrand without PUTTING in the time. Great post!!