Your business has evolved. You’ve launched new services, expanded your footprint, and refined your mission. But take a look at your website, social media, and marketing materials.
Do they reflect the innovative, forward-thinking company you are today? Or do they look like a business fit for the company you were five years ago?
While it’s hard to part with the logo that first caught our eye, rebranding is a strategic process that can align your brand with your current market position.
At Reach Skyline, we’ve helped many businesses through this transition. And here are 5 signs your visual identity may be holding your business back.
1. You Look Outdated Compared to Competitors
The digital landscape evolves at a tremendous pace. Aesthetic trends and the overall UX of websites change over time. If your website looks like something of the past compared to your competitors while theirs have a modern and mobile-friendly interface, you’re losing potential business even before the sale.
An outdated visual identity can cause the client to subconsciously assume that your business practices are also outdated.
If you’re constantly losing business to companies with a more up-to-date look, it’s time to rebrand.
This is the most common sign that your business needs a rebranding, especially when your current look does not reflect the quality of the product/service that you’re selling.
2. Your Business Has Evolved but Your Brand Hasn’t
This is one of the most common signs why businesses consider a rebranding. Perhaps, your company has outgrown its business scope and services. You’ve expanded your target audience, acquired new clients, or entered a new market vertical.
If your current logo, color scheme, message, and overall visual identity were developed for a totally different business model, then it’s time to rebrand.
Your branding should reflect your future business goals and not the company of yesterday.
A good rebranding strategy can help your sales and marketing teams to communicate what your company does better at present.
If you’re asking yourself, when should a business rebrand, a change in your audience, services, positioning, or market is a good indicator to assess whether your brand is right for the new phase of your business.
3. Your Brand Is Inconsistent Across Different Mediums
Brand consistency is an essential component of any recognition-building exercise. But, there are times when businesses end up with different looks in different mediums.
Your company website has one shade of blue, your LinkedIn banner has another, your sales presentation uses different typography, your social media graphics use different styles, and your staff has different versions of the company logo. These are all telltale signs that your brand is becoming fragmented and it’s time for a rebrand.
If your marketing team has hard time finding the right logo, fonts, colors, and so on to use for a marketing campaign, it’s time to develop a strong brand identity system for your business.
Your company’s brand identity system will help your team to apply the right brand rules to logos, typography, colors, imagery, layout, and other visual components for effective branding.
4. You Are Attracting the Wrong Clients
Your brand’s visual identity is a psychological cue to your audience. For example, if you’re a premium B2B consulting company targeting C-level executives, but your website uses playful graphics, neon colors, and a tagline targeting millennial consumers, chances are, the wrong people are being attracted to your brand.
Take a hard look at your analytics and sales pipeline.
- Are you getting too many unqualified leads?
- Are your site visitors immediately bouncing?
- Are your prospects misunderstanding what you do?
- Does your brand promise reflect the value your business provides?
- Does your brand appeal to the kind of buyer you want to attract?
If your answer to some or all of these questions is no, it’s definitely time to rebrand your business.
A good rebrand can align your visual identity with your target audience, positioning, and business objectives. This is also the best way to address the question of how to rebrand a business. Understanding your audience and positioning is a good exercise before considering changes to your brand’s visual identity.
5. Your Internal Team Isn’t Proud of the Brand
Brand is not only for the outside world; it can also play a big role in shaping a healthy workplace culture and empowering your employees. If your staff avoids showing your website to clients, is hesitant to hand over business cards, or has trouble talking about what your company does, it’s time for a rebrand. Your rebrand can help your team connect with the brand purpose and become brand ambassadors, resulting in a better customer experience.
ROI of Getting Your Rebrand Right
At Reach Skyline, we view rebranding as a strategic investment rather than a design expense. A good rebrand can help your business:
- position itself better in the market,
- raise brand awareness and recognition,
- offer a consistent customer experience,
- boost your website and marketing performance,
- enhance premium positioning,
- attract the right customers,
- and align your brand internally.
But, don’t just hire someone to make the logo pop.
Your business needs a strategic rebrand before you consider a visual update. Your rebranding strategy should align your business objectives, audience, positioning, messaging, and visual identity to create a unified customer experience. Our rebrand strategy includes everything from brand audit, strategic positioning, and brand architecture to developing a visual identity and implementing it across your marketing and communication touchpoints.
Don’t Let Yesterday’s Brand Be a Limitation for Tomorrow’s Growth
Your company’s visual identity is the silent ambassador of your brand. If it looks outdated, sends the wrong message, or doesn’t portray your company’s direction and vision, it’s time to change. Your understanding of how to know when to rebrand your business should include more than just looking at the logo. Consider your positioning, audience, messaging, customer experience, and long-term business goals. At Reach Skyline, we combine strategic consulting and creative direction to help you develop a modern and flexible visual identity that can grow with your business. Are you ready to see what your brand is truly capable of? Book a Strategy Call Now today to learn how a strategic rebrand can help your business grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What’s the Difference Between a Brand Refresh and a Full Rebrand?
While a brand refresh will update certain elements of your brand such as logo, color, typography, and style, a full rebrand encompasses everything from brand positioning and messaging to your visual identity.
2. How Long Does a Strategic Rebrand Take?
Depending on the scope of the project, a strategic rebrand can take anywhere between 8 to 16 weeks. The timeline also depends on the number of brand elements, digital properties, assets, and touchpoints that need an update.
3. Will a Rebrand Hurt My SEO or Brand Recognition?
A rebrand is not a natural fit for a company looking to sustain and grow its SEO footprint. If you’re looking to change your website’s domain, proper 301 redirects, URL mapping, and SEO migration planning should be incorporated in your rebrand strategy. When it comes to brand recognition, the key is to retain recognizable elements during the rebrand so that it’s business as usual for your existing customers. Businesses considering a website overhaul should factor in the SEO implications for their rebranding project.
4. How Much Does a Rebrand Cost?
Depending on the scope of the project, the cost can vary.
A simple visual refresh will cost you less than a full-scope rebrand that encompasses strategy, messaging, website, marketing automation, and customer experience overhaul.
5. Can I Count on Reach Skyline for the Technical Rollout of the New Brand?
Yes! Reach Skyline can help you develop the right brand strategy for your business and roll out the appropriate visual and messaging updates required across your digital properties and marketing materials.