Every brand and business owner goes through a phase of business where their products or services just aren’t the “new kids in town” anymore. You know, when you first start your business and it takes off successfully, sales are through the roof, you’re growing your network and brand community.
But in a few years time, you start to realize that maybe your business isn’t all that anymore because it’s starting to become quiet. Maybe a little too quiet.. Slow seasons in business are also normal especially with seasons changing, and what industry you’re in. However, if you’re experiencing a slow season longer than normal or unexpectedly.. then it may be time for a brand refresh - an inside look at how your brand is performing, and correcting the strategy complete with a new look and feel of your brand.
The most common signs when it’s time to consider a brand design refresh are when the business owners themselves are experiencing a major disconnect in their branding as well as a lack of emotional connection and engagement.
There are a handful of signs to look out for when this phase of business is looming over you. Don’t worry though, we’ll go through all of these together.
A disconnect between yourself and your brand
Oftentimes a business owner can feel disconnected with their branding. It can be due to a few reasons. Perhaps they DIY’d the branding or logo themselves, they got it designed on Fiverr or Upwork, or they have shifted their business with new products or services.
A DIY’d brand design can only get you so far. And I totally get it. There are so many graphic design tools out there that make design accessible and easy to use for business owners. However, they tend to design the logo or brand based on their preferences and what they like instead of taking the design into a direction of what will resonate with their target market and stand out amongst their competitors.
Fiverr and Upwork logos can sometimes come out okay, but you definitely get what you pay for. Like the DIY route, these designs can feel less valuable over time to a business owner because it was never backed by strategy, research, or their unique personality.
For a brand to truly stand out, it has to have brand strategy, research, and analysis into competitors and target audience to understand those gaps in the target market. The creative direction and design approach is also guided by all the extensive research of the brand.
New products or services have pivoted your business direction
A common reason that it’s time for a brand refresh is because you’ve recently added new products or services that fall out of the current branding (which is all ok and it’s a sign of growth and change). An introduction of a new product or service can be a perfect time for a brand refresh or another way to implement the current branding style if it makes sense. However, there are many factors involved when it’s time to consider adding new branding. For example, say a jewelry store decides to start offering handmade gifts along with their jewelry collection. This new product has a whole new narrative and would require a new sub brand or rebrand of the business to facilitate this direction of the brand.
This also helps to alleviate any confusion in not only brand visuals, but redefining the fit of the brand voice, values, and brand positioning so your target audience does not get confused in the launch of the new products or services.
Inconsistent branding
If your branding and marketing materials look vastly different across all your platforms, like Google My Business, your website, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Facebook, etc, then it’s definitely time to have some well structured brand identity and design put in place.
You should have a cohesive brand experience throughout the entire customer journey. Sure, your marketing materials may look slightly different based on the medium they are designed for, but they should still carry over the same logo elements, fonts, color palette, and visual flow of the entire branding suite. A branded customer experience can exponentially grow your brand and get you into the crowd of potential customers due to your professional, polished, and engaging brand style.
You and your competitors are starting to blend in
Maybe you’ve felt like you’re blending in with your competitors? Or they have recently rebranded leaving you behind with no sales, and no traffic. It can be very hard navigating where you fit in a saturated market.
Most of the time though, it’s not that the market is saturated, it’s just that you haven’t found your crowd of dream customers because your branding isn’t designed with your personality or business in mind. Your brand should always reflect your values, brand story, and what sets you apart from the competition.
Do you know what is special about your brand that no one else is doing with theirs even though you sell the same products or services? Once you have established this, you will be able to create a strong, memorable, and humanized connection with your audience.
There could be other signs to look out for to consider a brand design refresh
These signs alone can be a tell tale indication that you may need a brand refresh. However, there could be a lot of other contributing factors as well. Gaps in sales, prolonged periods of no sales, customers suddenly dropping off, and lack of brand community engagement could be a few more signs.
If you’re feeling like these also resonate with this period of business that you’re in - it’s ok and it can happen to any business. It’s important to recognize these signs and take action before it’s too late. Any business, no matter how small or how many employees you have - even if you’re the only one running it, can have a professional brand identity design that reflects their personality and their business.
A well executed and strategized brand can boost confidence in showing up for your business, leaving you feeling ready and willing to show it off. It can increase the interest and awareness of your business, allow you to charge more for pricing of products or services, and attract the proper target audience effectively.
If you’re interested in working with a graphic designer on your branding project, or just need a call to gain some clarity on where your business stands, I would love to help you.
Just drop by the contact form on my website, fill out an inquiry, and we can set up a call to talk about your business and brand.
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