As a small business owner you probably have your logo and brand elements in place, using them in various places - your website, business cards, invoices, and much more. Things are going well and you are keeping busy running your day to day tasks, networking and finding new clients.  As time progresses you realise your business branding may need a revamp or you may need to rebrand altogether. You are just not sure!

Sound familiar?

Quite a few small business owners have come across this dilemma and so today I wanted to share a few do's and don'ts of rebranding.

Do rebrand if:

1 | You have a change in business direction

When you first started your business you focused on XYZ but as time has progressed, so has your business and you find that you a lot of your clients are now approaching you for ABC.  Big changes in your business like this definitely require a rebrand as your old/current brand image may not be portraying your business correctly, or you may not be attracting the right clients or customers.

2 | You are attracting the wrong clientele

This is probably one of the biggest reasons to why you should rebrand.  If your messaging and branding is wrong you will naturally attract the wrong clients or customers.  To attract the right clients and to reach your target audience you need to ensure everything from your messaging to your image is right.  All of these things form part of your brand identity so getting that right by rebranding will help you attract the right clients.

3 | If you have lost your way a little and your branding has become inconsistent

If over time you have introduced a different font or a range of different colours, then without a doubt you will have more than likely made your branding inconsistent.  Branding inconsistency can make you and your business look unprofessional, fake and cheap.  What you need to do is bring it all in line again and re-evaluate your branding, so that your logo, fonts, colours, patterns, logo variations and even your website are all consistent and on brand.  After all, consistency is key and rebranding can bring all these things together.

4 | Need to update or modernise the look and feel of your business

Is your brand outdated?  Does it look old, or not quiteas modern as it once was.  It's important to keep your designs fresh and up to date with time, but that doesn't necessarily mean you need a total rebrand.  You can always update your brand by making well thought through and executed tweaks to your branding.  If you find the last time you visited your branding was 10 years ago, then granted you may need a rebrand, but if everything about your brand is in line but you want to modernise it, then a simple revamp could be the answer.

5 | You have outgrown your original brand

Your business has developed from when you initially set up and started. You have grown, maybein numbers or maybe in business direction (like point 1, above).  Either way, your brand is not a true portrayal of who you are or what your business is now, currently, capable.  It's not a true representation of who you are anymore and that is a reason it itself for why you should rebrand.

Don't rebrand if:

1 | You are bored with your branding

You have been looking at your logo, your visual elements that encompass your brand.  It's on all your business material.  Becuase you have been seeing it a lot you may become bored with the way it looks. Becuase you are bored of it, does not mean you need to rebrand.

2 | You can't afford to do so right now

If you are rebranding because you think its a small job, then you are wrong, and it's definitely not a good idea to rebrand based on that misconception alone.  Rebranding involves a number of changes that will need to take place over time.  Changes to your print collateral, like your business cards, and flyers, or printed promotional material, and also changes to digital material - your website, social media accounts,  Professional branding is linked to the success of your branding so if you are financial restricted, please don't think rebranding will be a cheap and cheerful way to move forward in your business.

3 | Everything is ok

Don't fix something that isn't broken,  That really is the bottom line here. If your branding is working fine for you and your business is doing well, then don't feel like you NEED to rebrand.  Likely chances are that you will do some serious damage.

4 | You are in love with someone else's branding

Although imitation is the greatest form of flattery (or so they say!) - It's never a good idea to rebrand based on what you personally like the look of.  In fact, this can have major repercussions as your target audience may hate the changes.  Your business branding should be in line with your business vision and goals, not your personal vision and personal goals - unless they are the same thing of course.

A strong brand is the foundation of your business.  Done correctly, with a well thought through process, and you shouldn't have to rebrand over and over.  Ask yourself if your brand is working for your business right now and if it is meeting your business vision.  If you find your brand isn't working anymore, maybe you are ready for a rebrand.  Or maybe, you are a new business and need to create a strong brand?

Are you considering a rebrand? Or have you recently rebranded your business?  How did it go?