There are so many things in your business that can compete for your attention on a daily basis.  That’s why it’s a great idea to step back and take stock every once in awhile to ensure your brand is on the right track, is still engaging your target audience, and is aligned with the strategy you originally set.

As your business grows, your brand evolves and you’ll find yourself wanting to do some updating.  How do you know when and if you need to do a full “rebrand” versus a “brand refresh?” 

The extent of the updates you want to do and the reasons behind them help inform whether your business needs a rebrand or simply a refresh.

 REBRANDING

Rebranding is a bigger overhaul of your brand’s image and direction.  Here are some reasons to rebrand:

• You’ve had some bad PR and need a full image update in order to reestablish trust with your audience

• You’re pivoting to serve an entirely new audience

• Your market has changed drastically and you need to re-position your business to stand out amongst saturation and top competitors

• If your current branding isn’t working or landing with your ideal audience

BRAND REFRESH 

When do you know it’s just a brand refresh you need?  These are simpler updates you’ll want to make from time to time for your business, that may include one or more of the following:

• Updating the look, feel and style of your brand to keep up with the times and ensure it continues to resonate with your audience.  This can be logo, color palette, and font updates and even fresh brand photography

• You’re pivoting your message as you discover more about your audience and uncover more details and specifics that will help you resonate better

• You’re updating your “Suite of Solutions” – these are your offers and what helps your audience grow, overcome challenges and achieve goals

• You’re narrowing your focus or going next level and need to update your mission and vision for your brand accordingly

• Expanding your brand to deliver a more comprehensive and unforgettable client experience

BUILDING FROM SCRATCH

Some entrepreneurs and small businesses have been so focused from the outset to make the money they need to grow (nothing wrong with that), but it means they haven’t yet set aside the time to actually build a brand and create a strategy.  Assess where you are right now, and based on everything described above decide:

1. Do you have an established brand that needs a bigger overhaul and updating with a rebrand?

2. Are you pivoting your brand to update your messaging, offers, style and/or experience with a refresh?

3. Or, have you been in business but perhaps skipped the branding step and need to simply define your brand and build your brand strategy starting now?

The good news is that whichever situation you find yourself in, going through the steps to define, build, refresh or rebrand your business are similar!   It’s going back to your brand strategy foundation, taking a look at all the elements that make up your strategy to position your brand and create messaging, content, resources and offers that deliver on your brand promise and serve your audience well.

This is exactly what we work on together in The Brandpolish Academy.  It’s a program meant to help entrepreneurs, like you, build a clear and cohesive brand strategy to attract your dream clients and grow a business you absolutely love.

If you’re ready to update your brand strategy, or create it from scratch, The Brandpolish Academy can help you do that!  Just ask Jess – one of my graduates who went from unclear and unfocused to a dialed in niche and messaging to grow a 6-figure business.  Read Jess’ Case Study here.

And if you’d like to be first in line to know when the doors open to The Brandpolish Academy next, get on the waitlist where you’ll receive special early access as well as bonuses (hint, hint, doors are cracking open sometime in February!).