Rebranding allows you to align your visual identity to your brand values and ensure that your brand strategy actually matches your business goals and relates to your mission, allowing your business to portray the correct message to consumers.
Branding is an integral component of your business. It allows (potential) customers to connect with your brand, and for you to leave a memorable impression in their minds. But when or why should you rebrand?
1. Your marketing mix has changed.
It is important that your branding and brand strategy reflect your marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion), so if this changes it may be time to reassess these. For example, if you’re a discount retailer and decide to tap into the luxury market, you’ll need to reassess your brand and how it resonates with your target audience. Similarly, if you were a local electrician who has decided to branch out nationally, your brand might also need to change.
It is vital that your brand conveys what you intend it to and that the internal and external components of your business align to create a cohesive brand that just makes sense. Rebranding when you have made significant changes to your marketing mix helps to inform your audience about the changes and lets them know that they can expect something new from you.
2. Your brand strategy isn’t helping you to achieve your objectives.
It is important that what is outlined in your brand strategy resonates with potential customers and helps you to build favourability within your chosen market(s). If your current brand strategy isn’t meeting your objectives or contributing towards achieving your long-term business goal, you may need to consider a rebrand.
3. You’re not standing out in your market.
Your logo is a tangible asset of your company, along with your website and product. Logos are an identifier of your brand – whether it’s Apple, Pepsi or Spotify, their simple logos help them to stand out, and are crucial for brand perception and recognition. So, another reason to rebrand may be that you have entered a new market or that your market has become highly saturated, motivating a rebrand to make your brand unique, memorable and easily recognisable from the competition.
4. Your brand assets are out of date.
Today, brands are in abundance, which is why simple logos are often more eye-catching. Because of this, simple logos improve brand recognition, contributing to an increase in brand recommendations. So, if your logo is too detailed it may be time to give it a refresh.
5. You lack consistency across your brand assets.
You may have various components of a brand but lack brand guidelines, causing a lack of consistency across activation points, especially if multiple people have access to your website. A website rebrand can create for you a set of brand guidelines and a brand strategy to follow that can be applied to all applications. Brand guidelines include set typography, imagery, colour palette and logos, among other elements, that your brand can use. They also explain exactly when and where you should use each. Following your guidelines also increases brand recognition as people can quickly associate all of your assets to your brand.
6. You have a logo, not a logo suite.
It is important that your brand has a logo suite, not just a logo. A logo suite involves variations on your logo, such as a primary logo, secondary logo, wordmark and logo mark. It is necessary to have variations to ensure there is a suitable asset for each application. For example, a social media profile photo would suit a logo mark as this would be the most legible asset, but a document header might opt for a wordmark.
In summary, there are many reasons why a business might rebrand, whether it’s brand modernisation or repositioning- but when done well, a website rebrand can be hugely impactful.
Need help with your website rebrand or creating your brand identity? Contact us at Berlew, a brand studio and graphic design agency based in Nottingham, which has over 10 years experience in creating compelling brands that drive success and growth. See how we did it for one of our clients, Mashworth Services, here: https://berlew.co.uk/new-local-website-mashworth-services/