Why strong branding matters
Whether you’re an ambitious startup or an established business looking for new opportunities, strong branding can inspire customers and capture their attention. From your products and services to your mission and brand voice, your visual identity and shared content reflect your identity and values.
A brand is more than a logo and color palette. It’s how your organization is perceived by your current and potential customers. Effective branding can have a huge impact when it comes to attracting new customers, increasing loyalty, and distinguishing your business from the competition.
Brands are not static, if they don’t evolve, they get abandoned
It is good practice to regularly revisit your brand strategy in order to stay up-to-date. Some highly competitive brands update their image every 2-3 years. If your current branding is still aligned with your goals and resonates with your audience your strategy is on target. However, if your business isn’t attracting the right clientele, it’s time to update your brand.
Brand updates don’t need to be drastic to be effective
A brand refresh takes elements that already exist, such as your logo, visual identity, and website, and reimagines them. Brand updates allow you to preserve the integrity of your brand while making it more relevant to a wider audience. This refresh lets you adjust to current trends while showcasing that your business is modern and relevant.
Done right, a brand update can:
- Revitalize your brand
- Reshape customer perception
- Maintain position in an evolving market
- Set your brand apart from the competition
Several factors can contribute to your brand needing an update
We’re living in a time of rapid and dramatic change across every industry. Whole categories are constantly disrupted by innovative technologies, and new platforms allow brands to reach consumers in new ways.
1. Your organization has grown
The culture of a small company with a few dozen employees will inevitably change as it scales. Ideally, company culture should harmonize with your brand.
Your brand’s mission helps to define what you hope to achieve and how you plan to achieve it. Your brand vision captures the fundamental ideals that drive your business toward those goals. However, it’s easy for your mission and vision to become outdated over time as your business pivots or expands based on market forces.
A brand refresh will ensure that your company culture and core identity are aligned and everyone is striving for the same goals.
2. Industry Competition
In highly competitive spaces, it’s important for a brand to look for ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Do your brand guidelines give you the tools necessary to stand out from the competition? Have competitors recently updated their brands to reflect changes in the market?
Using similar colors, logos, and voice as your competitors makes it difficult for potential customers to remember your brand. Defining what sets you apart keeps you from getting lost in a sea of sameness, and any updates should reflect how your brand differs from the rest of the market.
3. Your business objectives have changed
Take some time to evaluate whether your existing brand still accurately reflects the products and services you currently offer or if it might need some updating to account for the evolution of your business.
If your goals or target market have shifted, has your brand kept up? Are you using a different visual style in your social media messaging from what’s presented on your website? If so, it’s time for a brand refresh.
Cohesion in brand voice, imagery, and logos is essential for brand recognition. Clients feel confident with brands that are consistent. Your website and social media accounts are usually the first touch points people have with your brand and if the first impression of potential new clients are neglected or disjointed accounts, that can signal your business isn’t professional.
4. Your target audience has changed
As consumer tastes and preferences change with time, it’s possible that the assumptions made in developing your brand may not hold true today. Consumers’ decision-making processes may change, and their content consumption habits constantly evolve as modern technologies emerge.
To stay up-to-date you need to evaluate how your brand is perceived by your customers and meet their expectations on a regular basis. If your core identity has fallen out of alignment with your customer’s needs, then it’s time for a refresh.
Keep your brand top of mind with your customers
Think of a brand refresh as an investment in your company’s future. It’s a chance to take your business to the next level.
Brand updates can evolve a core identity into something that more accurately reflects your brand. Sometimes this is as simple as refreshing your logo and color palettes, or re-evaluating website content to refine your offering.
Ultimately it’s about re-defining your brand clearly and cohesively with comprehensive brand guidelines, giving your brand a playbook on how to interact with customers at every touchpoint.
If you’re ready to refresh your brand, we’re here to help. Get in touch with us to discuss your brand refresh today.