You’re riding the momentum – your business has evolved so much, your offers are better than ever, you finally figured out who the clients are that will get you excited to start the day. Congrats! It’s such an important time in your business.
You’re now finding that the brand you have in the wild doesn’t exactly align with where your business is at this stage and a rebrand has been on your mind.
Exciting work is ahead.
But, before you start vetting branding companies let’s pump the breaks for just a second and talk about what you need to know before you start having conversations with experts who seem like a good fit.
The last thing you want to do is head into a big project and investment without being fully prepared and there’s a lot to consider when rebranding your business that people don’t talk about enough.
Consider this your comprehensive rebrand prep guide. Let’s dive in.
Visualizing Your Brand Vision: The Future State Of Business
There is no way you’ll be able to uplevel your business unless you know what the future version of your vision looks like. And this can’t be ambiguous, like “I want my business to make people’s lives better.” You need to get specific about the details of what that vision is.
What do you want to accomplish, through your vision, that will make an impact, specifically?
For every business intention, use SMART goals.
- Specific (what are want to accomplish)
- Measurable (your big goal numbers for impact)
- Attainable (realistic to implement)
- Relevant (how it relates to the work you do)
- Time-bound (when you envision reaching this goal)
Your business is focused on not only income but bringing profit and purpose together to create True Impact. But, what does that mean to you? Are you able to get specific enough to set an impact goal for yourself?
Here’s how to identify your True Impact Goal:
- Determine WHO you can create impact for (and how many!).
- Determine WHAT they need to be impacted.
- Determine HOW you can uniquely create impact for them with the gifts you have.
- Determine WHEN your impact goal will be reached.
- Determine WHY it matters so much to you and those you’re impacting.
For example, a popular networking group decides they want to help 1 million entrepreneurial women earn 1 million dollars by 2030 through the power of a global community so women can achieve better wealth equity.
Take yourself through this exercise before you start talking to experts about a rebrand so that you’re going into the project with a clear vision of what you want for your business.
Offer Clarity + Offer Suite Strategy
Most of the time when businesses decide it’s time to rebrand, they’ve already been doing work around their offer suite and strategy. But, not always.
You may not even know your offer suite is something you’ll want to share with your brand strategists moving forward.
Having clearly defined offers, descriptions, pricing structures, and knowing who each is for is going to help your brand strategist position your brand well. Not only can your brand strategist define your company’s core brand value statement and unique selling proposition, but your offer suite can also be well positioned, with individual branding for each offer that aligns with the overall brand.
But, if you can’t explain clearly the value behind each offer or who it’s for, it’s going to be difficult for your brand strategist to develop clear and powerful branding for your overall brand and each element.
Take the time to outline your offers – or work with an offer suite specialist who can help you.
Business Strategy + Goals
This one may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many company decision-makers hire brand strategists without even thinking about sharing this information over to them.
There may be parts of your business strategy and goals you’re hesitant to share with your branding team – and that’s understandable. But, doing so will give your team a more comprehensive understanding of where you see the business going and how they can help position you in your marketplace to ensure you get there.
The business strategy, particularly the go-to-market strategy and revenue goals, will also inform your brand strategists of how the brand will need to be implemented after the rebranding project.
After every rebrand, there’s an implementation phase and it’s easy to forget to plan the execution work that will come after. More on that later.
Brand Strategies To Prioritize
There are some steps in the branding process that should be key focus areas:
- Market, client, and brand research. An understanding of your brand’s personality and values combined with client intelligence will help your team bridge the gap between company and client.
- Brand identity, including positioning statements and frameworks. Your company needs to be able to present an image that is true to your vision and values, while positioning your brand to stand out and get noticed.
- Audience persona creation. It’s important to have a detailed persona for each key audience segment you serve with your offers so you know what they care about, what their goals are, what their struggles are, and what will help them make a decision.
- Key brand messaging. You will need key messaging you can use over and over so people connect with you, remember you, and build consistent trust with your brand.
- Overarching marketing strategy. While you will need detailed marketing campaigns and plans, in the branding process, it’s important to know what your overarching strategy is so you know how to show up on the platforms you’ll be present on, whether that is online or in a room with people.
- Visual brand identity development. Your visual brand identity should be connected to your core brand identity. There needs to be alignment between who you are, what you care about, and the visual representation of those things.
- Brand style guide. After all above elements have been clearly articulated and developed, you’ll want a central guide so you and your team can keep your brand centered to your core identity and cohesively aligned, consistently.
- Launch and implementation strategy. A rebrand is a big undertaking, but it can be exciting and fun for your whole team. Once you have your new branding developed, you don’t want to worry about how to transition or launch it. Make sure you are working with a team that gives you a launch plan and the resources you need to share your new branding with your audience.
Many agencies and consultants miss the mark somewhere along the way and most don’t include all these core elements. Before you invest in a rebranding project, you’ll want to ensure you understand what is included, what the process will look like, and what the deliverables will be.
Brand Photography Coordination
As your business undergoes the rebranding process, you’ll likely want new branded photography that aligns with the vibe, voice, and vision.
The tricky part is knowing when to get new brand photography, right?
We find that it is helpful to rebrand the business first since your brand style guide should give you everything you need to know what direction your business’s presence is going to take.
But, it can also be helpful to get new photography while undergoing your rebranding process.
Once you’ve established new branding or have begun the process, your brand strategists can collaborate with your photographer by creating a brand brief to guide the direction of the photoshoot and ensure you have plenty of variety in your photo library as you prepare to implement your new brand.
Execution: What Happens After Your Rebrand
Once you have your new branding established, it’s going to be time to build in the background and prepare to release it to the world. Not only that but long after your launch you’re going to need to be able to execute on your new brand with consistency to maintain alignment and professionalism in your presence.
Typically, the first project we do with clients after a rebrand is a new website or revamped website if one exists. Since your website is your business’s digital home and where most people will go to get information needed to make decisions about investing, this is the most crucial asset to focus on next.
You’ll also want to update other business presence assets and platforms like:
- Client management software
- Email service provider platforms
- Social media profiles
- Business cards
- Print marketing assets if you use them
- Campaigns, funnels, and opt-ins
- Media or info kits
Every business uses different management and promotional tools so there are endless execution possibilities. Focus on the client and prospect-facing assets first and build the others in the background as you go.
The right branding team can help you implement your new brand with ease.
Budgeting For Your Rebrand
The one thing every decision-maker wants to know: cost. It’s difficult to give guidance on rebranding costs for most because there are no standard baseline budgets – rebranding can be very customized to your company profile. Additionally, there are different levels and environments for rebranding firms, just like any type of brand.
Just like there are low-cost product options (think clothing or appliances) for the budget-minded who don’t mind sacrificing quality, there are high-end options for those who want a high standard of excellence and personal experience – and everything in between.
But, for most impact-focused small businesses a rebrand is an investment in your business that will help you grow and reach your goals. Remember, you get what you invest in and you have to know what’s important to you when seeking out support for your next big rebrand.
But, what you’ll also need to consider are the execution initiatives you’ll need after the rebrand – photography, website, marketing asset, campaigns, etc.
A company looking to completely overhaul their company’s presence can expect to invest a reasonable amount of revenue on the entirety of the priorities needed when rebranding.
It’s important to work with specialists who will be upfront about the costs involved in your project, can ensure to stay in scope and on budget, and will help you project plan your investments.
Considering Rebranding Timelines
Just like budget, the timing of rebrands is difficult to give guidance on because every agency has its own process. Some rebrands can take as little as a day or two (mostly minor brand refreshes) or as much as 3-6 months (typically larger agencies who work with more corporate clients).
Our Brandividuation process is 8 weeks long with clear milestones and meeting expectations.
Going into a conversation with potential branding partners with an open mind and reasonable expectations will help you set realistic goals for your business.
Make sure that you understand their process, timelines, the scope of work, and billing processes before agreeing to initiate a formal relationship.
