If you are looking into rebranding, but don’t know where to start, don’t worry. Keep these helpful tips in mind to take your company to the next level.

Change Is Good

For better or for worse, nothing ever really goes away on the internet. Everything we say, post, write, or share, exists somewhere in some digital archive, hard drive, or server. This can make the changes that come with rebranding seem difficult to achieve.

After all, how can you get your brand past a label it’s been given, it’s function, or a bad public image when that past is a click away?

The answer is through rebranding.

The Purpose of Rebranding

Rebranding repositions your business. Likewise, it changes how your business is thought about, talked about, and maybe even what it does or offers. Business owners often undertake this to better serve their audience as it changes. Sometimes they even do it to attract a whole new crowd.

This can be done in a few ways, ranging from large to small changes. While something as simple as changing the signature color of your business might seem small, it can have big impacts. That signature color can help improve your brand recognition by up to 80%.

Rebranding can involve one, or all of these options. It all depends on what would best serve your business. So, a rebrand can involve changing:

• Visual design
• Brand philosophy
• Function
• Offerings
• Brand Personality

SEE ALSO: Is Your Brand a Trick or Treat?

A High Tech Edge

Each approach involves different strategies and tactics. Some brands are choosing focus on marketing automation. Digital marketing technologies are advancing all the time, and being aware of these updates can be critical for your business.

Automation can help a business stay ahead of the curve when it is used correctly. It can make things more efficient by taking smaller tasks that come with marketing out of your hands. Therefore, this can allow you to focus on more important aspects of marketing.

Is it Time to Rebrand?

You might be wondering if it is time change or narrow your focus to better suit your business. It just might be, if you feel that:

• Your business changing its function will attract more or higher quality customers
• Narrowing your focus will lead to more effective promotion
• The function of your business has become outdated
• The market your business is in is oversaturated
• The reputation of your business needs a fresh start

Communicating Brand Values

People no longer want to shop with faceless companies, but do business with brands who reflect their values. In fact, a brand looking and feeling consistent to consumers across platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. If your rebranding efforts involve targeting millennials and Gen Z, it is especially important that your brand reflect their values.

Changing the Function of your Business

This type of rebrand presents its challenges, especially if it involves severe changes. A slight change or refocus might be relatively seamless, but a complete overhaul can be messy. For instance, more in-depth rebrands can include:

• Changing your entire function
• Replacing staff
• Dropping clients

Focusing on Design

This type of rebrand is less severe but still can involve its challenges. However, if done right, it will be much simpler to accomplish. If your brand has been using the same visual elements to market itself for years, then it is definitely time for a change. Even McDonald’s has changed their branding and visual elements over the years. They have recently embraced McCafe as part of it.

Rebranding through design can involve changing your colors, fonts, logo, and graphics. Also, if you do not have a brand style guide yet, it is time to invest in one.

SEE ALSO: 10 Graphic Design Rules You Should Never Break

When to Change the Design of your Business

Rebranding just for the sake of rebranding is never a good idea. Your rebrand must have focus and purpose to truly be effective. Here are some common reasons why businesses opt for visual rebrands.

• A business changes their function and needs visual elements to match
• Your logo and branded design elements are dated
• Your current brand needs a reputation redo

In the age of the internet and digital branding, visuals are incredibly important. If your website has a high bounce rate, it might just come down to how your visual branding is expressed on your website. Research indicates that 38% of users will opt to stop using a business’s webpage if it looks unattractive.

Rebranding in Action

After deciding how and why you want to rebrand, then it is time to start taking the steps to do so. A big part of rebranding is making sure that your audience and company are on the same page.

Make Sure Your Audience Understands

After you decide how and why you want to rebrand, and which aspects of your company you want to spruce up or change entirely, the work really begins. Next, you need to have a cohesive marketing plan to put into practice. This will help both your new and old audiences understand why you made the changes and who you are.

You might find that some people are resistant to this change. However, you have to be confident in it anyway. One big way to make things smoother is to make sure you communicate the changes across any and all platforms your business is active on. For every business, this will be different. It can include your website, social media accounts, magazines, and blogs.

SEE ALSO: Why Brands Are Moving to Instagram

Branding from the Outside In

While it is important to communicate those big changes from without, don’t ignore your business from within. Outgoing communications and marketing need to be consistent, and they only can be if you have taken the right steps. Internal processes and procedures should line up with your new brand messaging.

If your brand is doing something new on any level, the company’s infrastructure, employees, and operation need to be a part of it. They need to know what exactly is being altered and how that effects what they need to do. This will help to make your rebrand efficient and consistent.

The Many Benefits of Rebranding

Rebrands can work on multiple levels and no two rebrands or the same. It all depends on the needs and goals of the business involved. It can involve a new logo, a total visual rebrand, or even a complete overhaul of a business. Not every business needs each and every aspect, which is why this idea needs to be approached with clever care.

Blindly stepping into rebrands is never a good idea. Therefore, they must be thoughtful and appropriate for each situation. Rebrands can occur on a large or small scale, but when approached as part of a marketing strategy, even the smallest changes can work wonders for a business.

Whether you are dealing with a decade old logo, slow growth, unsatisfactory reach, or reputation issues, rebranding is definitely something to consider. It can help to revitalize brands, whether they are struggling or just need some sprucing up.

What elements do you think are most important when it comes to rebranding? Comment below…