4 Questions To Help You Identify If It’s Time For A Rebrand For Your Business

Contributed by Packlane.

Oh boy, a rebrand. When you’re as invested in your business as we are, it can be tempting to keep tinkering – but don’t be fooled, a full rebrand is an arduous undertaking. You want it to be beautifully and tastefully done, yet you don’t want it to alienate your customers by feeling totally foreign. So before you take the dive into the branding deep-end and wade through the thousands of fonts and colors at your disposal, stop and ask yourself these key questions. They may help you avoid the project all together, or they might just make you get even more excited about the possibility.

1. Does your branding still match what you do and what you value?

Say you started out selling mattresses. But then you expanded into pillows, and sheets and maybe from there, you started offering dressers and bedside tables. Suddenly, “Miracle Mattress Imporium” is no longer a name that suits your brand and a tagline about getting a good night’s sleep no longer explains your values. If your company has evolved – whether it’s due to growing locations, growing inventory, or a change in core values – it may be time for a rebrand.

2. Does your aesthetic feel dated?

Pantone’s Color of the Year is proof that changes in style are constant. And much like a 70s shag rug or avocado armchair, your brand may be starting to show its age. Of course, there are some classic typefaces that have weathered the trends but they may not be unique enough to differentiate your brand. If your font is starting to resemble something out of a 90s hacker movie or your color scheme is no longer as hip as it once was, it may be time to consider a rebrand (or, at the very least, a refresh). This is something worth evaluating every 10 years to ensure you don’t fall back on the times and start to lose your audience.

3. How do you feel about your customers’ current views of your business?

First things first – do your customers quickly understand who you are and what you do from your current brand? Instant recognition can be an invaluable attribute, so be wary of changing a brand that your customers already know and love. Try to gather as much information as possible from both old and new customers, as well as ask people who aren’t familiar with your brand what their first impression is. If they find your branding confusing or you don’t agree with their impression, it might be time to consider a rebrand. Same thing goes for situations where your business has been plagued with bad press. Changing your look may be just what you need to escape negative connotations.

4. Are you doing this for the right reasons?

This question is designed to ensure you aren’t trying to fix something that isn’t broken. Try writing down three solid reasons for a rebrand and what you hope to accomplish. If all you can come up with is ‘because I’m bored,’ you may not need to go through the huge undertaking that is a rebrand. Some examples of valid reasons include: “I need to start resonating with a new audience” or “A competitor’s branding is too similar to mine and I need to differentiate my business.” or “I have to increase my pricing and need a brand that matches the new cost structure.” If you have a least one big reason to make the change, or three smaller yet still important ones, then consider that the green light on a rebrand.

Not only will answering these questions help you decide on whether or not to rebrand, they’ll also help form the base of a creative brief if you find out the answer is “Yes.” Never start a rebrand without a clear vision in mind. Also, try to identify the key players in your rebrand early on. The more people you have deciding on your brand’s future, the more difficult it can be to come up with a smart and simple solution (i.e. the old “too many cooks in the kitchen” adage).

Don’t be disappointed if the answer is “no.” The idea of a rebrand can be exciting, but it is also one of the most difficult things your business will go through. If you decide you don’t need one, it means your customers are happy and business is good.

At Packlane, we see a lot of companies go through this process as they design and redesign their packaging. One final word of advice, is to consider how your brand will look across all platforms – from website to social to when the physical item arrives in the mail. You want a brand that grows as you grow, and that means having the flexibility to show off your business’s unique style at every turn – and know that both you and your customers will love it.

Packlane is an online packaging company that makes it possible for e-commerce businesses to promote their brand by offering an affordable solution for designing and printing custom packaging online. To help get you started, Retail Minded users get 10% off their first order at Packlane. 

Photo Credit: Image provided by Packlane with permission to use.