Your brand is more than just your business’s name and logo. It’s the overall experience of your customers with your business. Think of the memories you had at a particular McDonald’s, or the moments you remember every time you see an airline logo. Those are precisely what branding aims to express.
As such, your brand needs to be updated periodically, given that trends and technology evolve often. If you started with a generic logo and name years ago, chances are you have gained competitors already, posing threats to your sales and fame.
And of course, updating your brand isn’t just about revamping your name and logo, too. Creative brand designers will refresh your branding according to today’s standards, demands of your market, and such.
Reasons to Update Your Brand
1. The image has outgrown its effectiveness.
If Google stuck to its first logo until today, the search engine would probably never gain the status it currently enjoys. The serif font with fat letters and a hint of shine, plus an exclamation mark at the end, will fall inferior to today’s standard fonts, which are on the minimalist and sans serif side.
In other words, Google’s old logo has already outgrown its effectiveness. The same with Pepsi, Coca-cola, and other brands with logos that have been changed. Think of those as an old pair of shoes; they’ve lost their appeal.
Your logo is your business’s visual identity, so if it’s outdated, then consumers would think that your products and services are outdated as well. Therefore, if your current logo isn’t winning favors anymore, it’s time to refresh them.
2. You Use Generic Visuals
Using a generic logo and name will not set you apart from your competitors. A similar problem to this is using stock visuals on your website or ads. Since you don’t technically own those visuals, consumers will recognize those as stocks images or art, and your competitors may even be using them.
Don’t wait until the generic visuals start to hurt your brand. Overhaul them as soon as you can, and watch yourself stand out from your competitors and in the market.
3. You’re Losing Attention
Part of your branding is your company’s message. It should give your customers a reason to spend their money on your offerings. If the message you started with caused your brand to gain traction, it wouldn’t always stay that way. Over time, when competitors emerge, the allure of your message may fade.
If you’re worried that rebranding will alter your identity, you can avoid that by simply changing your color palette, fonts, logo, and slogan. As long as you stay consistent with your service quality and a new image, the original identity of your business will be maintained but enhanced.
4. Your Mission Has Evolved
As times change, then so do the needs of consumers. Take the current pandemic as an example. Heaps of alcohol, soap, and disinfectant brands changed their missions to fit the crisis. As a result, they maintained their customer base and even gained a lot of new ones despite the declining economy.
5. You’re Saving Your Reputation
Your business can suffer turmoil from just a single bad service. Uber, for instance, was once famed for the excellent convenience and safety it offered to its customers. But after numerous scandals, the ride-hailing app lost favor and trust.
But they’re not anywhere near giving up. They only did a brand overhaul to bounce back stronger. Hence, by all means, you can salvage your business’s good reputation by rebranding.
Note, however, that your rebranding strategy will only work if you stay true to your commitments. Following your business’s makeover, offer enhanced products or services, and pump up your marketing game.