Rebrand or Refresh–What’s Best for Your Business?
Rebrand or Refresh–What’s Best for Your Business?
Your brand is your business’s identity. It’s your calling card, and it plays a significant role in how customers perceive you. However, brands can go stale (what doesn’t have a shelf life these days?), which necessitates a little—or big—change in the way you put your business out into the world. Today, we’ll cover the ins and outs of refreshing and rebranding to help you determine which is best for your business.
Why Do You Need It?
There are loads of scenarios that might have you thinking of shaking things up for your business. Maybe your sales are flat or failing and you want to switch up your marketing and look. Perhaps your color palette was pretty in the 90s, but not so much anymore. Or there’s always the possibility that your business vision has changed since you opened your doors, and it’s time for an alignment. Has your audience changed? Reassess your new clientele and focus on branding that’s geared toward them.
What’s the Difference?
A brand refresh and total rebrand might seem synonymous, but the two couldn’t be further from each other. Think of the terms this way: a brand “refresh” is like a minor business makeover, like adding a fresh coat of paint and updating your logo; a “rebrand” is basically taking your business down to the studs and starting again. One is less risky, the other is extreme. But both have their place. Which one is right for your business? You’ll want to research how customers see your business, how the market views your industry, and learn what you need to do in order to appeal to the masses.
How to Refresh
A brand refresh is typically a cosmetic undertaking. Think new paint/color schemes, an updated logo, or new tagline. You can even consider adding new services, such as delivery options or in-store pick-up. With a refresh, the “bones” of what your customers love about your business remain unchanged, which makes this option inherently less risky.
How to Rebrand
Taking the leap into a rebrand is generally necessary if you’ve determined your position in the marketplace needs a serious overhaul. Yes, your rebrand will likely include topical updates like paint, logos, and taglines. But you’ll also need to revisit essentially everything that makes your business what it is right now. Think of it as hitting the restart button. Research is critical, as is creating a brand-new value proposition. You’ll also need to be okay with the fact that you’re leaving behind most of the things that got your business where it is. This includes your marketing materials and maybe even your business name. When you’re ready to emerge with your new rebrand, you’ll want to have a solid marketing strategy to communicate what your business is all about now.
Taking a step back to reevaluate your brand identity can really pay for itself in the long run. Until then, be sure you’re set with the cash you need to truly make a difference with your marketing scheme. A loan from ARF Financial is not only one of the easiest, quickest small business loans available, but it’s also backed by personal loan consultants with decades of experience between them. We’ll help you every step of the way to determine the perfect product for your business. A no-risk offer takes just minutes to fill out online. And funding? We can get you set with a cash injection in a matter of days. Stop by to learn more!