Your brand is not just your logo. Done well, it’s the most valuable asset you have. We’ve collected the most common signs that your brand isn’t working. Do any of these resonate? If so, you could be in need of a rebrand.
You find it difficult to create content
A major aspect of your brand is what you look like. This is not just your logo, but your graphic design, imagery style and copywriting. Taking the time to get it right and maintaining your identity are vital for awareness, but also make producing content so much easier.
Without brand guidelines, every time you put pen to paper, you have to decide what to look and sound like. Especially if you have a large team, a lack of guidance often results in communications being confused. A good rebrand will include applications for your major channels, whether it’s a landing page, social content or flyers. With templates and guidelines in place, making content is a breeze for whoever is creating it.
People don’t know what you do
The first thing any organisation needs to define is what they are setting out to do. It’s much harder than it sounds, especially when you are concentrating on business operations rather than comms. At the start of any branding project, we always clarify what your aims are, who you are speaking to, and what is going to make them do what you are hoping they do.
Once you’ve got it right, you’ll be surprised how much easier it is to sell your product or service, even when describing your business down the pub. Another thing that’s great about rebranding is that, once it’s done, you’ll have a perfect opportunity to connect again with all your contacts and show off your new identity.
You’re not making enough money/donations
By honing the vision, values, and personality of your organisation, you create a brand that motivates staff and inspires customers. Many factors make up your organisation’s story, and a good rebrand will bring them all together. Combining this compelling messaging with great design will lead to more conversions. In fact, it’s been found that companies with clear narratives perform 20% better than companies with weak ones.
Another important benefit of a rebrand is that it gives you the opportunity to research your competitors and industry developments. This is vital for any business, especially today when opinions and trends are always shifting.
It may seem like a large investment of both time and money, but when you consider the costs of staying still, the question is can you afford not to rebrand?
Your website looks like it’s from the early internet
There’s no excuse for a site that looks like it’s a portal to the 1990s. Your website is the home of your brand, and often the first place customers find you. But web users behave very differently than IRL, and there is a whole science dedicated to making them do what you want them to do. Depending on your product, you may not need the full UX treatment, but your website design should follow tried and tested rules.
As a rough guide, if you have multiple drop down menus and loads of differing messages on a page – you’re doing it wrong.
You have low or no social media interaction
Are you posting to your channels and receiving nothing back? It sucks. Social media, whether you think it’s a blessing or a menace, is vital for business today. It may be time-consuming, but gathering a community online gives you fantastic insight and access to your audience.
Since your branding includes how you look and what you say, this definitely extends to your social media presence. Do you need to look cool to the kids? Or come across as an expert in your field? Once this is defined, you need to create social media guidelines that attract the right people. No one is going to follow an account that fires out marketing posts. Follow relevant accounts, @ thought leaders and encourage conversation. If you are interesting and interested, people will come. We’ll be posting social media masterclasses soon, and if you need help with your social strategy, get in touch.
No one wants to partner with you
Collaborations and partnerships give businesses a fantastic opportunity to reach a much wider audience. You may do amazing work that gets the attention of impressive organisations, but if your branding is off they aren’t going to want to align with you. A strong identity is a real pull for potential partners. If it’s stopping you from growing and making connections, a rebrand is an absolute must.
Your staff don’t tend to mention where they work…
According to a recent study, happy staff are 20% more productive than unhappy staff. The people helping you run your business are what makes it, and your brand identity can contribute to morale. There’s tonnes of positive PR to be gained from staff members waxing lyrical about how much they love their job. But if your website is old or your messaging confused, no one is going to want to be associated publicly.
A good rebrand involves all your stakeholders, including your staff. They know the business inside out, and will provide priceless insight that can be incorporated into your new identity. Our rebranding workshops involve the whole team, and you’ll be surprised how implementing their ideas leads to a sense of pride.
Feeling convinced? We can delve into your organisation and help create a brand that works. Take your business to the next level – get in touch.
Good Beans is an ethical marketing and communications agency working with social enterprises, charities and organisations that want to be better. Want to reach more people? Contact us.