Perhaps you've been eyeing your company's branding lately and wondering if it's time to shake things up. Before you sound that Request for Proposal Alarm and start your search for the best brand designers, studios and agencies, here are three crucial conversations to have with your team. By doing your homework first, you'll be sure to set yourself and your chosen brand wizards up for success!
This phrase gets bandied about a bunch and here's all it means: Who are you, really? What values and beliefs define your business? Understanding your brand's essence will serve as the North Star guiding your rebranding journey.
Consider conducting a brand audit with your team to assess your current messaging, visuals, and customer perception. Here are some questions to get you started:
1. What is the current tone of your marketing and communications? Review your website copy, marketing emails and social media channels. Get team members from a variety of disciplines throughout your organization to weigh in on words they would use to describe the overall tone, such as friendly, knowledgeable or professional.
2. Who is your target audience? Beyond just the industries and verticals you serve, who is your ideal client? What do they do for a living? Does your brand align with your target audience's preferences and aspirations? It's time to uncover the soul of your brand and give it the love it deserves!
3. What visual assets—logo(s), iconography, color palette, font choices, photos and other imagery—are currently connected to your brand? What feelings do they evoke? Do you want to start from scratch, or iterate on your existing logo?
Once you do select the team that will be handling your rebrand, you'll likely first go through a Discovery Phase. You'll get to explore your ideal brand voice, and from there, how to convey it in the most distinct and deliberate way possible. Coming to the table with a solid grasp on who you are and where you'd like to go is the ultimate setup for success, for all parties involved.
Explore trends in your industry, analyze your competitors' strategies, and keep an eye on emerging design and digital marketing techniques.
To pull back the curtain, some things we always ask clients in the Discovery Phase is what competitor websites and logos they like, which ones they don't, and why. Then we dig a little deeper into that competitive analysis to suss out the secret sauce that may be giving others in your industry an edge.
Get cozy with the latest buzzwords that matter most to your prospects and peers. Immerse yourself in online communities and forums where industry professionals gather to exchange insights and tips. The more you know, the more informed decisions you'll make during your rebranding process.
Savvy sea captains would never go sailing without a compass—you might end up somewhere you didn't intend. Take the time to develop a robust plan that outlines your goals, target audience, messaging, and touchpoints across various channels.What made you consider a rebrand in the first place? Are there new organizational goals, or have you consistently missed the mark in a certain area of your business? How will you define success and, more importantly, measure it?
"I want new branding" is not a strategy. "I want a brand voice and digital content strategy that speaks to technology executives in the medical equipment industry so that we can reach 1,000 new prospects and set 100 meetings each month" is a more sea-worthy course to plot.
Know what you hope to improve, and develop targeted metrics to guide the way. A rebrand is never just a new logo—it's the process of reimagining the way you tell your story, and infusing that tale with actionable steps at every turn.
At last, it's time to rev your search engines and open up your inbox to professionals who specialize in branding, graphic design, web design, and digital strategy. Be picky! In this digital age you don't have to limit yourself geographically, so have a little fun exploring the world wide web for designers that match your vibe, industry, or overall aesthetic.
Remember, rebranding is about breathing new life into your business, establishing a strong connection with your target audience, and embracing the future with confidence.
Here's to your success and a future that's brimming with better prospects and the best clients!
