How to prepare for your rebrand
You did it. You’ve made the decision it’s time to rebrand. Now what? You wouldn’t dive into a new business without some kind of plan or research. The same goes for a rebrand. At the bottom of what can feel like a big hill to climb, it’s good to have a game plan.
I’m going to take you through just a few examples of what you can do to help yourself and your brand consultant pull off the most successful rebrand possible for your business.
Make sure your business strategy is up to date.
Before you go to your brand consultant, it’s a good idea to revisit your business plan. Have there been any major strategic changes to the way you do business? This will all influence what you and your brand consultant see for the future of your brand. Has your market or audience changed? Your old brand might not be speaking to the right people anymore. Go into your rebrand clear on what your business goals are. That will spark a discussion with your consultant about what matters to you and how they can incorporate that into your new brand.
Bringing examples of your work also gives your consultant a good idea of the history of your business. They can begin to understand where you’ve come from and where you’re going and how you’ve changed in between. You can then start to build a brand that compliments this journey and helps drive you towards your future goals.
Gather feedback from customers and colleagues.
Your interpretation of your brand may be starkly different to your customers or your colleagues. Before you dive into your rebrand, ask around for some feedback. What’s working? What’s not working so well? You can ask this of your customers but also your team (they may be outsourced or they may be in house employees, it’s important for these people to be part of the process too).
This process will give you a good idea of what kind of audience your brand is currently attracting. From there, you’ll be able to see whether this is the audience you really want or whether you need to shift your positioning going forward.
When you sit down with your brand consultant, you’ll have a solid idea of what the bigger picture looks like; what you want to hold on to and what you can afford to evolve or let go of.
Be clear on what you’re offering.
Now is a brilliant opportunity to really clarify your services. When we start out in business, we do a lot of quick adapting and it’s not always reflective of the direction we want to go in the future. You can think of your rebrand as a clean slate. A chance to refine what it is you want to offer and how you’re going to offer it.
It also means your brand consultant can get to know you inside and out. If they don’t understand what your business actually does, how can they begin to create something that’s truly reflective of you?
Your rebrand should be a collaboration. You bring the ingredients, your brand consultant can start cooking. Together, by the end of the project, you should have something that excites you and is the perfect picture of you and what your business stands for.
If you’re ready to start your rebrand journey, book a virtual brew and we can chat about the best way to approach it.