Rebranding your small business can be a great way to breathe new life into your brand and stay relevant in a competitive market. Your signs and graphics play a huge part in shaping your brand’s identity. When done right, they’ll create a lasting impression on your customers.
At FASTSIGNS Leeds, we’re perfectly placed for helping local businesses through the rebranding process. We know how important the visual elements of your business are; that’s why we spend our days helping the businesses of Leeds make their statement with attention-grabbing signs and graphics.
Today, we’re exploring the importance of keeping your visual identity up-to-date and effective, including our top tips for rebranding a small business. Keep reading for more…
The importance of brand identity
When done right, your brand identity goes beyond just a logo or a colour scheme – it sets you apart from your competitors and showcases the core values of your business. A strong brand creates a sense of trust and helps you get repeat business.
Understanding the impact your visual identity has is important when considering a rebrand. A rebrand can be a complex process and there are risks involved, so you need to make sure you’re rebranding for the right reasons.
Why to rebrand
- Your brand identity no longer aligns with your vision and offering. Your business has grown or adapted to the point where your visual identity is not reflective of the services you offer.
- The initial brand was poorly done and is visually unappealing. For smaller businesses, particularly those with a low budget, a lack of resources may have meant that the initial branding was rushed or not done well.
- When undergoing a merger or acquisition. If your business has been acquired or you’re joining forces with another company, a rebrand can help you establish a new, unified visual identity.
- You need to reposition yourself in the market. A rebrand is a great way to target a new demographic, adjust your market positioning and gain a new, competitive edge.
Why not to rebrand
- Boredom with the current brand. When you see your brand every day, you may start to see it as being tired or old. If considering a rebrand, ensure that you’re not making a misguided decision based purely on superficial reasons.
- Slow sales alone. If sales start to dip, it’s natural to panic and begin to look at changes you can make. Ensure you’ve addressed any core business challenges first and always look at your sales and marketing strategies to establish if branding is definitely where you’re going wrong.
- You’ve frequently rebranded in the past. Constantly changing your brand’s visual identity can confuse your customers and make your business look inconsistent and unreliable.
Tips for rebranding a small business
If you’ve carefully weighed up the decision and decided that a rebrand is the right move for your business, we’re here to help. Our signage services include everything from helping with initial ideas to graphic design and installation.
If you need help getting started with your rebrand, here are some of our best tips for rebranding a small business:
Think about the long term
Your brand identity should be built to last. While it might be tempting to incorporate current design trends, always think about the long term when it comes to your logo and other visuals. What’s fashionable today may quickly become dated, so it’s always best to go for a timeless aesthetic that will stand the test of time. Keep scalability in mind here, too. Are you hoping to grow in the future? If so, ensure your branding is adaptable and can accommodate this.
Send a clear message
A rebrand should highlight a clear shift in your brand messaging, so make sure you have a strong justification for rebranding and then showcase that throughout your new visuals. Think about the messages you want to communicate to your audience and then consider how you can effectively carry them through to your branding. Don’t dilute your message with too much information that may confuse your potential customers – simple, clear messaging is much more likely to grab attention.
Keep it consistent
Maintaining brand cohesion is a must if you want to create a memorable visual identity. Your brand should appear the same wherever people see it – from your building signs and any vehicle graphics to your business cards. Avoid multiple variations of your logo and opt for a harmonious colour palette that you stick to. Even something as simple as typography should represent your brand’s personality and be used consistently across all communications.
Check out the competition
Competitor analysis can be extremely valuable. Taking a look at your competitors can help you see what works well and then ensure your brand is hitting industry standards. Analysing the colour schemes and logos of similar businesses not only helps you see what works well in your market, but also ensures you can differentiate yourself accordingly and stand out.
Gather customer feedback
A larger market research project may not be feasible for a small business, but you can still gain valuable insights from everyday conversations with your current customers. Understanding your customer's preferences and hearing their opinions on your current branding is a fantastic first step for a rebrand. It can help you ensure your brand resonates with the people it’s supposed to.
Get an expert involved
For a smaller business, it’s tempting to try to do as much as possible in-house to cut costs. But professional expertise can make a huge difference in the success of your rebranding. Working alongside a skilled designer or agency can prove completely invaluable during the rebranding process. With their deep understanding of branding principles, they’ll be able to evoke emotions and tell a story through strong branding that will potentially last your business a lifetime.
At FASTSIGNS Leeds, we’re also here to help you through your rebranding journey. We can closely collaborate with you after your rebrand to ensure your new look is rolled out accurately and effectively across all your company’s signs and graphics. Our technical know-how will ensure that all your new signage is consistent and of the highest quality – and perfectly represents your new brand.
We know that a well-executed rebrand can help win new customers, impress existing ones and enhance your overall brand reputation. When our dedicated team is involved, we’ll help ensure your rebranding journey is smooth and successful.