One of my favorite ways to simplify what exactly the word “brand” means is by explaining that it’s what people would say about you (or your company), when you’re not in the room.  Your brand ultimately boils down to customer perception…how have you marketed your brand and what do your customers think of you because of what you’ve made them believe is true about you? When it’s put in that context, people are always saying “mind = blown”. It’s so simple right!? You attract and repel clients with what you put out there (thanks for putting that into my head so long ago, Jasmine Star ; ).

But what if you’ve come to the conclusion that what your brand is saying is in fact not what you want it to say anymore?  There will come a time in every company’s lifespan where refreshing the brand or starting over with something new completely will inevitably be the case.  So how do you know it’s time? Here are five signs that it’s time for a rebrand!

• Your brand strategy or vision has changed, or you’ve just outgrown it.

The longer a company is in business, the more changes they will live through. Sometimes, those changes aren’t great, but the direction of the company has changed just enough, the only option is a rebrand. On the flip-side, sometimes those changes are so great, it requires a fresh start with a rebrand or even a new name. Doing so can start to attract the clients that are in line with the new vision of the company, helping you succeed faster and easier.

• You’re attracting the wrong clients

There is such a thing as getting the wrong clients. You may be getting clients, but they are all wrong for you, and you may not even know it’s happening. Maybe your styles are different, maybe your visions or ideas are different…maybe it’s as simple as your personalities don’t mesh. Whatever the case may be, it may not be you, it may be your branding.  As I said earlier, you either attract or repel people, and it’s totally ok to repel the people that you don’t want to necessarily work with.  Changing your brand to fit your vision of who your ideal client is will change the clients you attract, and in return get to work with.

• You’re branding is confusing

Is your brand a complex mix of colors, graphics, fonts, or icons? The more things thrown into your branding can create confusion rather than cohesion.  You don’t want to confuse your clients! Instead, you want them to get a clear-cut vision of what you offer and what your style is.

• Your brand is too generic or similar to others

This can be found most commonly when someone purchases pre-designed logos.  There is nothing wrong with that! Starting a business is hard work and sometimes just getting it off the ground is the goal.  Differentiating yourself from others is crucial at a certain point in the game.  Can you imagine having the same or similar logos or branding to another company in your same town? Customers might think you work for that person, work with that person, or worse – copied that person, which would not only make you dishonest in their eyes but unoriginal, as well! People want to know what makes you unique so they can get a better sense of why to hire YOU.

• You need to get away from a bad/wrong/old image

Sometimes through no fault of our own, the image we’ve created through our branding has gone so far down the wrong rabbit hole that it’s hard to come back from.  These days, the world is made exponentially smaller because of the internet and social media.  One wrong word or a few wrong decisions can put you into a place that you don’t want to be.  Sometimes, picking up the pieces the best way you can is by putting it behind you and reassessing what your brand’s future looks like.  This can come about in an array of ways, but can include changing your logo, changing your name, changing the vibe and culture of your brand, or a combination of all three.

There you have it! Rebranding is can be a big decision, but it doesn’t have to be a scary one.  Assessing what’s best for your company is only something you can do, and in the end can be an amazing decision for your future!