28 Nov Refresh, Not Rebrand in 2017

If you’re like most business owners, you spend the last few months of the year looking back at all you’ve accomplished—while looking ahead to changes you want to make in the new year. You’re not alone.

In an effort to stay fresh and to celebrate the new year, many brands use January 1 as an opportunity to bring on the new and rebrand. But it’s also a lot of work. And pricey.

It doesn’t have to be though. A brand refresh is less expensive than a complete brand overhaul, and it’s a great way to recapture your audience and build excitement. You can consider it a spring cleaning for your brand, in the throes of winter!

The key to refreshing your brand is to really look at yourself and your business to find out where others see your value, then monetizing on that. Listen to what your audience is telling you and evaluate what you’ve done well over the last year. Let go of what isn’t working and grow into more of what is.

If you’re working on a refresh, you’ll need to focus your efforts on a few key areas. Otherwise, you’re bound to go overboard, throwing out consistency and getting in over your head.

Focus on Excitement.

A new year is exciting—it’s often when we dream up new programs or launches that we want to tackle. So think about what you’re excited about in your own business and center your brand refresh around it. Are you tweaking your services to take better care of your audience? Is there a niche you have been eyeing and want to go after? Do you have a new product that you’re perfecting? Use these new opportunities to build excitement about you, your brand and your business.

Cover all Aesthetics.

A business has so many moving parts that it can be easy to forget some of the smaller pieces. Invoices, online schedulers, opt-in worksheets, business cards, email, blog graphics, etc. Your brand and your logo is everywhere. Make sure that if you’re freshening up your logo or your colors, you’ve made those changes consistently across all your collateral material.

Stick to Your Message.

During a brand refresh, you may be tempted to change up your message—the message you’re trying to communicate to your audience. While this is okay, don’t try to reinvent your business. You’re giving it a refresh, not an overhaul. Keep your message on target, and make sure that any tweaks you make are reflected across your website—since that’s where your audience usually connects with you first.

Doing a brand refresh is exciting. It’s like getting a new hairstyle or hiring a decorator to give your home a new look. It’s not going to change who you are and who your business is, but it will make things look a bit more polished and help you get your message out to the right people, in the right way.