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Signs It's Time To Redesign Your Company's Brand
| Guest post by: Erin Ferree |
Article Overview: When you first start a small business, you create your brand based on your hopes and plans for the future of the company. Sometimes this is based on experience, but more often than not it's based on a guess. Then once you actually start doing business, you may find that your business isn't following the same path you set out on.
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Signs It's Time To Redesign Your Company's Brand
When you first start a small business, you create your brand based on your hopes and plans for the future of the company. Sometimes this is based on experience, but more often than not it's based on a guess.
Then once you actually start doing business, you may find that your business isn't following the same path you set out on.
And now for something completely different
Just like in Monty Python, everything can shift and change in your business. It may even take a whole new direction.
But changing everything in your brand isn't a matter to be taken lightly. Redesigning a brand requires a solid business reason.
What "solid business reason" can cause a brand change?
Even though I believe that it's important for a small business to design their logo for life, there are occasionally big reasons for a business to redesign their logo—and even rename—their businesses.
What kinds of change are big enough?
- Company name.This seems obvious, but if you change your company name, it's important to redesign your logo and marketing materials to signal the change. Don't just put the new name with the old logo and hope that no one notices. If you don't redesign the logo, it can seem a bit "fishy" to attentive customers—why did the name suddenly change? Changing your brand design will also make the change more noticeable. You'll be less likely to receive checks made out to the old company name (and that you can't deposit in your new bank account).
- The structure or way you work.If you've gone from personally serving each and every one of your clients to having more staff members that work on accounts, a brand change can ease the transition. The new brand can help reset service expectations. For example, a move from being Jennifer Perkins Consulting where Jennifer herself works solely on all accounts to being the Rocket Process Consulting Group where a team of consultants who all report to Jennifer work on the account makes perfect sense.
- Drastically changing services.If you were an interior designer and now you're going into staging, you might be able to keep your logo and just rewrite the copy on your marketing pieces to reflect the change. But if you're growing your company into an architectural redesign and interior remodeling company, a redesign of your brand may make more sense. It will show the change in your business. This can also make your existing clients more open-minded about hiring you for projects in your new area of expertise.
- New target audience.If you're going from consulting with hospital staff members to consulting with government agencies, it may be appropriate to change your brand to better appeal to your new clients.
- You offer different benefits to your clients.If you've refocused your business to create different results for your clients or to solve a different problem then a brand change may help.
If your business has changed in any of these major ways, it's time for you to re-examine and redesign your brand. The new brand will perfectly fit in with your "now completely different" business.
Related Articles
When Is the Right Time to Redesign
Turn the browsers into buyers…
The Domino Effect of Changing Your Logo
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Exceptional Business Leaders Know How to Find and Read the Signs Do You
Home Business Lead: Use The Latest Website Design Ideas to Grow Your MLM Lead List
Entrepreneurs – How Do You Design A Marketing Strategy?
When to Consider Redoing Your Website Design?
The Power of a Brand Name and how to make your own brand powerful
Let Me Tell You About A Truly Great Brand
Redesigning Websites is a Need Of Time
Redesigning websites is a need of time
The Brand Provides The Key ... or You Have What It Takes!
A case for rebranding - catalysts for brand revitalization
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Some Home Based Online/Offline Money Making Ideas Which Can Be Profitable
Achieve High-Impact Publicity Using Custom Signs
Article # 21 Can’t Sell Or Talk On The Phone But Own A Business?
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Article Tags:
brand,
branding,
characteristics,
design,
effective,
graphic design,
how to,
identity,
logo,
marketing,
small business
About the Author: Erin Ferree
RSS for Erin's articles - Visit Erin's website
Erin Ferree is a branding coach, design genius and strategic thinker. She's been told that her right-brain, left-brain combination of creativity and logic is hard to come by... and that it's what small business owners need to be successful. She loves connecting the dots between passion and profit, mixing strategy and inspiration and shaking things up.
She deeply enjoys working with entrepreneurs who want to help more people and look good doing it. Who want all of their branding and marketing to make sense and speak to their ideal clients. And who want an open, honest, inviting brand with integrity - instead of using icky, pushy, sleazy marketing tactics and trickery.
She's branded over 450 small businesses in the last 10 years. She's been published in so many books and periodicals that she stopped counting. She's shared stages with some awesome people - like Michele PW, Linda Hollander, Lisa Cherney, Sheri McConnell and Kelly O'neil.
In the rare moments when she's not obsessing about branding or design, she can be found hugging her corgi-dog Stanley, going for long walks, cooking improvisationally, or throwing parties so her friends can enjoy them.
Click here to visit Erin's website
More from Erin Ferree
How To Brand Your Livestream
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Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas!
- We've also expanded the list for Contest and All-Time Leaders. It's great to now see David and Yinka on the All Time list and recognize the contributions they've made to the forums!
No B.S. Time Management
- A great book I read on Time Management is No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy.
Book: Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambition
- Book: Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambition
Harriet Rubin
1999
Soloing has two meanings: "going it alone" and "being complete in yourself." But you don't just leave - a company/a career/a paycheck - and cross over to a more satisfying life. There's more to it.
1. The first freedom is regaining your sense of identity
2. The second freedom in independence - having complete command and control over your time and the work you do.
3. The third freedom is income - Solo money is alive. You work harder, but you enjoy it more
4. The fourth freedom is illumination - a professional builds a career, a soloist builds a portfolio and a life free of boredom
TOC
Definition
1. Your work was your life. Now let your life be your work
2. Making the break that makes you whole
3. What to do with the best of your life: a test
4. Out of the chorus line and into the spotlight
5. Brand-new you
Sculpture
1. Bend the world to fit the palm of your hand
2. Doing work that matters
3. Sell your soul to the Buddha you meet on the road
Night Time
1. Rejection?
2. So alone
3. F Dover
Daybreak
When Thoreau left the lights on at Walden Pond
Harvest
1. Great work finds you
2. Serving the Higher Voice
3. Thoreau.com
Harness
1. Time is your only real asset
2. Love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and work like you don't need the money
3. Security measures
4. How not to work for your Uncle [Sam]
Surprise and delight
1. What I learned without Adult supervision
Resources and more
Books that should be written
- [quote:1m0dcpd7]"The Idiots Guide To Sticking With One Thing At A Time and Not Doing Something New All The Time" [/quote:1m0dcpd7]
I myself am a 'constructive' procrastinator... I don't know if I'm alone in this.
I have about six or seven projects I'm working on at any given time. I get one project almost done... then my interest is piqued by another project and I work on that... I get burnt out and move to another...I know I do this so I have it arranged such that once I get bored or burnt out with one project, I can step right back into project 1 - or 2 or 3, and get that a little bit more done before moving on to something else.
As long as you're organized and know where all your reference material/idea sheets are when you're ready to get back to work on each project, it should be fine. I also find that by stepping away from a project - I still work on it in the recesses of my mind so that when I go back to it - it's with some good ideas that I wouldn't have had if I'd continued on with it originally.
Maybe I should write a book on how to Procrastinate Constructively... I've actually thought about doing that...because most people procrastinate, don't they...and very few are ever able to stop.
Re: Half of 2011 is gone
- It's flying by so quickly! Still have plenty to do that I wanted to have done by now. Time to really step it up!
Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.
Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva.
Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
What kinds of change are big enough?
- Company name.This seems obvious, but if you change your company name, it's important to redesign your logo and marketing materials to signal the change. Don't just put the new name with the old logo and hope that no one notices. If you don't redesign the logo, it can seem a bit "fishy" to attentive customers—why did the name suddenly change? Changing your brand design will also make the change more noticeable. You'll be less likely to receive checks made out to the old company name (and that you can't deposit in your new bank account).
- The structure or way you work.If you've gone from personally serving each and every one of your clients to having more staff members that work on accounts, a brand change can ease the transition. The new brand can help reset service expectations. For example, a move from being Jennifer Perkins Consulting where Jennifer herself works solely on all accounts to being the Rocket Process Consulting Group where a team of consultants who all report to Jennifer work on the account makes perfect sense.
- Drastically changing services.If you were an interior designer and now you're going into staging, you might be able to keep your logo and just rewrite the copy on your marketing pieces to reflect the change. But if you're growing your company into an architectural redesign and interior remodeling company, a redesign of your brand may make more sense. It will show the change in your business. This can also make your existing clients more open-minded about hiring you for projects in your new area of expertise.
- New target audience.If you're going from consulting with hospital staff members to consulting with government agencies, it may be appropriate to change your brand to better appeal to your new clients.
- You offer different benefits to your clients.If you've refocused your business to create different results for your clients or to solve a different problem then a brand change may help.
If your business has changed in any of these major ways, it's time for you to re-examine and redesign your brand. The new brand will perfectly fit in with your "now completely different" business.
Related Articles
When Is the Right Time to Redesign
Turn the browsers into buyers…
The Domino Effect of Changing Your Logo
Signs
Exceptional Business Leaders Know How to Find and Read the Signs Do You
Home Business Lead: Use The Latest Website Design Ideas to Grow Your MLM Lead List
Entrepreneurs – How Do You Design A Marketing Strategy?
When to Consider Redoing Your Website Design?
The Power of a Brand Name and how to make your own brand powerful
Let Me Tell You About A Truly Great Brand
Redesigning Websites is a Need Of Time
Redesigning websites is a need of time
The Brand Provides The Key ... or You Have What It Takes!
A case for rebranding - catalysts for brand revitalization
What I learned about branding on my summer vacation
Some Home Based Online/Offline Money Making Ideas Which Can Be Profitable
Achieve High-Impact Publicity Using Custom Signs
Article # 21 Can’t Sell Or Talk On The Phone But Own A Business?
3 Leaders Who Follow the Signs
Strategic Branding Questions
Article Tags:
brand,
branding,
characteristics,
design,
effective,
graphic design,
how to,
identity,
logo,
marketing,
small business
About the Author: Erin Ferree
RSS for Erin's articles - Visit Erin's website
Erin Ferree is a branding coach, design genius and strategic thinker. She's been told that her right-brain, left-brain combination of creativity and logic is hard to come by... and that it's what small business owners need to be successful. She loves connecting the dots between passion and profit, mixing strategy and inspiration and shaking things up.
She deeply enjoys working with entrepreneurs who want to help more people and look good doing it. Who want all of their branding and marketing to make sense and speak to their ideal clients. And who want an open, honest, inviting brand with integrity - instead of using icky, pushy, sleazy marketing tactics and trickery.
She's branded over 450 small businesses in the last 10 years. She's been published in so many books and periodicals that she stopped counting. She's shared stages with some awesome people - like Michele PW, Linda Hollander, Lisa Cherney, Sheri McConnell and Kelly O'neil.
In the rare moments when she's not obsessing about branding or design, she can be found hugging her corgi-dog Stanley, going for long walks, cooking improvisationally, or throwing parties so her friends can enjoy them.
Click here to visit Erin's website
More from Erin Ferree
How To Brand Your Livestream
Related Forum Posts
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas!
- We've also expanded the list for Contest and All-Time Leaders. It's great to now see David and Yinka on the All Time list and recognize the contributions they've made to the forums!
No B.S. Time Management
- A great book I read on Time Management is No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy.
Book: Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambition
- Book: Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambition
Harriet Rubin
1999
Soloing has two meanings: "going it alone" and "being complete in yourself." But you don't just leave - a company/a career/a paycheck - and cross over to a more satisfying life. There's more to it.
1. The first freedom is regaining your sense of identity
2. The second freedom in independence - having complete command and control over your time and the work you do.
3. The third freedom is income - Solo money is alive. You work harder, but you enjoy it more
4. The fourth freedom is illumination - a professional builds a career, a soloist builds a portfolio and a life free of boredom
TOC
Definition
1. Your work was your life. Now let your life be your work
2. Making the break that makes you whole
3. What to do with the best of your life: a test
4. Out of the chorus line and into the spotlight
5. Brand-new you
Sculpture
1. Bend the world to fit the palm of your hand
2. Doing work that matters
3. Sell your soul to the Buddha you meet on the road
Night Time
1. Rejection?
2. So alone
3. F Dover
Daybreak
When Thoreau left the lights on at Walden Pond
Harvest
1. Great work finds you
2. Serving the Higher Voice
3. Thoreau.com
Harness
1. Time is your only real asset
2. Love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and work like you don't need the money
3. Security measures
4. How not to work for your Uncle [Sam]
Surprise and delight
1. What I learned without Adult supervision
Resources and more
Books that should be written
- [quote:1m0dcpd7]"The Idiots Guide To Sticking With One Thing At A Time and Not Doing Something New All The Time" [/quote:1m0dcpd7]
I myself am a 'constructive' procrastinator... I don't know if I'm alone in this.
I have about six or seven projects I'm working on at any given time. I get one project almost done... then my interest is piqued by another project and I work on that... I get burnt out and move to another...I know I do this so I have it arranged such that once I get bored or burnt out with one project, I can step right back into project 1 - or 2 or 3, and get that a little bit more done before moving on to something else.
As long as you're organized and know where all your reference material/idea sheets are when you're ready to get back to work on each project, it should be fine. I also find that by stepping away from a project - I still work on it in the recesses of my mind so that when I go back to it - it's with some good ideas that I wouldn't have had if I'd continued on with it originally.
Maybe I should write a book on how to Procrastinate Constructively... I've actually thought about doing that...because most people procrastinate, don't they...and very few are ever able to stop.
Re: Half of 2011 is gone
- It's flying by so quickly! Still have plenty to do that I wanted to have done by now. Time to really step it up!
Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.
Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva.
Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
|
About the Author: Erin Ferree RSS for Erin's articles - Visit Erin's website Click here to visit Erin's website How To Brand Your Livestream |
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look like the website and profile younger
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