4 Rebranding Mistakes To Avoid

If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur and your brand’s been around for a while, it’s inevitable that there will come a day when you will need to rebrand. Whether your business has been around for 5 years or 10 years, the nature of life is that it’s always changing and with that, trends, interests, and opportunities in our business will change as well.

In these past two years, for example, we’ve all gone through and survived a pandemic. A lot has changed in the world and as a result of that, we’re sure that a lot has needed to change in your business as well.

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, this might prompt you to reflect on your current branding but before you go ahead and uproot everything, here are the top 4 rebranding mistakes that you should avoid!

1. Changing Your Name

The first big mistake is changing your name without good reason. Your clients have come to know your business for its name and associate very specific traits (trustworthiness, quality, consistency, etc) with that name. Changing it without good reason destroys that established brand equity and starts the whole process of establishing brand awareness over again. Not to mention, it makes it that much harder for potential clients to search for you if they’re still looking for an old name. If you can, do your best to keep the current name that you operate under.

2. Lack Of Direction And Purpose In Rebranding

Rebrand for the purpose of rebranding establishes nothing but instability. When you rebrand, get extremely clear on your purpose in doing so. Here are some questions to ask yourself along the process:

• Who is my audience and what are they looking for in a brand? How will my business’ new direction meet their needs?
• What are my brand’s core values and how will this rebranding enforce that?
• What do I intend to achieve with this rebranding? Am I leaning into a new niche? Am I updating the look to signal a new board direction? Is my purpose to stay ahead of the trends and demonstrate my authority in the industry?
• What’s the impression that I hope my business will leave with this rebranding?

3. Going Too Trendy

A major part in why a business or entrepreneur decides to rebrand is to keep up with trends. You want to make sure that your branding looks up-to-date because nobody wants to work with a company that looks like they’re still operating with principles from the 80s. 

On the other hand, however, going too trendy can set your branding up for another rebrand in 5 years. For example, five years ago, we were all operating under a minimalistic aesthetic. The cream/white look with clean lines was all the rage. Now, however, we’re seeing a huge swing towards maximalist ideals. Bright colors, bold font, lots of movement. Rather than going fully maximalist (unless that truly aligns with your brand long-term), it’s best to find a happy medium with some colors that have proven to have a lasting hold on the market.

4. Failure To Execute

Before you start your rebranding process, make sure to draft out a timeline for execution. Make sure to include all the nitty gritty details so that you don’t miss anything. From there, double check all the work and make sure that the rebranding is consistent across all channels that you’re operating on. 

Rebranding can be a huge undertaking, but if executed correctly, the results can be quite rewarding. It can help you establish a better relationship with your clientele and attract new clients from the get go.

For more support on branding, feel free to reach out for a consultation!