Not sure if you company needs re-branding?
Today, our branding specialists share…

10 Signs That Your Branding Needs a Facelift:

1 – You Are Attracting the WRONG Client

It’s time to re-brand when find yourself constantly asking, “Why do || clients keep contacting me? They don’t seem to have any qualities of the ideal client I’m targeting.” If you see a common theme in the types of the clients who are generally contacting you and you don’t consider them your target audience, then it might be time to revisit your branding identity. Try to understand what commonalities these clients possess and search for the underlying reasons of why they are attracted to your brand. Once you determine which “elements” of your brand are the culprits, consider altering those in a way that will help target more of your ideal client. – Heidi Bartlett, Idieh Design

2 – Your company is misunderstood or is unrecognized

If your target market doesn’t understand who you are, what you do or why you are different or better than your competition then your branding is failing you. – Whitney & Jonathan Speir, Brown Sugar Design Studio

3 – Your Clients’ Needs Have Changed

If your clientele or customers have changed the way they shop for your services, its time to update your branding to keep up with technology and the market. – Carla David, Carla David Design

4 – Your current business offering has outgrown the brand.

Wedding pro example: You were just a local wedding event designer or photographer and have now expanded to traveling the country or world for your clients and your current brand is too localized. – Whitney & Jonathan Speir, Brown Sugar Design Studio

5 – Your company has/is taking a big turn in direction or change in style.

Often times companies (especially creative ones) can start to go in a different direction than originally planned. Your branding may have suited you before, but you have either out-grown it, have decided to explore another direction, or have become more specialized in one area. It should properly reflect who your company is now, or is striving to become. – Cathy Olson, Love-Inspired

6 – Your design elements have too many variations or inconsistencies.

If content is king, then consistency is queen. Showcase your brand identity in a uniform way across all platforms; this is where a set of brand guidelines from your designer will come in handy. If your logo contains both text and an icon, ensure that their relationship to each other is the same in each instance of their use. Take care to maintain a tightly-controlled, complementary aesthetic across all print and web media and your overall brand will reflect that cohesiveness. – Sarah Kate Snyder, Studio Snyder

A solid brand must be cohesive in appearance, as well as the emotion that it conveys. Take the time to compare all the elements within your brand, such as print collateral, website, blog, all the way down to your voice mail greeting. Do all of these items visually relate in terms of colors, fonts, & overall look and feel? Do the intangible items radiate the same emotion and personality as your visual brand? If there are any inconsistencies, take the time to fine tune those areas. It will only help strengthen your brand. Consistency is a must. – Heidi Bartlett, Idieh Design

It’s perfectly acceptable to utilize various elements in your branding, but strive for continuity in your branding efforts. Your goal should be to have your audience recognize you immediately. No guesswork. For example, if you’re going to throw in a new color story to your brand, make sure your typography and graphic elements remain the same. – Kelly Ashworth, Kelly Ashworth Design

7 – You cringe when you give out your business card or show off your website.

You should always be proud to show off your hard work in branding, and it should explain who your company is to the person you are displaying it to. Self-confidence is one of the most important aspects of effective branding. – Cathy Olson, Love-Inspired

8 – You are too cliché.

Wedding professionals, take note: your branding need not include wedding bells, doves and/or flowers to give off a wedding “vibe”. – Kelly Ashworth, Kelly Ashworth Design

9 – If your branding contains anything once trendy that is now totally out-dated.

Unfortunately potential clients can be very turned off if it seems you are “behind the times”. (This is another reason it’s so important to get your logo designed professionally in the beginning if possible.) Clients don’t necessarily want “trendy” in your branding. They want you to be trustworthy, timeless, and classy. Your trendy/cutting edge design can show up in your portfolio instead. Your logo should outlast those trends. – Cathy Olson, Love-Inspired

10 – Several other businesses in your industry use the same typeface in their logo.

This is likely to have one of two causes: A. the typeface came with the computer (ie: Papyrus or Trajan Pro) or B. it was very popular around the time your logo was designed (ie: Zapfino or Scriptina). There is a fine line between an identity that is current and one that is trendy; the latter will have a much shorter shelf-life before needing a redesign. – Sarah Kate Snyder, Studio Snyder

Want to move your wedding business in the right direction? Check out The Action Plan.