Considering Rebranding? Here are 5 mistakes you will want to avoid according to Kate Toholka
Maybe your brand no longer captures the essence of you.
Maybe your words no longer connect.
Maybe you’re thinking of changing your business name.
Or maybe, you’re experiencing ‘website shame’.
Whatever your reason, you’re thinking about rebranding. There’s a lot of things to consider in a rebrand and as always, there are better ways to go about it. Being clear on your reasons for a rebrand is essential for starters. As is being clear on the direction of your new brand.
To avoid your rebrand blowing your budget or being a disappointment, take note and avoid these five mistakes:
Not creating a consistent design
I’ll be the first to admit this was a huge problem for me when I did my first rebrand. As I made the mistake of doing mistake #5, I had hired a graphic designer to create the graphics for my website and a few for social media.
So when the time came that I then had to create my own, I did it poorly. So poorly. There was no consistency. I didn’t do the colours right, I was choosing different fonts every time and there was absolutely no consistency across all my digital platforms. It made for a very weak brand.
At a solopreneur level, it’s important to be comfortable making at least social media graphics that are consistent with your brand. Otherwise, expect to fork out lots of money just to create consistent images!
No clear vision
A vision for our business is vital for a rebrand to be efficient and light on the bank account. I’m not saying you need to know exactly what you want your business to look like in five years’ time, but I am saying you need to have a rough idea.
Do you want a team working for you?
Do you want to be a famous, sought-after speaker travelling the globe?
Do you want to be an author?
Do you want to run retreats or will you be happy running private consults in the long term?
This matters for your rebrand as you want to ensure your rebrand enables that vision to come true. If there is no vision, a change of heart will see you need to rebrand again.
Unclear target market
Do you know exactly who your ideal client or customer is?
Most will say they do, but in my experience, it’s not clear or articulate enough. At the heart of it all, you must be able to understand the problem at a functional level you are trying to solve for your client.
The issue here is that many define this problem as things like stress, hating life or feeling unhealthy. These are incredibly broad terms and quite frankly, most of us are feeling like that at some stage!
The problem needs to be functional and so problematic that they no longer can help themselves solve it – they need to hire someone for it.
Hiring a designer or web developer first
This is not always a mistake, but it can be a huge costly mistake if you haven’t done the groundwork.
The thing is though; you don’t always need to hire a designer or a web developer.
The biggest issue I’ve seen is that the rebrand was beautiful from a design and website perspective, but wasn’t actually working as it didn’t create any income.
There’s more to a brand than the design and unless you’ve hired a designer who understands the power of a brand and is able to work it through with you, you might be significantly out of pocket.
Creating unappealing packages
A common reason for a rebrand is a shake up of the services and/or products. It’s a great reason for a rebrand and if you avoided mistake #3, you’re likely to create some great packages.
But, it’s not always the case.
Too often I see packages that are promoted as what they are – not what they will do for you. For example, health coaches love to offer bundles of coaching sessions, such as 3 sessions over 6 weeks. A more appealing package would target the outcome their ideal client is trying to achieve.
For example. Alice Abba bundles her services into a package called the ‘Mat Leave Downline’, which aims to help women start essential oils business while on maternity leave.
It’s a lot more magnetic than a simple ‘6 coaching sessions’ isn’t it?
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Want to know more about The Rebrand?
Featured in places like The Huffington Post, General Assembly, The Age and Lululemon, I’m known for my blunts truths and honest ramblings, and my ability to inspire women to stop talking and start doing. I currently work with women across the globe do their thing online. It’s a mix of strategy + support + branding via consulting. I’ve changed my ‘label’ so many times that I don’t bother with it anymore. At the end of the day, if your website sucks and your business is more hobby than, well, business, then we’re going to get along just fine.
