Is It Time For A Brand Refresh?
Written by Courtney Raguso, Social Media Content Creator
Branding is an essential part of the success of a business, and it includes everything from your visuals to your brand values. The branding experience is made up of many facets, such as your email, website, social content, customer service, product quality, and overall purpose. If a brand is lacking in any one of these areas, it can be the factor that is contributing to slowing your business growth. Having a brand that is relevant and up to date with the current times is what sets apart the businesses that succeed and the ones that don’t. If your graphics are outdated and inconsistent, your brand will suffer. If your strategies and methods are outdated, your brand will also suffer. Running a business isn’t easy, and if you want to do it right, you’ll have to succeed in all areas. The pandemic is a perfect example of a time when brands had to rethink and make new adjustments to their current plan. The ones that couldn’t pivot or keep up with the changing times are the ones who failed. Business development and branding should be an ongoing process that continuously evolves because at the end of the day, nothing ever stays the same. Regardless of the industry you are in, a brand refresh is always necessary from time to time. With the new year approaching, it’s not a bad time to take a step back and do some quality control.
Giving your brand a refresh has a lot of benefits. It helps you stay current and connect with younger generations, which are becoming the majority of today’s consumer. Doing this not only helps your brand connect with new audiences, but it also makes it relevant and shows your customers that you are in tune with their needs. When a brand goes stale, customers start to not only see it as irrelevant but also tone-deaf, which isn’t a good look at all. Performing a few brand updates also helps set your company apart from its competitors because there will be ones that don’t at all, and that’s what will set you apart as an industry leader. Above all, a brand refresh will strengthen its identity and be better perceived by customers. A clean, polished brand that is up-to-date is perceived as more reputable, and consumers will have more trust in that case. Remember, you want to be seen as an expert in your industry, and if you have ugly graphics and a website that isn’t responsive, people will look elsewhere for the same service.
When it comes to knowing whether you are in need of a few brand updates, there are some signs to look out for. One rule of thumb that’s pretty obvious is to look at how long it has been since you performed an update. If it’s been several years, it’s time to get to the drawing board because that’s way too long to wait to perform an update. We recommend you do it every year since our world is evolving so fast. Just in the past year alone, ecommerce sales grew 27.6% due to the pandemic, and this year it continues to grow. Another tell-tale sign you need to perform an update is your audience’s behavior. If their behavior has evolved or changed in any way, you should be just as responsive. From rising trends to cultural values, people’s attitudes are changing, and they will notice if your brand doesn’t. We’ll say it again: the pandemic is a great example. Last year, many people’s shopping behaviors changed, and brands had to find ways to strengthen their online presence since people weren’t in stores as much. Brands that still promoted their product without making any adjustments for safe shopping or taking any notice of what was going on in the world were “canceled”.This “cancel culture” is a result of younger generations having new attitudes about the current market and how brands should behave. If a brand is seen as insensitive or tone-deaf, most young consumers will push others to not support the brand as well.
A successful brand will have a strong and cohesive online presence across the board. As business owners, staying on top of business development is key, and the way to do that is by researching your competitors and industry as well as consumer trends. However, not all business owners have the time to do that, which is why we have experts at MSM DesignZ who can do it for you! If your services have changed, you need that to reflect on your website and social accounts. If your graphics and visuals don’t look like they’re from the same company, it’s time for a refresh. Is your logo design unchanged from 2010? Then it’s time to create a more modern version of that logo to make it more appealing. Are you not getting enough engagement on your social accounts, or not enough clicks to your website? Then you need to rethink your messaging and figure out a better way to communicate to your audience. It all comes down to assessing your brand and doing quality control periodically and consistently; because when you stop investing time into your brand development, that’s when your brand starts to die.
At MSM DesignZ, we put in the time and energy required for success, so you can ensure you are using every dollar for maximum return. With over 20 years in the business, we have watched marketing evolve from traditional to digital. Whether you need a website refresh, more attractive email, or a quality online presence, we can do it all. When we take on a client, we put in 110% and treat every brand as if it’s our own. We will always continue to place our clients’ needs at the heart of our operations. From web development to social media management, we’ll work directly with you to build a personalized strategy to not only retain but also gain business. We are assisting in all areas for our clients. Visit our contact page at https://www.msmdesignz.com/contact/, and we’ll work with you to devise a custom plan that will keep your brand alive and well. We look forward to working with you!
Sources:
https://www.columnfivemedia.com/9-signs-you-need-a-new-visual-identity/
https://www.business2community.com/branding/3-signs-its-time-for-a-brand-refresh-02435393
https://mailchimp.com/courier/article/how-to-refresh-your-brand/