A brand identity is a critical part of any marketing strategy and encompasses all the visual assets associated with your small business. Creative elements like a company logo, typography, colours, product packaging, web design, and social graphics can all impact how your business is perceived by your customers. A powerful and distinct brand aesthetic communicates a story, resonates with your target audience, and helps differentiate your business from its competitors.As your business evolves, it’s important to make sure your brand continues to support your long-term goals. If you’ve diversified your product or service offerings, it might be time to consider a small business rebrand.Here are some strategies to help execute a successful rebranding and take your business to the next level.

1. Conduct a brand audit

Before redesigning your company logo or creating fresh social media icons, you want to understand how your current brand is perceived in the market, and what tweaks and updates you can make to improve your performance. Think about the direction you want to take your company in over the next five to ten years, and how your brand is helping to drive — or limit — this vision.

2. Do some market research

Your brand should reflect your company’s personality and values, but also needs to appeal to your primary customer base. Gather information on your target customers by conducting a small focus group or survey to get first-hand feedback on preferences. You’ll also want to evaluate your competitors and what works — or doesn’t — about their branding. Make a list of successful rebranding examples and identify companies that you can draw inspiration from.

3. Make a budget

A small business rebrand can be a serious investment. Reimagining and redesigning your company’s entire visual personality may require input from graphic designers, brand consultants, web designers, and other experts in the field. And unless your business is entirely online, you’ll also incur costs to produce new signage, stationery, packaging, and any company-branded assets. Before starting your rebranding project, outline the scope of the work and estimated costs to make sure you stay within your budget.

4. Create your new visual identity

Whether you work with a professional brand consultant or take a do-it-yourself approach, crafting a fresh brand identity can be a fun and creative process. Your company logo is the starting point that informs all other brand elements, including font choice, colour palette, and graphics. If you can’t afford to hire a professional graphic designer to create an updated logo, try your hand at designing your own. And remember, consistency is key when it comes to branding. You want your updated branding to be applied to all your company’s visual materials in both digital and hard copy.

5. Celebrate your re-brand

When it’s time to launch your small business rebrand, be sure to roll out your new visual identity across all of your marketing channels. Introduce refreshed brand elements — company name, logo, visual assets, etc. — simultaneously on all internal communication channels and external marketing platforms, including social media accounts, website, e-newsletters, and in-store signage. Mark the milestone with a special event or promotion to increase awareness for your new brand among your community. You may even want to draw attention to your new brand by hosting a special giveaway or an exclusive launch event for staff and customers.Ensure your rebranding is a success. The experts at Yellow Pages can design smart digital marketing solutions to help your new brand connect with ideal clients. Call 1-877-553-6883 today for a free consultation with one of our Media Account Consultants.