What To Do When You Don’t Have A Clear Vision For Your Brand
As a service-based business owner, you know your brand is one of your most important assets. It's often the first impression potential clients have of you and plays a huge role in whether they decide to work with you
But what if you've outgrown your existing brand? Maybe you DIY'd it when you first started out and it worked fine at the time. But now that your business is more established and you're ready to level up, you know it's time for a refresh. The only problem is, you have no idea what you actually want or where to even start.
Sound familiar? I hear this concern all the time from business owners who are thinking about rebranding. They feel stuck, assuming they need to have everything figured out before they can move forward. But here's the thing - you don't need to know what you want in order to get started. In fact, that's exactly what hiring a brand strategist (ahem…someone like me!) is for.
Your Job vs. The Brand Strategist's Job
When you work with a brand strategist to rebrand your business, your role is NOT to tell them what colors, fonts, or imagery to use. That's their area of expertise. Your job is simply to tell them about your business - who you are, who you serve, what makes you unique, and where you want to take things in the future.
Think of it like hiring a financial advisor. You wouldn't go to them and say "I want to invest in these specific stocks." Instead, you share your financial goals, risk tolerance, life circumstances, etc. and trust them to put together an investment plan tailored to your needs. It's the same with branding.
As the business owner, you need to have clarity on a few key things:
Who you are and what you stand for
Who your ideal clients are and what they care about
Your vision for the next 3-5 years of your business
With that foundation in place, a skilled brand strategist will know exactly what questions to ask to draw out all the important details about your business. They'll dig deep to uncover what really makes you special to your clients. And they'll use all of that insight to craft a brand identity that captures your unique essence and appeals to your target audience.
Getting Strategic with Your Rebrand
In my early days as a graphic designer, I used to just ask clients what colors and imagery they wanted, and then create something based on those surface-level preferences. But over the years, I've learned that the key to a successful rebrand goes way beyond just making things look pretty.
These days, I have a finely-tuned process for getting to the heart of a business. I ask my clients thoughtful questions to explore what they're all about, where they want to go, and what will resonate with their ideal customers. Some of the things we discuss include:
Their origin story and "reason why"
Their core values and guiding philosophies
How they want people to feel when interacting with their brand
The transformation they provide for their clients
Their big-picture goals for their business
By having these in-depth conversations right from the start, I'm able to develop a deep understanding of the business that informs every aspect of the branding process. The end result is a brand that authentically reflects the business and is intentionally designed to appeal to their dream clients.
Empowering You to Use Your New Brand with Confidence
One of the biggest complaints I hear from business owners who have rebranded in the past is that they got a beautiful new visual identity, but had no idea what to actually do with it.
That's why client education is such an integral part of my process. I'm not interested in just handing over a logo and style guide and calling it a day. I'm committed to giving my clients the tools and knowledge they need to implement their new brand with ease.
When we work together, you'll get resources like:
A video walkthrough of your brand guidelines
Tutorials on creating branded graphics in Canva
Best practices for staying on-brand in your marketing
Ongoing email support to answer any questions that come up
My goal is for you to feel totally confident and empowered to use your new brand. I want you to be excited to show it off and proud to share it with the world.
Ready for a Rebrand? Let's Talk
If you know your current brand isn't cutting it anymore, but you're not sure what to do about it, I'm here to help. Don't let "I don't know what I want" hold you back from taking your business to the next level.
Let's hop on a call to discuss your business and your rebranding goals. I'll ask you all the right questions to gain the clarity we need to build you a brand that will take you to new heights.
