small business branding options

For your small business branding there are a range of options to explore from re-brands, refreshes, find out the difference.

For your small business, there are a range of branding options. How do you know what to choose for your small business branding? I’ll be exploring rebranding, brand refreshes, complete brand overhauls. What’s the difference and which branding option is right for you and your small business?

Small business branding options

I’m a big believer in the power of branding as my work involves unique brand creation and strategy. However sometimes your business may not be at the point where you need to start looking at overhauling your branding for a brand re-fresh or completely new brand identity. In this post I’ll explore the 5 common options you have around branding for your small business…

 

1. leaving your small business branding alone for now

The first option for your small business brand is when you probably don’t need anything right now and your time would be better spent doing other activities in and around your business. It can be easy to think “I’m going to rebrand my business that will make things better” or  “I’m going to need some new Instagram posts”, or “I need to update my website”. These are all ways to procrastinate and stop yourself from doing the more difficult work you need to do to help your business to grow.

You can feel that your lack of  branding is the root of all these problems but sometimes your branding isn’t to blame! Instead of launching into a brand overhaul your time might be better spent having some conversations and making connections, writing blog posts, appearing on podcasts. These are all active activities that are going to require you to step out of your comfort zone, but at this time these are all going to help your business more than going for a re-brand and brand re-fresh.

Often your business branding may be the reason why people aren’t connecting, but if you’re doing pretty well, you’re getting clients, and things are moving in the right direction then you are clearly doing something right (well done)! And doing more of what you are doing well instead of switching up and changing things may be the right thing to do for your business.

However, if you’re finding that what you’re putting out there, your product visuals, or website are all putting people off working with you then your brand may be experiencing ‘brand disconnect’. You can work out if this is happening through spending some time looking at your website analytics, or tracking your enquiries. If you see people are going on your website or connecting on your Instagram, but they’re not going any further and they’re not wanting to work with you or buy your products, then there is a potential disconnect in how you are connecting through your brand experience and visual identity.

If you think this is happening then the next two options would be worth considering…

small business branding prompt…

is there a brand disconnect when people come across your services or products?

 

2. retaining your essence with a small business brand re-fresh

A brand refresh is where you’ve currently got your brand essence sorted and people are connecting with you. Perhaps you are one or two years into your business and you are at the point where you know you need a more professional brand identity to grow your business. You may be currently stuck with a very DIY brand identity created for ‘mates rates’ and it’s not quite exuding your brand vibe or matching the amazing work or products you are producing. You know that to grow your business and have a greater impact then your brand visuals and experience need a bit of work.

A brand re-fresh takes what you are doing, your brand essence and the things that people connect with around your brand, and then enhances and improves this adding uniqueness and originality to create an even more ‘WOW’ brand experience. Often your ethos, your communication, your products and the way you do business is incredible but visually your brand is a little ‘off’. A brand re-fresh looks at what is a little ‘off’ but the completed branding experience will still feel in line with your brand. It will be a much improved version that people will connect with even more!

You may have a few things that need tweaking then my Design Day service is perfect for refreshing a few of your branded items. Find out more >

For instance, I collaborated with Zero waste path on a brand re-fresh. We refreshed the packaging designs, brand marks, photography and overall brand experience but kept their core values and brand feel of sustainability, gender neutrality and earthy minimalism yet enhanced everything to feel more original and visually appealing, They already had raving fans and amazing products so a brand re-fresh visualised this without moving too far away from their original brand essence. Leading on from the brand re-fresh they could approach bigger wholesalers who wanted to stock their amazing products on their shelves and more and more people began sharing their products and buying them ‘cold’ as they connected and trusted more after the brand re-fresh.

Zero Waste Design
Zero Waste Design

3. a complete small business re-brand

The bigger option is a complete re-brand. A re-brand is the best option if you’re sure that your visuals and brand are not connecting and your branding is the main thing that is letting your business down and squashing your growth.

A re-brand or full brand identity gets to the roots of your brand and will cover your brand strategy, positioning, essence, purpose – basically overhaul everything. A re-brand involves creating a compelling and unique brand concept and philosophy, new brand marks, brand communication, website experience, visuals and brand experience items. Your business may have evolved to a point where your visuals no longer fit with what you are doing, your brand feels out of sync with everything and you want to completely change and shift it. Or you feel everything is so outdated that you are craving a big change. This is when a complete re-brand will be the best option.

A complete re-brand will involve a bigger investment. If you need this but aren’t sure you have the budget then you can explore grants, business loans and more to fund this and fund your brand future.

 

4. creating small business branding from scratch

Finally if you are a startup brand, perhaps with investment or savings behind you then you may be able to invest in a full brand identity package and launch your business with confidence and power. Not everyone is at this point but in an ideal scenario it’s great to spend time developing your brand first, as it will play a big part in the future success of your business. Forming an authentic brand at the start will make all those other business activities feel a little easier as you will be supported by a strong, professional brand identity that will effortlessly attract people to you.

Branding has been a big factor in the success of my business. Investing in my business branding has enabled me to stand apart from the crowd and attract clients without needing to ‘sell’.  There are so many brand creators and designers out there so forming a unique and original brand has been one reason why people have chosen me over other options.

 

5. take a branding course or workshop

If you aren’t at the stage where you feel you can invest in the above business re-brand and business re-fresh options but know your business branding isn’t where you want it to be then there are a few DIY options available. You could consider taking a business branding course, mini-workshop, or learn how to make some quick brand improvements.

You could also explore pre-made branding kits for your brand. These options aren’t as in-depth or bespoke for your business but are good starting points to help you understand the roots of your brand and make some quick improvements.

Hopefully you now understand the various options you have when it comes to working on the branding for your business. You can do nothing and wait if you’re already resonating and doing quite well, you can go for a brand refresh and retain the essence of your brand but improve the visual impact. And finally you could go for a  complete re-brand or brand from scratch or take a business branding course or workshop.

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