[0:00] Hello, everybody. Welcome back to Aesthetically Speaking. I'm excited today
[0:03] because I'm going to be talking about rebranding your business. And I was trying to outline this like, okay, what's the difference between a rebrand and a refresh? And I felt like I was just splitting hairs over semantics. And I was like, okay, this is really what we should talk about. You're listening to Aesthetically Speaking. On this podcast, we're talking about all things branding, logos, colors, fonts, and the strategy behind it all. It seems like these days it's easier than ever to build an audience, but harder than ever to stand out online. My name is Rebecca and I'm a brand strategist and designer. Together, we're going to talk about how to bring your brand to life.
[0:49] Here's why I'm so passionate about rebranding. I often tell people like I specialize in rebranding businesses and that's because there is a fundamental difference in branding a business for the first time versus rebranding a business. And the reason that I focus on rebrands is very strategic. First of all, a lot of businesses, when they are branding themselves for the first time, especially if they're in like this self-made startup category, which is a lot of the people that I work with, they don't have a ton of budget. They're ready to just get their product out there. And so they are doing kind of a DIY, put-it-together-yourself solution, which is absolutely fine. But at some point, usually within a year, they're ready to have a professional takeover and say, okay, let's take all of the information that you've gathered, all of the things that you've done, and we're going to create a next-level brand for you.
[1:46] And that's why I say, I'm going to help you rebrand your business, even though we're doing a lot of these foundational elements, because you don't know those things before you start. Like sometimes you just have to start to figure those things out. So businesses all over the world throughout all, well, probably not throughout all history, you know, branding actually has a very interesting history. It really wasn't, well, first of all, it wasn't until after the Industrial Revolution. And then it really wasn't until like the 1950s 1960s when products became cheaper like manufacturing became so efficient with the assembly line with all of these things right so all of a sudden multiple people could be producing the same thing and as soon as there was that kind of like competition that's when branding really became a thing so that was a history lesson that you didn't really need i can talk about that all day long but what's really important is that branding is what's what helps your business stand out and so in the information age right we have this other kind of wave of lots of people lots of offerings and I'm not just talking about products that they're selling like just the idea that we have so many things that are competing for our attention for our time and our money means that you really have to stand out and that's where branding comes in. So, businesses.
[3:12] Big businesses, successful businesses have always taken advantage of the power of branding to stay front of mind for their ideal clients. Walmart, for example, just recently rebranded. They did a refresh, whatever you want to call it. Usually what happens when businesses release like a refresh of their brand where it's like to the untrained eye, quote unquote, it looks exactly the same. They call it a refresh but I guarantee they went through the same process of figuring out what they really stand for what's really important making sure that everything is aligned so on the outside it looks very minor but on the inside it's more major and that is true for my processes as well so my client Kaylin came to me let's see eight months ago ish and said hey I think I need to update my brand. I think I have a clearer picture of who I am now than I did when we worked together. And I want people to know that it's not just the same old, same old, right? And when Kaylin and I worked together initially, this is more information than you wanted, but she was still really focused on being a life and business coach, specifically for women who had a successful business, but just felt like their life was really suffering. So it was about creating a business that would allow you to really like live your life and spend time with your kids and have that flexibility and all that.
[4:41] But as her business continued to grow, and as she moved towards, okay, how do I make sure that your business can actually do that? Well, that comes down to messaging, that comes down to launching, that comes down to creating scalable offers. Then it was like, okay, we need to, we need to message that more. And we need to create a brand that shows that. And this is what's really important.
[5:01] Helene could have just said, okay, yeah, I've changed my mind internally. I know that this is what I'm all about now. Go and do, right? Like her brand looked nice. It probably was still resonating with her ideal clients, but she was like, no, I want people to know that there's been a change. So how do you do that? How do I let people know that there's been a change? What is the easiest way? Easier than telling people, showing people. So that's when we did her, again, we called it a refresh, but it was essentially a rebrand. We went through the strategy process again. We figured out what her core message is, what the promise is, what the transformation is. We went through that and then we delivered a brand. On the outside, it looked, I would say it was different.
[5:44] It wasn't as similar as the Walmart rebrand where it was like, oh, this is exactly the same. Nobody would even notice, right? That's always the criticism. Like, how much money did they spend to change two pixels or whatever it is? It's like, well, yeah, it looks very similar to you, but on the inside, it's all different. Kaylin's was more than that. The outside was significantly different, I would say. More than 50% changed. We kept a few key colors to let people know that it was still her, but the logo changed, the icons changed, the fonts, like everything basically changed. And so that was really important that people know that something was different. And I always encourage my clients to do this. After we rebrand, I encourage them like, announce this, hype it up, make it a big deal, because you want people to know this is different.
[6:33] This is what I'm all about. And showing them your rebrand is the best way to do that. So that was a really long introduction for what I want to talk about with rebranding your business, refreshing your business, and all of the intricacies of doing that and what that looks like. So let's talk about it a little bit more.
[6:52] Rebranding your business is a significant transformation. It's often called a full-scale transformation, meaning that there are changes to all the aspects of your brand. Now, if you haven't heard me talk about this before this is going to be new.
[7:09] You probably heard me say this, though. Your brand is not just the design of your Instagram posts, the colors that you use, the fonts on your website. Those are specific parts of your brand design. But your brand as a whole is the entire identity of your business. So that is your reputation. It's what people say about you. It's what they think about you. It's the kind of services that you offer. It's the prices that you charge. It's all of the elements that make up your complete business identity and how they are perceived by your audience, which is why, like, why branding is so important, specifically the way that I do it, because I am going through the strategic process of saying, okay, what's the position you want to have in the market? How do you want to be perceived in the hearts and minds of your ideal clients? And then also, who are you personally? And what is the vision for you as the CEO of your business? And I don't know anyone else who is going through this same kind of deep strategic and also really personal process. That's why I often call it like a soul level rebrand. because the way that I do branding is going to change the way that you personally feel about your business and about your identity as the CEO.
[8:31] And it's going to change your ideal client's perception of the business as a whole and what you're offering. One of the things that people always say when it comes to branding is that they want to increase the perceived value of their business. That's something that my clients and I talk about a lot. And I used to get into this whole thing where I was like, it's not just the perceived value, It's increasing the actual value, which I still believe.
[8:56] However, this is what's so cool about branding is you actually don't need to increase the value of what you're selling to increase the perceived value of what you're selling. And this is really important because for somebody like me.
[9:13] The value of what I'm selling is already there. I don't need to somehow make it more valuable. I just need people to understand how valuable it is.
[9:22] I need to change their perception of what I'm offering.
[9:28] And this is why branding is so powerful because it's not just telling people, hey, did you know that if we improve your lead generation process, you can increase the number of sales you make every month? Right like that's compelling i want that but more than that branding is showing them it's showing them how relaxed they can be it's showing them how can how in control they can be of their sales process of their marketing and it does that by using the right words with the right visuals the colors the fonts the imagery my work includes selecting stock photos for your brand because photography is a crucial part of your brand aesthetic. And it's something that I think too many people are leaving out. And not to toot my own horn, but since it's my podcast, I will. I really don't know anyone else who has as thorough of a process and as many deliverables in their process as I do. And that's really intentional. Every single client I work with gets a better service from me and gets more brand assets from me because I always want to be increasing the value of what I'm providing as well as increasing the perceived value. That was a whole tangent that you probably don't need, but that's what rebranding is. So it is this total transformation.
[10:54] And often you need to rebrand for a few reasons. One, because your business has fundamentally changed. I'm always telling people, If you have pivoted more than once without rebranding, you are confusing your audience. And I know you hear this all the time, but a confused audience does not buy. If they don't really know what you're selling, or if they don't really trust that you know what you're talking about, or that you will still be around to support them, they are not going to buy from you. And that's why pivoting is kind of dangerous. I'm not saying it shouldn't be done, right? I think integrity in your business is really important. If you have decided that you don't want to offer a certain thing or you want to appeal to a different type of clientele, that's what branding is for, because it maintains that trust as you do that, as opposed to just saying, hey, I'm a new person. I'm a new thing. Do you still want to follow along? It's like, I don't know. What are you all about?
[11:51] Can I trust you? Are you going to change your mind again in 30 days? So it's really important to keep your focus and if you pivot, to rebrand so people can follow along. The other reason that you would need to rebrand your business is sometimes there is an evolution in the market. People are buying differently, right? Every time there is a different social media platform or there's a significant current event, those things can all impact the way that your business is perceived and the sales in your business. And so sometimes rebranding is the solution to keeping people engaged, you know, despite these evolutions.
[12:34] Another thing that I have seen a lot is what I call audience evolution. And this is one reason why I call my work rebranding, because so many of my clients started with a specific audience and they got really good at speaking to that audience. But then that audience grew. They got good at what they were teaching. And so they had new challenges, new problems, new desires. And so my clients need to essentially elevate their messaging and their branding to speak to this higher level of audience. And so rebranding your business is a great way to do that so that you can keep people along the path, no matter where they are, if they're just beginning or
[13:17] if they're further along. So let's talk about the difference between a rebrand and a refresh. And usually when clients come to me and they say, I need a refresh, what they mean is, I'm scared to change everything in my business.
[13:31] But I know that something needs to change. A rebrand and a refresh look exactly the same on the backend, because even if we're not actually changing your colors, we are still going to go through the process of determining the right colors for your brand. And we might say, you know what? The colors that we have are actually perfect and we're going to leave them. But we can't do that without stepping back and saying, what do we want to create with this business? What is the vision for you personally? Who are the ideal clients that you are trying to attract? What's the position that you're going to be taking? What's the appropriate messaging? And then saying, what is the appropriate design for all of these things. And that's not to say that we never do brand refreshes. I'm just telling you that it's going to be a similar amount of work, if that makes sense. So let's talk through how to know whether you need a refresh or a rebrand and when to choose each one. So when you need a brand refresh, it's usually like your branding feels outdated.
[14:32] Your overall mission is the same, right? You still want to accomplish the same thing generally. Your audience is mostly the same, but there's nuances that you want to adjust to better speak to them. So you want to update your logo. You want to change the colors, the website, the tone of voice just slightly while still staying true to the original mission and audience and values of your business. Refreshing your brand is also a great choice if your competitors have changed their branding, if someone is encroaching on what your brand looks like, you don't want to be confused with them, or if you are in a trend-heavy business, so often that's like event planners, anything in the wedding industry or entertainment tend to be more driven by brands, and you want to stay relevant, a refresh is a great way to do that. Now, you want to rebrand anytime you want a transformation, right? Maybe you have merged with another company. Maybe you are expanding a team. Maybe you are changing your services. Maybe your business model or your target audience has changed fundamentally. Maybe your current brand has a negative reputation or maybe you're just like, people don't even know I exist anymore. I'm not relevant, nobody cares, I'm a nobody.
[16:00] Rebranding your business is the best way to refresh that interest in who you are, what you're all about and get those sales coming in again. So if I could offer you one piece of advice before I end this episode, I want you to just evaluate your own brand. Consider if it's in alignment with what you're trying to create as a business, who you are as a person and as a CEO, and what your ideal clients want from you. And if there's any of that that feels off, that feels sticky, I would love to help you either with a refresh or a full rebrand. So I have a great freebie that I will link in the show description called 17 Days to Make Your Brand a Thing. And this is a great way to start building that interest in your brand again and giving you some of the clarity that you need to help you reach your target audience and ultimately increase your sales in your business. So download that. Let me know if you have any questions and I will talk to you guys soon. Bye. We hope you enjoyed listening to Aesthetically Speaking. If you want to support the podcast, please leave us a nice review or connect with us on Instagram at Rebecca Peterson Studio.
[17:17] Music.
