The Difference Between a Refresh and a Rebrand

Betty created an online marketing software service. She loved her company but after a few years, she noticed she was losing market share. Many of her customers were being wooed away from her company and signing up with her competitors instead. So, Betty reached out to a good friend who specialized in branding. “Is it time for a rebrand?” Betty asked. Her friend explained that while Betty’s company didn’t need a rebrand, it would benefit from a brand refresher. If you’re like Betty, you’re curious about the difference between a rebrand and a refresh, read on…

Starting Fresh or Being Choosy

With a rebrand, many business owners start from scratch. They toss out their old logo, fonts, colors, themes, messages, and core offerings. With all of these changes, the final branding may not even resemble the business you originally built. By contrast, a refresh means being choosy. You might pick which elements of your brand you want to keep. When Tina decided to refresh her brand, she already knew her theme and message were correct. But she’d gotten feedback that the colors she was using in her logo and on her website weren’t attracting her ideal audience. She tweaked them and quickly found that her brand began resonating with her people.

Moving On or Serving the Same Market

Sometimes, a rebrand happens when a business owner wants to serve a new market. After all, if you’re helping new moms start an online business but you pivot and start serving six-figure executives, you’ll want to use different branding to attract your new audience. With a refresh, your target audience usually stays the same. You’re still deeply passionate about serving them and committed to helping your people. Like Tina, you may have just discovered some element of your branding isn’t quite speaking to your audience the way you’d hoped.

New Offers or The Same Ones Spiffed Up

A rebrand makes sense when you’re creating offers that are radically different from what you’ve done in the past. For example, if you previously offered web design services and you’ve decided to focus solely on copywriting, then a rebrand is a smart idea. With a refresh, your offers might stay the same. After all, you still want to design websites. But you might tweak or change those offers to reflect new price points, added value, or your increased level of experience.

Choosing between a refresh or a rebrand can feel a little overwhelming. If you need advice on how to do this, reach out to a web designer or business coach you trust. They can guide you through the process! 

Take a moment to journal your thoughts and let me know what you come up with!

1. Do you want to start fresh with your brand or keep some things the same?
2. Will you continue to serve the same target market?
3. Is it time to spiff up your core offering?

NEED HELP WITH YOUR BRANDING?

Creating a brand identity can be very overwhelming for first-time entrepreneurs, so I created these worksheets as a resource that will help you get started quickly and easily with your branding process.

It’s an easy guide of what steps you need to take in order to create the right impression on customers who want services just like yours or may be considering switching from another company due to… (fill in the reason(s) why someone would leave).

If you’re struggling to figure out what your business identity should be, these worksheets will ease the process. It’s full of step-by-step instructions for creating a brand that represents your business and is sure to stand out!