As a small business owner, how can you know when to rebrand? It’s a question we put to brand strategist (and small business cheerleader) Darby Lydon, and our motives were more than a little selfish.
It’s a question we’ve been pondering ourselves, and, as we’ve learned, one that plagues a lot of the small businesses Darby works with. Alongside: “how can I reignite the spark I feel towards my brand” and “what are the pros and cons of a rebrand?”.
Wanna hear an expert tell it how it is? Keep reading to learn why having a clear brand is an overlooked strength and why you might need some (brand) therapy.
Welcome to the blog, Darby! Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you do?
Thank you for having me! I’m Darby, a brand strategist passionate about turning great businesses into irresistible brands.
I worked in digital marketing for over six years but continued to hit hurdles when working with brands that weren’t clear on their brand strategy.
They didn’t know exactly who they wanted to work with, how to speak to their audience in the right ways, and were unsure about how to communicate a unique and engaging brand message.
Now, through my brand strategy projects, I support passionate service providers to gain complete clarity on their target audience and confidence in how they communicate so that they feel proud and empowered to share their brand with the world.
You work with small business owners that have left the corporate world to spread their magic — is that how your business got started?
Yes, absolutely! I was lucky to land in an industry that I love, but I didn’t enjoy the structure of the corporate world. I wasn’t inspired by the 9-5 and wanted to create a more fulfilling way to share my skills and expertise.
I grew up in a family of business owners so I think deep down it was something I always wanted to do and something that seemed normal to me. After freelancing for a couple of years, I was able to get momentum during the pandemic due to the nature of being an online business.
Now, I’m lucky enough to support other amazing business owners who have left the corporate world to do what they love in their own special way. Many of my clients have similar journeys and I always love working with those who have the courage and passion to leave a comfy corporate role to make an impact in new and creative ways.
One of your services is brand therapy — what does this mean and how did the idea for this service come to you?
I have too many conversations with business owners who are frustrated by the overwhelming amount of information that is available to them online when they are trying to grow a brand; whether they’re listening to podcasts, watching videos, or binging online courses.
Through my brand therapy service, I want to provide a space for business owners to take a step back and chat through their specific problems with an expert who can guide them in the right direction. Every brand is unique and requires unique strategies and solutions to help them grow.
During my brand therapy sessions, we grab a virtual coffee and make a clear plan with three to four key ways that they can move their brand forward, keeping it simple and actionable. It’s designed to be a clarifying experience, just like therapy but for your brand!
How can businesses reignite the spark in their branding when it starts to feel stale?
Creating a brand personality to reference the way your brand communicates is a great way to ignite the spark. In the age of AI, brand personality can help you connect in an interesting, yet authentic way.
Part of my brand strategy process involves crafting your brand personality, and this is where a lot of the magic happens! I ask my clients to imagine their brand as a person (for personal brands, this person is usually the client) and get them to ask themselves a few key questions.
From there, we build a brand personality and brand voice that can be infused through all elements of their brand communications — from the photos they choose to share to the emojis they use in their social captions and the words they use to sign off on their emails.
As a business owner, how do you know when to rebrand?
There are a few key stages in the business journey that may prompt the need for a brand strategy or a complete rebrand.
If you’re considering when to rebrand, there often comes a point (usually a few years into running a business) where you start to feel disconnected from your brand and what it represents. This could include visuals, words or even your marketing messages.
At this stage, you’re feeling unclear on how to communicate with your audience and you’re lacking confidence when it comes to sharing your message with those who need to hear it. You’ve lost your sense of pride and are ready for a shift. This is a completely normal experience.
After a few years of exploring your business and DIYing a lot of things, you most likely have a clear vision for the future of your business. You’re ready to take it to the next level and create a brand that accurately reflects your business strategy and what you want to be known for.
These feelings may arise again in your business journey, especially if you’re experiencing any shift in business strategy, target audience or expanding your business in new ways. Often this calls for a refreshed brand strategy to ensure that the way your brand is being perceived matches your new business vision.
What are the pros and cons of rebranding?
You’ll only benefit from a rebrand if you’re doing it for the right reason.
Some owners rebranding a small business are simply bored of their aesthetics, but I don’t believe this is the best reason to rebrand, especially if you have an engaged and loyal audience who trust in you. Undertaking a rebrand at this stage may result in confusion and disconnect.
If you are feeling misaligned and your audience isn’t connecting with your brand message, I recommend considering a brand strategy. If the strategy then guides you to a complete rebrand, you will likely see an effective visual transformation that is backed by strategy.
Done successfully, rebranding a small business can transform relationships with your audience in new and amazing ways. But if it’s done for the wrong reasons and without a strategy behind it, it could have the opposite effect.
What’s one often overlooked thing business owners can do to strengthen their brand today?
I chat with so many business owners who believe that they need to be doing ‘more more more’ with their marketing. But more often than not, confidence in your message, alongside clarity in who needs to hear it, are the best ways to create a strong brand that cuts through the noise.
It’s not always about creating new ways to reach new people, but actually getting clear on who your brand is so that you can make deeper and more meaningful relationships through your marketing activities.
