Am I Ready For A Rebrand?
One of my favorite things to feature on the blog is guest educators! For this post, my wonderful friend, Bonnie Bakhtiari has contributed a post all about how to know when it’s time to rebrand. Bonnie is a branding strategist and designer for creative entrepreneurs, and a coach for fellow graphic, brand, and web designers. Bonnie crafts high converting brands for her design clients, and she currently teaches fellow designers her signature brand strategy approach through her 5-week program, the Brand Strategy School. She’s based in beautiful Waco, Texas with her husband of almost ten years and their two rambunctious golden retrievers, Boone and Quinn. So excited for you to dive into everything Bonnie is going to share!
Sweet friend, does it feel like you’ve outgrown your brand? Are you struggling to see consistent inquiries and, as a result, living with a brand that doesn’t feel like an aligned version of the business you dream of having?
Over my 9+ years as a brand designer and strategist, I’ve seen this time and time again with my clients. It’s a classic narrative—and a total sign that you should consider hiring a professional designer for a rebrand!
Hiring a designer can be daunting, to say the least. I get it! So today, I’m here to share four simple questions you can ask designers and strategists as you search for the right one for you. As a result, you’ll be able to begin your rebranding journey feeling confident, knowing you’re in the right hands and that your future brand will empower you to achieve your goals!
If you’re debating going the DIY route…
It may seem like your brand’s design and strategy is something you can totally DIY. And in some cases, it may be! But, friend, I want you to consider just a few reasons why hiring a pro could be pivotal for the life of your business…
- We’re Impartial. Professional designers aren’t emotionally tied to your work the same way you are. We’re able to take a step back and make an unbiased assessment of how to make visual magic come to life.
- We Play by the Rules. And by “rules”, I mean the principles of design! We have a solid grasp on the psychology of color, how to share information in a hierarchical manner, and the keys to strong layout. We love kerning, the Pantone color system, and explaining the difference between press-ready and web-ready graphics. It’s our job to pay attention to all those little details!
- We’re Here to Tell Your Story. Your designer will work tirelessly to create the perfect color palette, typeface pairings, and custom graphics, because all those little things add up to the bigger story that’s waiting to be shared—the story of your brand and how it’s going to impact the world. We’re visual storytellers, armed with an array of Adobe software and Pantone swatch books, and we can’t wait to hear what we can help you share!
We’ll Help You Get It Right the First Time. When you work with a pro, you invest in quality work and strong visuals that will stand the test of time. If you’re willing to make the investment up front, then you won’t find yourself needing to update colors or recreate images every six months. A professional designer helps you create beautiful graphics that are well-grounded, timeless, and overflowing with purpose and meaning.
FOUR QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DESIGNER BEFORE REBRANDING
Do you use brand strategy as a part of your process?
It’s important that your investment in a rebrand will propel you towards your definition of success. In other words, whatever your business or personal goals may be—whether it’s increasing sales, raising your rates, connecting with a new audience, or something else entirely—your rebrand should help you achieve those goals. Your brand should allow you to lead a business and life that meets your idea of success.
In my experience, starting with strategy is the only way to make that happen. A pretty design may be nice (like, SO nice!), but brands are so much more than their logo. So if your designer doesn’t cover any brand strategy work, I strongly encourage you to look elsewhere.
Personally, I begin every custom branding project with in-depth brand strategy work to hone your vision, mission, ideal client profile, differentiators, and so much more! This helps us both gain clarity around your brand’s goals and determine the best, most strategic and beneficial way to move forward with your design.
These are my goals for the rebrand, can you honestly help me achieve them?
In every complimentary consult I have with a potential client, I take the time to ask about your business, your goals, and what your life and business will look like with your dream brand realized. From there, I’m able to honestly say whether rebranding (or branding for the first time) is the best way to make those dreams come true. I have a track record of delivering results for my branding clients that range from $50k months to selling out new programs or offers—but only because I knew those were our goals going into the project, and I was able to strategically ensure their success.
It’s important to partner with a designer and strategist who can help you achieve the kind of growth you’re dreaming of (and it’s always a bonus if they have delivered similar results for other clients before!).
What’s the investment?
Investing in a rebrand is just that… an investment. But if you think about the fact that a well-done rebrand will help you earn more, consistently generate quality inquiries, and feel more confident in the visual identity you’re presenting to your ideal clients, the investment is well worth it!
That said, it’s important to make an investment that feels doable with your available resources. During every consult call I have with a potential client, we talk through their goals, their vision for the project, and their budget, so I can put together a realistic and custom proposal that meets their unique needs.
Most designers offer payment plans and require an initial retainer payment and signed client agreement in order to get started. Although this may feel boring, it’s a necessity to have this conversation with your designer in order to make the most informed decision possible for yourself and your business.
When can we start?
Hopefully at this point in the conversation, you’re feeling confident and excited about working with your designer! But before you sign on the dotted line, be sure to ask about your designer’s availability and see how it aligns with yours.
For example, I book out weeks (and sometimes months!) in advance, so it’s important for me to share my next available start date. It’s also important for me to give an overview of how long the design process will take, so potential clients know roughly when they’ll be able to launch. For my clients in the wedding and event industry especially, this gives us the chance to ensure that we’re working during a slower season and launching prior to the engagement season so we can maximize their post-launch bookings.
CREATING A TIMELESS VISUAL STRATEGY THAT IS BOTH PURPOSEFUL & PROFITABLE
Friend, if you’re ready to create an intentional, profitable brand, then I’m here to help you! You can head right here to book a completely free consultation, where we’ll discuss each and every one of the questions above, plus a whole bunch more. It would be such an amazing joy to partner with you to take your brand to heartfelt new heights!
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