Refreshing your brand is easy. Refreshing it well is harder.
With tools like Canva making every design decision instant, it's tempting to change things reactively. New colors because you saw something you liked, a new logo because a competitor rebranded, a new vibe because you're bored with the old one. But reactive branding leads to inconsistency, and inconsistency is what actually hurts a brand long term.
A mindful brand refresh means knowing what to change, why to change it, and when. Here's how to approach it.
First up, why should you track your brand for your brand refresh?
Tracking your visual identity has way more power than it sounds.
As with anything visual, we tend to opt into personal preference–nothing wrong with that. The only issue is that when you're building a brand for your customers (so that you can help and support them and in turn build a strong business), personal preference only goes so far.
When you build a new brand for your clients and customers with compassion then, you not only build a strong visual identity but you also stand out in the market space because you're an active listener. This allows your new brand to stay relevant and up to date and your customers to truly feel part of it.
Either way, how will you know if your brand identity is really working other than gathering feedback?
By tracking your visual identity to make your brand refresh process unmistakable!
How to start the brand refresh process?
A successful rebranding strategy or brand refresh requires you to know your target audience and what's working or not in your current brand.
Even if your existing brand equity (the worth of your brand in and of itself, for example, the social value of a well-known brand name.) isn't well established yet, turning your focus to your target audience and potential customers will help you in your brand refresh or rebranding process.
Simply by being conscious of your current marketplace, existing brand visuals and what your brand image conveys to your target audience can lead you to brand new insights of your new competitive edge, brand positioning, and even new brand elements that you wouldn't have thought of otherwise.
It's like you're co-creating with your best friends!
So, no matter where you are in your brand refresh strategy, tracking what your dream clients and customers are saying about your brand is the first step.
So, how does the tracking work for your brand refresh?
Once you have your branding in place, capture any feedback you've received from your target audience and dream clients into a dedicated database. It will compile it into a document and track any tweaks that need to be made for your brand refresh. This will help keep you accountable and ensure that your brand is staying true to its brand strategy and original vision!
3 crucial elements to keep in mind as you track your brand:
Be mindful of who is giving feedback on your visual identity
While friends and family members' feedback is appreciated (thanks mom!), you want to be careful about who you take design feedback from. Try and stick to people that you know are ideal clients or new customers for your small business, even if your business fits within a groundbreaking new market. Your customer's perception is what counts for your brand refresh efforts, otherwise you might find yourself looking for market trends and I know your brand deserves way more than that.
So, just keep in mind the kind of audience you'll be accepting feedback from and make an effort to note only the ones that are relevant to your brand. It's ok to be selective! Remember, you're building a brand for your audience first.
What's resonating with them?
You'll be surprised by how people react to your visual elements. What was their favorite thing about your design or current brand?
Note those "love notes" down so that you know what to do more of, this will help you create a strong brand. This follows the 80/20 Pareto's rule – 20% of what you do will result in 80% of the results.
For your brand refresh, this means a clear anchor point to know what exactly to do for your next visual creation.
What didn't resonate?
Maybe something you created and thought would be ideal for your audience didn't quite hit the mark. What were some specific comments that people had about the design or branding? And, are you willing to let it go?
Remember: "Rejection is simply redirection." It's just feedback!
There are always going to be people that don't resonate with your brand. That's okay! (Seriously, even Mother Theresa had non-admirers.)
Just remember not to take any feedback too personally and always ask why they may not have liked it without being attached to it. It could be something as simple as the color palette you chose isn't contrasting enough or how you positioned your new logo. Oftentimes, it has nothing to do with you or the quality of your work. So, take it with gratitude and with a grain of salt.
P.S. Still figuring out your brand colors? Check out this article.
How do I refresh my brand identity?
Now that you've gathered all this feedback, it's time to take action, let the brand refresh process begin! Compile your brand audit, implement the changes that have been suggested and track how your branding is being received. Use this data to continue tweaking and perfecting your branding, marketing materials and website design until you're confident in its final form.
But please, don't do it every other day or often because it will lead you to lots of unhealthy choices. Like skipping your meditation when you know it's important or eating way too much chocolate in one day or something like that–that's burnout.
Whenever you think about a brand refresh for your visual branding, creating new marketing materials or a personal makeover, plan for it mindfully not reactively. Your brand refresh strategy should simply be gathering the feedback, assessing the data and then following my rule of thumb once a quarter.
Track monthly. Tweak seasonally.
It's a good idea to track your visual branding and designs monthly – that way you have an idea on what kinds of changes you'd like to make seasonally. Especially if your business falls within a new market, learning all about your audience is a must!
For example, if you're noticing that people aren't resonating with your current color palette for a few consecutive months, plan a color refresh next season. Or, if any of any brand elements in your style guide are getting lost in the sea of the internet noise, then see how you can simplify them next season. Think of it as your brand's own competitive analysis, compared to your old brand.
Similarly to building a profitable business, all it takes is a little bit of patience, open ears to observe your audience, a good tracking system to note all your insights and then a specific date for your brand audit and brand refresh execution.
You got this!
What about my website?
Making sure you follow the same rules and guides for your website design: note down which pages are most popular and which are beginning to gather spider webs. Track where people are scrolling through or scrolling past.
Go back to your website brand messaging, is it still relevant? Is your brand voice still authentic to you? Those are all small things that make a big difference in your user's experience (how people feel and act when navigating through your site).
It shouldn't take you more than an afternoon to analyze all the data and brainstorm a game plan for your website and brand refresh.
Use these tools to make your website design better
Some tools I absolutely love and highly recommend to all solopreneurs: Google Analytics, Google Search Console and Hotjar.
The difference between rebranding and brand refresh
Sometimes, your brand might actually need a sub brand or a little bit of tweaking and the design feedback will be resolved. Follow my rule of thumb below and go full force with your brand update.
However, if there are more changes that need to be made and your branding efforts aren't striking a chord with your customer base, then it might be time for a rebrand!
Rebrands mean starting from scratch and having your brand look completely different so that everything aligns with your ideal vision and target audience.
It may sound intimidating at first but trust me when I say... It'll help prevent stress down the road! If you are wondering if it's time for a rebrand or if you'd like to know the difference between a brand refresh vs rebrand, check out this blog post.
Tracking feedback is only useful if your foundation is solid to begin with.
If you're getting mixed signals about your brand (some people love it, others don't get it), that's usually a foundation problem, not a feedback problem. Before You Design Anything helps you get clear on what your brand should say before you start tweaking what it looks like. Start with Before You Design Anything →
Refreshing your brand mindfully means knowing what to change, what to keep, and what to leave alone. Track the feedback, tweak seasonally, and always start from your foundation – not from what you saw on someone else's Instagram.