What Happens to Your Brand When Your Business Evolves?

We all want our business to grow.It's why we work so hard on our marketing strategies, our sales plans, and our product offerings.But as our business grows, it sometimes evolves, and that can be a scary thing.Perhaps…

• the work that fulfilled you or challenged you at the beginning no longer excites you
• the customers you first had are no longer your ideal client
• you have discovered new needs to be met, new problems to solve

Yet, the fear of change may be holding you back. Even as you've discovered new avenues for your business, you may be hanging on to the original products, clients or plans that you first had. It's completely understandable – those plans are the ones that were the foundation for your whole business!But if you don’t let go of those original plans you may be preventing your business from growing successfully.When you try to evolve at the same time you are trying to stay the same, you're sending mixed messages to your customers. As your business evolves, your brand message needs to evolve as well. And that's ok! Give yourself permission to make changes to your business as it grows bigger and more successful.

Business Evolution 101

Grab a notebook or your business plan and allow yourself to be honest about your business, and dream about the future…

• What is the work that you truly love doing?
• Who are the people that you absolutely adore working with/for?
• What problems do your customers need you to solve?
• What marketing strategies do you love to work on?
• What sales methods hardly feel like work to you?

Once you've answered these questions and brainstormed a bit, go back and have a think about your brand.

• Do the ways in which your business is evolving match the brand message you originally put out?
• Are there any changes you need to make your brand message?
• How can you reflect this new brand message? Do you need to make adjustments to your look (colors, fonts, icons or graphics) or to your voice (your sales copy and written content)? Do you need to make some small tweaks or is it time to do a rebrand?

Evolving Your Brand…

It's ok to evolve your brand as your business evolves. I know that sometimes feels hard (your brand may feel a bit like a baby, you may resist changing it because you spent so much time getting it just right at the beginning) or scary (you might be worried that making changes is too difficult or will negatively impact your business) but it's worth getting past those stuck feelings and making changes if they're needed.If you just want to update your brand a little, try coming up with a new tagline, rearranging your logo so that it looks more modern or fresh, updating the copy in your business so that your brand voice is more clear & strong, or updating your website with a new theme and new photos that fit with your existing logo but give your business a more professional feel.If you need to revamp your brand, try keeping one thing the same and then changing something else. For example you could keep your colors but update your icon & business name fonts.  Or you could keep your icon but give it a fresh new look with new colours & a more professional or modern feel.If you're trying to freshen up your brand but you feel really stuck, it could be that you're feeling a bit trapped with your old brand, that it's holding you back from taking your business where it needs to be. In those cases I often recommend starting with a clean slate and doing a rebrand of your business. (It's amazing how that fresh beginning can allow you to create the exact brand that your business needs moving forward!)Updating, revamping, or rebranding usually works in conjunction with other business changes. Perhaps your prices need changing, perhaps you're more clear about the ideal customer you wish to attract, perhaps you're changing your marketing & sales strategies, or perhaps you won't be doing things the way you used to.I know that a big worry of yours is how to make changes to your brand and your business in a way that retains your valued customers.

Try this…

1. Let people know that you have some big exciting changes happening that will allow you to do your best work, serve your customers better, and take your business to new heights – but that your core values (for instance your excellent one on one service, or your amazing talent to do what you do) will remain the same.2. Use this process of updating your brand as a way to build some buzz and excitement for your business. Show your customers some sneak peeks, hint at what's coming, get them to help you come up with new product names or a favorite new color.3. The people who are your right people will be cheering for you and will be thrilled that your business is just getting stronger and better. Those that were only there for your low prices or your sales methods or whatever else may not stick around, and that's a good thing! Just keep your right customers in mind as you refresh your brand, and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.When your business grows and evolves, it can be scary. Sometimes the fear of change or even the fear of success can hold us back, and make us to want to keep everything the same.Instead of being afraid, accept that evolution is necessary for your business and use it as a way to get excited about your business again. Let go of the things holding you back and go for the things you've always wanted to do.And most of all...have fun!

Do you need help learning how to evolve your brand? Then join the amplify your brand online workshop.