Does Your Brand Need a Service?

My car is 1001 km past its last service interval. 

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How do I know? Because of the handy reminder from that little sticker on the windscreen that says I should have had it serviced in October at 100,000 kms! It’s booked for next week, but it got me thinking. Mainly about things in business that we let slide, which could also cost us big time if ignored for too long. 

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One thing that can often be overlooked during stressful periods is our branding or website quality. Sadly, as business owners, we aren’t given a little sticker that says, “You’re due on this date for a branding review.”

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The thing about being overdue with refreshing your branding, strategy, website or marketing materials? The longer you go without realising, the more money you’re losing. So, I thought I’d write a short piece on the telltale signs that a refresh is in order, just in case it’s that time for you.

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1. It’s been 4-5 years since your last refresh 

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Generally speaking, if your branding has been done well, you should get at least 4 to 5 years out of it (unless you are in a particularly dynamic industry). However, because many businesses start with mediocre branding, it will start showing its age a lot faster. I’ve seen a lot of new businesses skimp on branding to start going, but that can look decidedly average well within 4 to 5 years. 

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So, if it has been 4+ years since a refresh, it’s probably worth looking at what you’ve got and whether it still best represents who you are. 

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2. Your competitors look better

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I like looking at my competition every six months or so, mainly because I am competitive—and hate it if someone looks or communicates better than we do. Most work is competitive, and people are going to judge us on what we produce, so as a service provider, I can’t stand being outshone because I know it is costing me. 

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However, after many years of asking, I know I am in the minority on this. Most professional firm owners rarely look at their competitors; they are too busy doing the work, but I’d encourage you to do so. 

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Take 10 minutes now. Google your top 10-20 competitors. If they look better than you, more polished and professional, and clients are making decisions between you, it is probably time to get that fixed. 

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3. You aren’t proud of your brand or website

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We all know if something doesn’t look great or isn’t the best reflection of who and what we are. We often push that down as something we can’t fix right away, which is fair enough. But if you have those thoughts, it’s worth exploring what a refresh can look like. 

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Over the years one of the best pieces of feedback from our clients has been about how proud their team are of the new brand, and how that helps drive better performance and growth. People want to work at places they are proud of, and a rebrand can go a long way to building that.  

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4. You want to attract different or better clients and understand that requires a change 

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Most professional services businesses evolve. 

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At the start, we take on the work we can get as we need to pay the bills, but over time, it becomes clearer who we want to work for and what we want to become. A lot of our clients go through this in years 3-6 of business and ultimately recognise that they need to make a change to attract the right clients, not just any clients. When you’re niching down or levelling up, you need to have the ability to get inside the mind of your target persona and what they want, need, and accept. 

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Luckily, that’s our bread and butter. 

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Think you're overdue for a brand refresh, or another brand service? Flick us a message today for a friendly chat.