Thursday, July 21, 2011

How to Know When It’s Time to Re-Brand

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

Our businesses are always evolving, but we don’t always rush to change our brand with every change in our business, because brand consistency is so important.  However, there comes a time for many of us that we realize we have outgrown our brand. That happened to me recently. In fact, this realization is long in the coming.

In 2006 my business changed radically. That year I became a certified Strategic Attraction CoachTM and began integrating the Attraction Consulting  into my design business. Through the deep inner work inspired by the Attraction Planning process, I saw more clearly what is most important to me. At that time I started calling myself The Magical Marketer, created the Branding from the Heart system, and began teaching conscious entrepreneurs how to attract their perfect customers with an authentic approach to marketing.

Clearly I had moved beyond “Graphic Girlz” into a whole new realm of marketing. However I kept my old brand because I already had a decade of marketing invested into it. Now, only after months of inquiry and frank critique by several coaches and colleagues, I’m clear that it’s time to put Graphic Girlz away and rebrand my business as Magical Marketing, and I’m working on a tagline now, something like, “Branding that Captures Your Essence and Attracts Ideal Clientele.”

I’ve designed a new logo that I’m happy with, and I’m well on my way to launching my new website (stay tuned for that coming early Fall) Standing here and looking back, I wonder why it took me so long.  

An even better question is how can I help others before they’ve been living with an outdated brand for too long?

So I have come up with 3 Sure Signs that Your Brand is Outdated. Check these signs against your brand to see if your brand has been outgrown by your business.

1) Your Brand is about a specific offering but you offer way more than that now. For instance, Graphic Girlz is clearly about Graphic Design but I offer Brand Strategy and Attraction Marketing Services. That’s a good sign the Brand needs to expand to cover all the offerings.

2) You have had a philosophic shift that your brand doesn’t reflect. For instance, I created Graphic Girlz as a graphics services partnership in 1995. In 1998 my partner left and I had a deep spiritual shift which led to involvement with Law of Attraction principles.

3) People express confusion about what you actually do.  I recently had someone I’ve been networking with for years say to me, “but you don’t do logos, do you?” When people who know you are confused about your offerings, it’s time to upgrade your brand message.

4) You are embarrassed to show your brand to anyone. Do you apologize when you hand your card out because your brand is not a great representation of your brilliance? This is a sure sign that it’s time to upgrade your branding. An embarrassing brand is not an attractive brand!

Are you ready for a brand that is a true reflection of your vision, your purpose, your personality and your attraction plan? Shining your light to the world is your destiny. Let me help your light be a beautiful, authentic and wildly attractive one.

Apply for your complimentary Magical Strategy Session at http://www.magicalstrategysession.com/ or call Julia at (707) 823-3316 to schedule your appointment.