Rebranding Process: 5 Steps to Totally Transform Your Brand

Wondering if it’s time to rebrand your business? And if so, how do you even get started? By the end of this video you’ll know my exact rebranding process that I just used in my own business… which helped me go from this to this.

My Step-by-Step Rebranding Process

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In this video I’m sharing the step-by-step rebranding process I followed to completely transform my brand. So let’s dive in!

Rebranding Process Step #1: Have a Good Reason to Rebrand

I’m going to be honest with you—rebranding your business is a very involved, and at times daunting, process. Before you dive head first into a rebrand, you need to make sure you have a good reason for doing so.

Has your audience changed?

If you’ve been in business for a few years, it’s natural that your business, and subsequently your audience has changed and evolved. This is a great reason to rebrand—and one of the main reasons I chose to rebrand my own business.

In my recent Life Update video, I shared that I had been going through the process of rebranding my own business, for the last two years. One of the main reasons I decided to rebrand was because my audience and my ideal client had changed quite a bit. So I needed to update my branding for those people (instead of my previous ideal clients).

Have your services, products, or offers changed?

Again, if you’ve been in business for awhile, that business has (hopefully) evolved. You’re probably not still selling the same offers or offering the same services, as when you first started out.

In fact, this is one of the main reasons our agency clients reach out to us. They’re ready to pivot their business and offerings. For example, our client, Jessica Vallia, worked with us when she was ready to specialize her photography business to focus exclusively on family portraits.

She had been doing “all-the-things,” from newborns to weddings (and everything in between), but realized that her true passion was family portraiture. So we worked with her on a full rebrand that positioned her as the family portrait photography expert in her area (and beyond!). 

Has your business changed?

Maybe you’ve experienced an even bigger change in your business—like changing your name or your overall mission. This is the perfect time for a rebrand, to ensure your brand continues to be aligned with your vision for your business.

Are you struggling to grow your business, book new clients, or raise your rates?

Maybe you’ve been in business for awhile but you’re still not seeing any traction or success. Alternatively, maybe you’ve seen some success in your business, but things have plateaued lately. Both of these are excellent reasons for a rebrand.

If you’re not growing, not attracting the right clientele, and/or not able to charge appropriately for your services, chances are your current branding is doing more harm than good.

Having the right branding can position you as the go-to expert. And being an expert means you’re more desirable (i.e. more people will want to book with you), and you’re able to charge more for your services.

One reason NOT to rebrand your business

While I’ve just mentioned some great reasons to rebrand your business, there’s one really bad reason to rebrand your business:

You want a trendy new look.

Great branding should be timeless, and only need minor adjustments over time. Rebranding simply to stay on top of the trendiest styles, colors, or designs can actually do serious damage to your brand and reputation. If your look is constantly changing your audience won’t recognize your brand. And worse than that, your business may come across as flaky or untrustworthy.

Step #2: Be Fully Committed to Your Rebrand

Once you’ve decided it’s time to rebrand your business, you need to be fully committed. 

As I mentioned, rebranding your business is no small undertaking. And if you’re going to do it, you need to make sure it’s done right. That’s why I highly recommend hiring a professional branding agency who can consult with you on your brand strategy and new direction, as well as design your new branding and website.

Be prepared to invest in your rebrand

Rebranding a business isn’t cheap. Major corporations spend millions of dollars to rebrand.

I spent thousands of dollars to rebrand Moriah Riona Branding—even though most of the work was done in-house.

Believe me, branding is not one part of your business that you want to cheap out on. Be prepared to make a significant investment to transform your brand. But know that it is exactly that: an investment.

Having the right brand strategy and visual brand identity behind your business can make the difference between a business that never truly takes off, and one that stands out as the go-to industry leader.

Rebranding Process Step #3: Focus on Your Brand Strategy First

My degree is in graphic design, and nothing lights me up quite like designing the perfect logo or website for our clients.

However, in my agency we have a non-negotiable rule: we always put strategy first.

Without the proper strategy, there is no direction for design. You’re left with design simply for the sake of design—and while it may look fabulous, it’s not doing anything to accomplish your goals.

I believe in building the proper brand strategy foundation for ALL of our clients, before we ever start to conceptualize their designs. In fact we have a finely honed system we follow to help us do just that. Here are just a few of the major steps we take:

Uncover the Why Behind the Brand

Most entrepreneurs don’t know their why. And most entrepreneurs who think they know it, actually don’t.

That’s why we work one-on-one with our clients to help them uncover theirs.

When you know the why behind your brand (not behind your products, or services, but your BRAND), then you’re able to build a loyal tribe that is passionate about you and your business. 

Define Your Ideal Client

Another vitaly important step is to define your ideal client—you absolutely MUST know who your ideal client is before you brand or rebrand your business.

By knowing your ideal client, you’re able to create a brand that caters to them, makes them fall in love, and makes them realize you’re the ONE they’ve been looking for. As I mentioned earlier, this was one of the main reasons for my own rebrand. I updated and redefined my ideal client to create a brand that would speak directly to them.

If you want to learn more about defining your own ideal client, you have to check out my video, Ideal Client Avatar: 5 Steps to Getting Booked Out.

Step #4: Execute Your Brand Identity Design

Once you’ve established your brand strategy, you’re ready for the design. You now have the metaphorical road map you need to develop a brand identity that accomplishes your goals.

Our goal for all of our clients is to position them as the niche industry leaders they were born to be. And that’s exactly why I just created my brand new program Luxury Brand Leader™. 

I realized that my clients were craving a comprehensive approach to their branding—one that included strategy with the design. So, after developing our client’s unique brand strategy we create a complete visual transformation with the essential visual brand elements. And I actually followed this exact system for my own rebrand:

Brand Mood Board

We always start the design portion with an in-depth questionnaire, known as the creative brief, that outlines the design objectives for the brand. From there I create a mood board that is representative of the design aesthetic we want to emulate.

And yes, I went through this whole process myself for the Moriah Riona Branding rebrand project—including filling out my own creative brief questionnaire!

Logo and Brand System Design

The next step in the design process is to develop the main logo. The main logo is at the top of the visual brand hierarchy—and will dictate all of the subsequent designs.

From there I create a whole system of logos. [Wondering why you’d need more than one logo? Check out: 5 Types of Logos You Need for Your Business]

Then I create and curate the rest of the branding system, including brand colors, patterns, and fonts.

Brand Photography

Once the brand system is complete, we move on to the brand photography. We have some clients who fly in from out of state to work with our studio here in Colorado Springs. For other clients, we simply give guidance and direction for the shoot.

Having the right brand imagery is vital for a successful website. We work hard to ensure that the images are on brand (including wardrobe and props that are the right style and in brand colors). We also want to make sure that they have the right vibe and messaging—is the brand more serious or playful? More traditional or modern? The photography needs to match.

Website Copywriting

Website copywriting is another incredibly important element for the overall brand. While it’s not inherently a “visual” element—it is necessary for one of the largest visual assets: the website.

I of course worked with a professional copywriter for my new website copy. While I’m a fairly confident writer, I knew this was too important to do myself. We are obviously not about DIY around here!

I believe in staying in your zone of genius, and outsourcing the rest. But don’t just outsource, get the very best. That’s why copywriting was one of the largest parts of my budget for the rebrand (because obviously I handled the strategy and design myself).

For our clients we do offer them the opportunity to write their own copy and we will coach them through the process. However, we highly recommend that they work with one of our amazing copywriters to achieve the best results.

Website Design

The last part of the design process is the website. Taking everything we’ve developed over the previous few months, we bring it all together with a one-of-a-kind website that positions our client as the go-to expert.

As a designer, this is the most tedious and time consuming part of the project. But it is also the most rewarding—because it’s where it all comes together.

Then we’re ready to launch!

Rebranding Process Step #5: Launch Your New Branding

The last step in the rebranding process is to launch! After all the blood, sweat, and tears that go into a rebrand, it’s easy to forget this vital step.

But that would be a big mistake.

You need to let the world know that your new, totally transformed brand is here. One of my favorite ways to do this is through your content marketing.

For my own rebrand I’ve created multiple videos, blog posts, emails, and social media posts dedicated to my launch. [In fact, this post is one of them!]

So, even though you might be exhausted from the rebranding process, your work isn’t quite finished. Create a dedicated launch strategy to share your new brand with the world!

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Are you ready to rebrand? Then you have to check out my brand new program: Luxury Brand Leader™ a 4-month one-on-one brand transformation intensive to take you from unseen to unstoppable. Get on the waitlist now!

Wanna know more about what it takes to transform your lackluster branding into a high-end luxury brand that commands premium prices?

Then grab my free guide—7 Steps to a Luxury Brand—and check out these other videos:

Luxury Branding Tips: 4 Secrets From Louis Vuitton

Luxury Brand Logo Design Basics

Luxury Experience: How To Build Brand Loyalty For Your Small Business In 3 Steps

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