Does Your Brand Need Updating? Answer 5 Questions & Find Out.
By Katie Payne
To keep up with changing markets, trends, and audiences, your brand needs to constantly evolve. Our five questions will help you determine if your brand is up to date or if it needs some refreshing.

Growing your brand is like cultivating a newly planted tree—it needs constant nurturing to thrive. And in today’s ever-evolving world, a successful brand needs to be tended to more often than you might think. You must pay attention—there are many factors that impact your brand’s effectiveness and, ultimately, your company’s revenue.
Why Your Brand Is So Important
Your brand is crucial to the success of your business—it’s your company’s identity, personality, and story all in one. It’s what makes your company recognizable to your audience and it’s what attracts and retains your customers.
Many companies assume that their existing brand is working for them, simply because they have one. This isn’t the case. If it doesn’t reflect the current state of your business, then you are doing your company a disservice—you’re providing a less-than-stellar customer experience, losing out on revenue, and possibly degrading your brand equity overall.
With an updated brand, your company stays relevant and top of mind with customers, and stands out from competitors within your industry. Because your brand is so important to your company’s success, it’s imperative that you audit it from time to time.
How to Know When You Should Update Your Brand
Technology is moving quickly, the competition in your space is multiplying, and audience expectations and behaviors are always changing. So, if it seems like it takes less time these days for a brand to become outdated, and even irrelevant, that’s because it’s true. Is your current brand falling behind in our fast-paced world? Is it time for your brand to evolve?
We’ve come up with five questions to help you identify if your brand is in need of an update:
1) Is your brand driven by strategy?
Not only does your audience recognize your brand, but they also feel and think a certain way about it. Are you doing the best of job of explaining who your company is to your customers—across all your platforms and collateral? A brand strategy helps you take a unified and consistent approach to showing your customers who you are, what sets you apart, and why they should care about your brand.
2) Is your messaging clear and differentiating?
We’ve been taught since childhood that words have meaning, and you have to be thoughtful about what you say. The same is true in business—messaging is the foundation of your brand. Over time, the messaging that once worked might now lack clarity or no longer speaks to your customer. Has your audience changed? Has your company evolved or grown? Are you standing out from your competitors? Take a close look at what you’re saying about your company—it might be time to rethink your brand messaging.
3) Is your visual brand beautiful and consistent?
Did you know your color palette increases brand recognition up to 80%? Your company’s visual identity is arguably the first thing that your audience notices about your brand, so it often defines how they perceive it. It’s your opportunity to communicate your brand personality—innovative, sophisticated, inclusive, whatever it may be—right away. Do your visuals stand out or fall a bit flat? Are the colors dull or no longer resonating? Your visual brand should make your company brand and personality shine, like it does for Cambium Learning Group.
4) Is your website modern and engaging?
Your company’s website is the easiest (and sometimes only) way for your audience to engage with your brand. So, your digital presence not only needs to represent your brand accurately, but it has to look current, be easy to use, and appeal to your unique audience. Because technology today moves so quickly, your website can become outdated fast. Does your site have movement or is it pretty static? Is the design outdated? Modern functionality and easy navigation contribute to an optimal user experience, which can directly impact your company’s success.
5) Do the right people know you exist?
Don’t let your brand be like the tree that falls in the woods, but no one is around to see it. How are you engaging your customers? In the digital space, social media efforts help but are just one piece of the marketing puzzle. An integrated marketing plan that includes email and other tactical approaches to reach your target audience can build awareness and significantly improve how people connect with your company.
So, Is it Time to Update Your Brand?
If you answered yes to all of these questions, then consider your brand in good shape for now. If you answered no to any of them, you might want to consider refreshing your brand and addressing the issues that you just identified.
Although it might sound incredibly daunting and can be a massive undertaking, depending on your company’s size, a brand update is achievable with the right plan. Your brand must evolve in an evolving world in order to thrive. An investment in the rebranding process will pay dividends for your company in the long run.
Need help with your brand development, but don’t know where to start? Contact us today.