Your business brand is not only a symbol of value but an important tool that can enhance your company’s reputation. A good brand is easy to sell, making it possible to attract prospects, build trust, and convert them into lifetime customers.

Over the years, we’ve been involved in helping businesses re-imagine their brand messaging and identity to boost their market visibility. We’ve constantly noted that a clear and executable rebranding strategy is key to transforming the company’s values, beliefs and perception.

Every business reaches a point in its life cycle when change becomes inevitable. The signs might not be obvious, but we’ve identified some by studying big companies that have had to rebrand.

For example, Apple rebranded from Apple computers to Apple Inc. in 1997. The rebrand came with lots of changes. Not only did it diversified the company’s portfolio from only computers to other innovative products (iPad, iPhone, iPod), but it also introduced a new slogan, “Think Different.” The latter focused on the prospects’ personality, and the message was, “you must be really different to buy an Apple product.” The rebrand turned Apple into one of the most valuable and profitable companies in the tech industry.

If you are still contemplating the idea of rebranding your business, here are five signs that will tell you it’s time to make a move.

1. Competition is Catching Up

You’ll know it’s time to rebrand when the market becomes dull and everyone is doing the same thing. Maybe your competitors are copying your strategies and trying to retrace your every move. This could be the time to make the shift, extend your outreach and dominate the market. The best way to do this is to introduce a competitive product or service and make it your core selling point with strong key messaging. Manifesting this in your brand is vital, and that’s where rebranding can be of great value.

2. Outdated Messaging 

As time goes by, cultures, norms, views, and ideas change. Most businesses are built around these basics, meaning they’ll need to re-evaluate their market standing.

For instance, businesses built in the 19’s were based on culture and messaging that may not be relevant to the current market. An example is Uncle Ben’s, a popular rice brand from Mars Food manufacturer in the US. Uncle Ben’s is now rebranding to Ben’s original to get rid of its packaging considered racially insensitive. Other household names facing a rebrand due to outdated messaging are Aunt Jemima syrups and foods from Pepsi. Back in the days, “uncle” and “aunt” were used in some US states to refer to black individuals, instead of the respectful and formal “Mister” or “Miss.”

3. Your Business Has Changed

If your business has diversified over the years, rebranding is necessary to ensure you’re capturing the new products or services within your brand messaging. Changing the logo, the visuals and even the tagline helps position your business for success. The shift in the service or product delivery should match what you’re offering in the market. This will help you attract the right prospects with ease. Your branding, which includes your business name, should capture the feelings you hope to evoke from your customers so if that has shifted since you started doing business, that is a telltale sign it’s time to rebrand.

4. The Graphics and Visuals are Obsolete 

If you’ve not modified your brand in the last ten plus years, the graphics and visuals on the logo might need some refreshing. Keep in mind that while the logo plays a key role in selling your brand, rebranding is more than just changing your logo or the brand tagline. You want to go deeper and review all your social channels. Make sure your website is responsive, and the graphics are impressive at best and fit well within your industry. A professionally designed logo, visuals and graphics will go a long way in giving your company the attention and credits it deserves. One B2B marketer saw a 34% increase in revenue after a complete website overhaul as part of its rebranding strategy. This indicates the value you can drive from a well-branded and optimized website coupled with the right marketing techniques.

5. Your Current Brand is Confusing 

A brand identity that’s confusing or misrepresents the core of the business’s mission can lose your prospects. Revisiting your brand with your sales team and collecting feedback from your customers can help you rebrand to something better. You can also tweak the brand messaging to ensure that the people you’re reaching out to know exactly what you are offering.

As you work on improving or scaling up your business, pay attention to the above five indicators, and you’ll be in a better position to adapt to the changing market dynamics. The truth is, rebranding can help reposition your business, but it takes a solid strategy to do it right.