Published:

11/08/2014 02:26am

How Do You Rebrand Without Having to Start From Scratch?

When you start your business it's like a wild love affair, it's new, it's exciting but sometimes, after a while things change...


You're going through the motions, but the passion just isn't there.
You start seeing happy coaches, and wonder what they got going on that you're missing.
You're afraid to leave because you're not sure what comes next.

Your relationship with your business is not unlike a personal relationship.

Sometimes you're just not a good match, or you begin to grow apart as you grow as a person.
The good news is, breaking up with your business can be much easier than breaking up with a person. And there's no shame in moving on quickly to your new flame, (or *gasp* even having a dalliance on the side until you're ready to make the switch).
But how do you morph your business into something new, exciting, and that suits where you are now?
Well this is where rebranding comes in.
Branding is all about building a reputation around your business that is built on your message and connects with your audience. And all the work you've done in your old business doesn't need to be for nought.
For the most part, when a coach chooses to rebrand it's not because they are going into a completely new business (like carpet cleaning) they are usually just shifting focus around who they're working with, the services they're offering, or they have a new message.
In most cases, the work they've already done can easily follow them into the new business.
Such as:


Prospects that are already on their list and active in their brand community.
Offerings they've already created and that could be re-worked with their new brand.
Collateral like a website design or other graphic materials that could be adapted for the new brand.

The truth is that, unlike Walmart even if you make significant changes to your brand - most people aren't even going to notice.

The difference between you and Walmart (other than the billions of dollars they're making) is that your audience knows you on a much more personal level. They don't associate you with a logo, you're you no matter what you end up doing for your business.
If you've been doing your due diligence and building a relationship with your audience they will readily follow you in your new direction, and as long as you let them know what's up they aren't going to be confused.
And hey, if you haven't been doing your due diligence... then they probably aren't going to care anyway. Right?
So what's the protocol for launching a new brand?
Well it's pretty simple really, you create your new brand (usually represented with a website) and send a lovely announcement email to your followers, post on your social media accounts, phone your mom, forward all of your old URL's and badabing you're a new brand!
Or, you could take advantage of the opportunity and re-launch your business with a bang.
When I rebranded myself a few years ago, I didn't do it quietly. Instead I used the opportunity to gain extra visibility and took my business to a new level. Specifically I:


Seeded hints to my list of what was about to be unveiled to build excitement.
Told my colleagues about the big change so they could help make it big news.
Hosted a telesummit with experts across the industry to build buzz and my list.
Launched a new coaching program on the heels of the telesummit.
Started a community call a few weeks later where I give free branding advice every week.

This may sound like a lot, but in reality everything fell into place one piece after another and it wasn't that hard to keep up with. The result was that I grew my list of 180 to a list of over 2000 in under 3 months. That year I tripled my revenue, and since this was at the same time that I quit my full time job - it was definitely reassuring!

As you can see, rebranding doesn't mean starting over and with strategic choices you can use the transition to gain momentum and get that fresh start you're looking for.
And you can have all of it, without breaking any hearts.

Holly Chantal is the founder of The Land of Brand, a website design and branding company for coaches and solopreneurs. Go to http://www.thelandofbrand.com and download a free video training on how to use your personality to create a unique brand - because your mom was right when she said you were special.