So...you've been in business for a few years now and things are going ok...or maybe not? If you're more in the 'maybe not' category, you may want to consider a rebrand.

I know what you're thinking...Dani, why would I waste my time rebranding my craft business when I spent so many months doing that when I started out??? You're totally right, it takes up a lot of time! And there are other things you can adjust before doing something as drastic as rebranding your business.

However, if you're experiencing slow sales and you've tried a lot to fix that already, or you're just not happy with your products or brand, changing your brand strategy is probably a good move.

A successful rebrand can do a LOT for your craft business including helping you keep up with the competition, appeal to a new type of customer, align you with the current market demands, all while giving you a fresh new look and new energy.

For creative and craft businesses, where your brand identity often ties closely to artistic vision and niche markets, rebranding can breathe new life into both your products and your audience. Let's talk a little more about what exactly a craft business rebrand entails, as well as when it might be time to consider one.

What is Rebranding?

And now for question of the day: What is rebranding?

Rebranding creative businesses goes way beyond the visual aspect of your brand. Many people think that just switching up your colors, logo, and website is rebranding, however, that this is considered more of a quick brand 'refresh'.

Rebranding actually relates more to rethinking how your products and services connect emotionally with your potential customers and your brand perception.

Your brand perception is how your audience views your brand, what they believe you are all about (whether that was your plan or not), and how it makes them feel. Rebranding will change this perception, so you'll want to be very thoughtful when making a change.

There are a lot of reasons you might want to take the time to create a rebranding strategy, however, you'll want to make sure that you have a good reason to completely change your brand identity.

Rebranding gone wrong can also confuse your audience and make you lose sales. Here are a few clear signs that it might be time for a change.

rebranding your handmade business — Etsy Shop: MyMoonSeeds

The Top 5 Signs It's Time to Rebrand

1. You’re not making enough money or want to make more

One of the key reasons you may be considering rebranding your business is that you want to increase your sales and income. Obviously, your profit is essential to your craft business' success, so if you're still not making much after being in business a while, it's worth looking into.

A common problem among handmade business owners is that they underestimate the time and effort they put into their crafts…and they’re not paying themselves for that time. This is usually due to a lack of self confidence or just being timid about charging what their products are really worth.

An example of this would be a jewelry business that isn't making enough sales. Let's say the owner is designing, making, and packaging everything from scratch, spending many hours perfecting her handmade products, but she's only charging $18 a pair (when they should easily sell for $65 a pair after labor).

In this case, the creative business owner is never going to profit. She is promoting herself as a high quality, hand crafted jewelry business, but her PRICING does not reflect that. Her customers and followers only see cheap pricing, leading them to believe that if she's charging that low, they must not be well made, or not very valuable.

A craft business rebrand and re-positioning could be very effective here, and would allow the owner to better match the brand identity with the pricing, creating a better brand strategy, and fixing the misalignment.

2. Your brand feels outdated or behind the trends

Another reason you might want to consider a rebrand is if the visual identity of your handmade business is feeling a little stale. Maybe you've been selling for a long time and never bothered to update your look or logo.

This could also be a good opportunity to re-evaluate your positioning, pricing, and ideal customer. If you're making changes, it will be less confusing if you do it all at once.

It may be that you don't need to make any changes other than a quick visual refresh. Just make sure you are certain about your new look and that it speaks to your ideal customer and their needs.

Remember in my branding post when we talked about your brand guidelines?

You'll need to revisit that after taking the time to review new market trends. Ultimately, your goal is to create a brand refresh that feels great to you and will also attract the type of customer you want to sell to.

If you choose to not keep up with the times (aka stick with the old brand colors, logo, designs) it's not the end of the world. However, just understand that the landscape of small business and e-commerce is constantly evolving and changing.

You may see your sales drop or slow down over time and just know that this could be one of the reasons that is happening.

3. You’re no longer excited about your products or services

This is a big one. Especially when you have been in business for a while. As a creative, I know that you have MANY interests! You want to do all the art things right now, sell everything, and scratch every creative itch asap.

Ok, now think about the amount of creative ideas and projects that you'll want to create within a span of 5, or even 10 years...because remember, that's what we're building here, a craft business that will grow and scale over many years.

If you don't think you're going to lose interest in your handmade product offerings and want to switch your shop up, you're just not being realistic. At some point, you're going to lose interest in even your best selling products and you'll have to figure out what to do next. This is where a rebrand can really improve things.

A rebrand can breathe new life into your existing business. It can be an exciting way to make your business more fun, creative, and one of a kind. Here's an example of what this might look like.

You have been selling homemade soy candles at craft shows in various scents for the past few years. Things are going ok, but you're a little bored.

A rebrand might look like taking your most popular citrusy and coconut scents and repositioning your brand to focus on tropical luxury. Rebrand your logo, colors, and packaging to more of a high end beach vibe. Create new candle scents in pineapple, mango, papaya, etc.

Reach out to high end clothing and home decor brands to sell wholesale, and do a photoshoot at a beach resort under the palm trees. Update your website with new colors, new copy, and product descriptions. Partner with a brand that makes straw beach totes and do a giveaway to attract new subscribers.

You could explode this niche brand a million different ways from there! (Ok wait, I might actually steal my own idea...!!) Readjusting your brand mission and brand message is fine as long as you do it very rarely and you know it will help your business grow in the long term.

4. Your brand doesn’t align with your audience anymore

If you're finding that your brand is fine, but your customers are changing...this is another great opportunity where a rebrand can help you get back on track and realigned with your audience.

We all notice shifts in the market, for example when customers start caring more about supporting small businesses that give back to charity, or they only want eco-friendly products and packaging.

Those details might not seem like that big of a deal, but if other businesses are shifting to cater to your target audience...you're going to get left behind. So take the time to do a quick brand audit and decide if a rebrand is needed.

Before making any changes, you'll want to do some in depth market research by talking with your followers, and with past customers, especially repeat customers. These are your buyers, so their opinions matter the most.

Not sure how to research your customers? Email them and offer them an incentive if they answer a short survey. If you can swing it, get them on the phone for a quick call.

These types of research methods are marketing gold. Do enough of them and you'll see a clear pattern, pointing you in the right direction which is basically guaranteed success.

Rebranding to realign with your ideal customers after doing solid market research is a great way to feel creative and excited about your brand again.

5. Your competitors’ brands are modern and more appealing

While I don't recommend watching your competitor's every move, in this case it could be helpful to take a look at some of your competitors who are selling similar crafts.

How do your products, packaging, and visual branding look compared to theirs? To keep a competitive advantage, you may need a brand refresh, or to target a new market.

When it comes to your competition, your goal is to stand out. Having unique branding is a big part of that. It could be as simple as updating your colors and graphics, or you might want to turn things upside down for a completely new look.

With any changes you make, always remember to keep your ideal customer in mind. You may love it, but will they?

Executing a Successful Rebrand

Now if you've finally determined that YES!...you want to rebrand for sure. You have a good reason to, and it's not just because you're bored! (Right?)

...how does the rebranding process actually work? Let's go through a general overview of what this might look like, considering you doing a FULL rebrand with a new brand strategy, not just a visual refresh.

Step 1: Update your brand identity where needed

This includes your craft business name, tagline, messaging, unique value proposition, and your ideal customer profile. Make sure to re-do this profile so you have a clear idea of who your new brand will be targeting. You can continue using this updated profile for future business decisions!

Step 2: Update your style guide

Remember we went over this in the branding post!

This includes your brand colors, any images, your logo, fonts, and any icons that represent the visual aesthetic of your brand.

The next big question: Do you need to hire a designer or a creative team? OR can you get away with winging it? In my opinion, if you've been in business a while, and you're making money, you should be investing back into your business.

This is a valuable place to put that money since branding is all about making your business stand out...don't you want to leave it to a professional? I'm guessing your first attempt was a 'wing it' kind of moment, so now is the time to splurge and grow. But that's just my take :)

Step 3: Review your brand story and brand voice

You'll definitely need changes here. Update the answers to these questions to complete the new story of your brand.

Brand Story:

1. What is your mission statement?
2. What do you stand for?
3. What is it that your customers care about?
4. Why is your business/product different?

Brand Voice:

1. Who is your ideal customer?
2. What type of language and style would appeal and speak to them?
3. Do they prefer short form social media posts or longer, informative blog posts?
4. Where would they most likely be hanging out online/in real life to receive your message?

Step 4: Rebrand all your digital assets

Now that you have fabulous new branding, it's time to update all your old assets. Start with the most important ones first, so any business cards, email templates, email addresses, any digital products or ebooks, aaaaand - your website. This will take some time, but it needs to get done!

Step 5: Plan out an exciting rebrand launch!

Ideally you can create all your updates, emails and website changes way in advance so you are not feeling rushed when you're letting everyone know about your fresh new look! Giving yourself plenty of time to get all your launch announcements out on every platform will lead to a successful launch worthy of your new rebrand.

Is it Time for a Rebrand?

Now that you understand what goes into a full handmade business makeover (not for the faint of heart!) you can start rebranding your business with confidence.

Taking the time and effort to make your craft business stand out and create better brand awareness may be the key to taking your business to the next level.

If your brand is not resonating with your following anymore, a rebrand could be the answer. And for creative business owners, your branding goes way beyond a simple logo or color palette, it's the story of your craft!

By improving your marketing efforts and solidifying your place in the market, your ideal customer base will look at your business in a whole new light.

Need some help getting your handmade business off the ground?

Reserve your free, no pressure Creative Clarity Call and let's talk about how working together can put you on the fast track to building a profitable handmade business you love!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Rebranding is essentially giving your craft business a full makeover. Different from a brand refresh, which focuses solely on visual aspects, rebranding will address your brand identity, brand story and voice, and even your ideal customer profile, in addition to your visual style guide.
It all depends on why you want to rebrand. If you are considering rebranding just because you are tired of the way your website looks, it’s not worth the effort. You should think of rebranding if your products no longer excite you, if you need to keep up with your competitors, or your branding is outdated.
It can be. If you fail to do accurate and in-depth market research on what your ideal customer wants and needs from your brand, you risk pushing your existing customers away. However, a rebrand can also take a brand from doing so-so, to great, if done correctly.

Rebranding Your Business: When And How To Make The Move