When should businesses change?

What's this about?

Change can often happen subtly and gradually, with businesses only noticing long after when problems arise. Taken from Brand Book IV, Shades of Change, we share the five signs that suggest you need to reconsider your strategy and approach to maintain a resilient brand.

Change rarely arrives with a big flashing warning sign. More often, it shows up in small shifts. It could be how customers talk about you, how your people explain the business, how the market is moving, or how well your current story still fits your ambition. The trick is to notice these signals early, before they become problems.

Here are the five signs you should look out for, so that you know when it's time to change your strategy:

1. Your business has outgrown its story - and its look

What got you here isn’t necessarily what will get you there.

As businesses evolve, their original proposition and their visual identity can both become too narrow, too dated, or simply no longer representative of what they’ve become.

2. You’ve moved but your reputation hasn’t caught up

There’s a gap between what you say, what you’ve become, and what people still believe.

Customers, partners, talent and investors don’t update their view the moment you do. If people consistently associate you with something you’ve outgrown, or overlook something you now do well, your story hasn’t caught up with your reality.

3. Your industry has changed around you

You haven’t moved. But the ground has.

Sometimes the pressure to change has nothing to do with ambition. Markets shift, technology advances, competitors reposition, and expectations rise.

4. Your people don’t know how to articulate what you do anymore

If your own people struggle to explain the business, expect everyone else to struggle too.

Growth, new services, acquisitions and changing propositions can create complexity that leaves people using different stories to describe the same business.

5. You’re asking a new audience to trust you

New markets and new capital both demand a story that’s never had to work this hard before.

Whether you’re entering a new market, courting new investors, or preparing for a raise, you’re asking people with no prior relationship to your brand to trust you quickly. A story built for your existing audience may not do that job for a new one.

If you tick any of these boxes, then it’s time to take a look at your brand strategy.

Luckily for you, the fourth edition of the Brand Book, which looks at change and how it impacts businesses has useful advice and insight. It looks at different types of change, as well as how businesses can respond effectively. Read free now, or request a hard copy of your own.