How renaming can help you grow

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Renaming is hard. It's expensive and time-consuming, and it can distract vital team members from their regular work. So why pass it up? Because if you're a small business looking to grow, a rebrand may be just what you need to fuel your growth.

Recently, at Hiline, we took a close look at how our brand was performing and realized that we could better differentiate our company in the market. So we took a deep breath, gathered our resources and committed to a quick rebrand. Here's what we learned.

1. Your brand should reflect what the market needs at the moment.

A competitive analysis can help you understand what customers are looking for in the market and crystallize your brand unique value proposition.

When we looked at competitors' websites and content, we were reminded of why we started this company in the first place. We saw how outdated much of the financial operations industry still is and realized we were different. This allowed us to highlight our unique modern brand story.

Like the High Line in New York City, we've turned an outdated, neglected space into a technology-enabled, people-first ecosystem to better serve the community. We've broken the conventional accounting firm model to offer clients a new premium experience, so we've adjusted our content to highlight this theme.

When we looked at the data on our site, we learned that some pieces of content weren't performing as well as others and that some of the site's navigation needed work. So, we review our strategy to connect with market interests in real time. Our goal is to provide clarity, actionable knowledge and peace of mind to ambitious entrepreneurs, and our content and site structure now reflect this.

2. A brand is more than a marketing tool

Having a strong brand allows you and your customers to punch above your weight. It gives everyone in business the tools to talk about who you are, what you believe in, and what you can do.

In the case of Hiline, our brand refresh allowed us to renew our focus on our core differentiators: people, process and technology. We learned that to provide a supportive environment where growth-minded companies can get the expertise and support they need to scale, we need to position our enterprise in modern, accessible language and maintain a human connection.

3. A good brand provides a structure for growth

Having a strong identity is like the scaffolding when building a bridge. Because you already have the handles and the basics in place, your brand gives you all the architecture you need to create content, launch products, and get funding. It allows you to present yourself in the market, which reflects what you can do.

Our branding work also paved the way for new content channels. This fall, Hiline is launching a new podcast, Fiscally Awesome, which will feature insights from internal and external experts, focusing on key topics such as building great financial operations for small businesses, leading thinking in financial management and the role of technology in driving business growth. This allows us to be more personal and align with our goal of empowering entrepreneurs to build thriving businesses.

Doing the job

Although six months is ideal to complete a full rebrand, a quick rebrand can be accomplished in three with the right resources, you'll need to prioritize your time and make tough choices about what can what is done and what cannot be done. But if you take on most of the work and surround yourself with experts, you can still deliver a quality brand refresh on time and on budget.

Here are three key takeaways from this process:

1. Small teams move faster

While a little preliminary listening is important, don't fall into the trap of asking for buy-in from every stakeholder to move forward. Choose a few key people for your committee who can help you generate ideas, provide quality feedback and, most importantly, know when to put down the pen.

2. Trusted partners take you from good to good

Not everyone is born to write clear, compelling copy. Even your Christina marketing Maven needs an editor. No matter how well you know your brand personally, an expert copywriter or brand expert can help you crystallize your ideas and make them sing. The same is true for a graphic designer. Hire an outside designer who understands your aesthetic values and goals, then trust them to produce a visual identity that reflects that. In the long run, hiring branding experts can save you time, money, and a lot of headaches.

3. The delete key can be your superpower

Delete, delete, delete. Resist the urge to put more words on the page, add more ideas, or include last-person copy. A single sentence or phrase will speak volumes if you use the right words. It will grab the reader's attention and have more sticking power than a page of dense copy. Keep editing your core ideas until you have as little information as possible on one page.

While we were refreshing our brandit often felt like threading a needle during a storm. But despite the challenges, the process was worth it. We now have the right language, content channels and site navigation to match the current market. We've reinforced our commitment to empowering small businesses and arrived at a fun, educational and scalable brand that reflects who we are, where we've been and where we're going.

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