As a business owner, we’re betting you’re quite the idea generator. It’s part of what makes you a great entrepreneur — your brain is cooking something up virtually 24/7. But when you’re ready to grow in a specific direction or hone your brand after years of throwing things at the wall to see what sticks… those big ideas can often become big distractions. 

If you’re stepping into a rebrand and feeling all the creativity and ideas come rushing in, that’s great! We love the energy! But your brand deserves (and needs) cohesion and clarity. That’s why it’s important to find ways to “buffer” your ideas and select the ones that align with the truest version of your brand. 

This is why you need a brand coach, doll. (Amongst other reasons…)

THE BALANCE BETWEEN CREATIVITY & CLARITY DURING A REBRAND

When you start to work with a brand designer, it’s like creative Pop Rocks. They have you thinking about your business in all new ways, from the impact you want to make to where you see yourself in 10 years. You’ll also be thinking about colors, icons, graphics, social media, and website design. 

Because of this fresh creative energy, you may find yourself wanting to incorporate everything that lights you up! This energy will inevitably flow over into other areas of your rebrand, too. 

You might be working with a tech team to build out new software or processes (and have a ton of ideas on how you can wow clients or customers with new bells and whistles). 

You’ll likely work with a copywriter to help match your voice to your visuals (and want to flex your voice in unexpected ways). 

You might work with a graphic designer, social media manager, or other professional to help you market your brand (and have a ton of ideas on how to stand out online). 

A rebrand is a season of possibility — and we know how tempting it is to lean in and let your ideas run wild. However, as the “conductor of this orchestra,” that means that most of the decision-making comes down to you. When you have more and more ideas, and a team to help you execute them, you might find yourself thinking, “Why not?”

But beware: This is often how a rebrand turns into chronic rebranding because there is little strategy and little clarity on which ideas are actually most important. By the time your rebrand is done, it feels like a modge-podge of elements you thought were good at the time, but you realize don’t always go together. 

And while you’ll likely be working with a branding team that is comprised of experts, it’s not their job to help you make decisions on every front. It’s your brand designer’s job to hone in on the visual elements that share your values and make an impact. It’s not, however, their job to buffer (and incorporate) all your new ideas. Your copywriter is there to consider all the ways you can share your values through messaging and to find the voice that your audience resonates with. It’s not your copywriter’s job to navigate real-time changes to your offers or to scrap everything when you decide to go in a new direction.

This is exactly why you need a brand coach.

WHAT IS BRAND COACHING?

The long & short of it: A brand coach holds space for a business owner’s ideas and helps sift through them to determine which one(s) best fits the brand. They work directly with business owners during a brand development project, whether that’s a rebrand, a new brand, or the creation of a sister brand or sub-brand. 

While other people on your branding team are responsible for the execution of a clear plan to provide clear deliverables, a brand coach acts as your “right hand,” helping you brainstorm ideas and select the best ones.

The brand coach is a sounding board but not a “yes man.” Instead of finding ways to make all your exciting ideas come true, it’s their job to advocate for the brand and constantly redirect you to the vision, mission, and values you set at the start of your project.

This is why we have Megan on our team here at Rendezvous Creative — and why brand coaching is built into the fabric of our Rendezvous Roadmap. We understand the creative fusion that happens between a brand team and a business owner, and we want to make sure those ideas are funneled in the right direction for the most impact. 

How else can a brand coach improve the outcomes of your rebrand or brand development? Scroll on, Dear Reader.

BRAND COACHING HELPS CONNECT YOUR BRAND + YOUR AUDIENCE

Your brand persona and your ideal client persona should be besties. 

While we can rant all day about ideal client avatars and why they aren’t everything they’ve been cracked up to be, you still need to understand the basic qualities found in your ideal buyer so you can speak to them. You have to have a basic client avatar to tell you how they engage with the world — and with brands like yours. 

On the flipside, you also need a persona for your brand. You want to know how your brand sounds, feels, looks, and acts — and how all of that helps your business engage with your audience. Don’t assume you know your audience; this is the time for market research and evaluation. 

Remember: Your brand has evolved, which is why you’re investing in changing it. But odds are, your ideal client has changed, too. 

Overwhelmed at the thought of getting to know your brand and audience personas? A brand coach can help you understand both — and find ways to make your two personas click like puzzle pieces. A great brand coach like Megan can also help you understand disconnect, potential misalignment of values and language, and help you formulate a path forward, so you can feel fully connected to your business and who it serves when the branding day is done. 

BRAND COACHING HELPS YOU GET CLEAR ON YOUR MOTIVATIONS & EMOTIONS

A rebrand is a big step — and a big time commitment. It also requires you, the business owner, to think deeply about your work. This is why it’s all the more important that you have a general handle on what’s a “therapy problem” and what’s a business problem BEFORE you rebrand. 

You may crave a rebrand because you’re frustrated by your visuals, or because you want to attract a different kind of client. You may be driven into a rebrand because you’ve realized you don’t love the work you do. Those are all valid reasons to prepare for a rebrand. But… often, our motivations aren’t solely based on business decisions. 

When life gets messy, it’s easy to escape into your business. We’ve seen it time and time again: Folks stepping into a rebrand because it’s an easy way to invest in their business… but they’re really just investing in a distraction. 

By working with a certified business coach, you’ll have someone who can help you identify those deeply rooted differences in your motivation, so you can understand what’s personal, what’s business, and where to draw the line. Sans opinion, sans judgment.

Brand coaches can also help you reprioritize when things get busy. There are many steps to a rebrand, and knowing which one to focus on (without burning the candle at both ends) is vital.

NOTE: It’s also a good idea to speak to a brand coach before diving into a rebrand. Stepping into a project like this before you’re ready (or when you don’t have the time) is a recipe for disaster. Plus, starting a brand project before you’re ready just creates more work for you — and that severely limits the potential for your final brand’s impact. This is why our brand coach attends all our discovery calls, and leads the first onboarding call where you’ll discuss your mission, vision, and values. 

BRAND COACHING HELPS SEPARATE A GOOD IDEA FROM A LACKLUSTER ONE

Not every idea is a good one. You know it’s true. 

But when it comes time to rebrand, there’s often a sense of urgency that leads a business owner to overcommit — or commit to the wrong priorities. 

Truthfully, your branding project might not need you to totally overhaul your offers and create new ones. Maybe that neon green color palette isn’t the right choice for a long-lived brand. And what if you’re thinking about totally changing your ideal audience? Only you know what’s right for your business, but sometimes you need objective insights from another person, so you don’t make a decision that can affect your brand negatively. That’s why it’s so important to work with a brand coach. 

A brand coach can help you evaluate what’s a good idea to implement now, what’s a good idea for the future, and which choice is actually in line with your brand vision. They’ll help you see the bigger picture and where those ideas could fit into your vision while helping you maintain a strategic approach to your brand.

They aren’t here to tell you what to do, but rather ask questions and hold a mirror up to your own thoughts, so you can decide for yourself (with less overwhelm). Plus, they can help you translate your new ideas into action plans for the other people on your brand team. 

Here at Rendezvous, Megan is something of a liaison; she listens to all your ideas and helps process the context. From there, she helps our clients express what they want and need with the rest of our brand team. This is invaluable, as everyone on the team knows that the idea is going to be truly impactful and thought-out. 

BRAND COACHING HELPS YOU STAY TRUE TO YOUR VISION

Whether you’re rebranding a business or creating an entirely new brand, this process is a wildly creative endeavor. And while those creative juices can help you build something truly magical, you want everything to be truly aligned with your vision for your business and its impact.

A brand coach can help you do just that — as well as navigate questions that crop up throughout the branding process (and even before it starts). From understanding scope and what you’re actually getting with your rebrand to addressing unexpected changes, giving feedback, and creating a plan for launching your new brand, a brand coach will be your guide through it all.

If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of chronic rebranding — or every brand project you’ve started comes to a halt because of availability or lack of direction — hire a brand coach.

Or, better yet, hire Rendezvous Creative. Our resident brand coach, Megan, works closely with our copywriter and brand designer, so you get everything you need (and more) in one seamless experience. 

We start by honing in on your mission, vision, and values, and Megan’s work is to help remind you of those three elements throughout the brand process. With frequent checkpoints and coaching calls throughout your 6+-month brand journey, you’ll feel supported, aligned, and creative — without all the overwhelm.

If you’re interested in building a brand that’s designed to last, without decision fatigue or communication barriers, let’s chat. Learn more about working with Rendezvous Creative here.