The Benefits of a Rebrand

Going through the rebranding process was an incredible experience for me and DSE. I learned a lot about who I am as a business owner, why I’m doing what I’m doing, and the role I want to play in my client’s lives.

I decided to go through the rebranding process pretty early on in the life of my company. I realized 3 months after I launched that I needed more… I knew I needed more than a blog. I realized having a website with more detailed package information & a portfolio would help the “face” of DSE. I also realized that I wanted to portray something that was more me. I had been actively working with vendors & brides over the last few months, and I was starting to figure out my niche.

2 months later, I officially started rebranding. I reached out to several amazing branding designers because (a) I had no idea what I was doing and (b) I wanted to make sure that I made a worthwhile investment with just the right person. I think finding a branding designer is A LOT like finding your wedding vendors! When you’re engaged, you’ve usually never planned a wedding before so everything sounds like greek to you. When you’re rebranding, chances are you’ve never done it before so you’re pretty lost in the process!! I’m so thankful that the designers I reached out to where VERY helpful & friendly & allowed me to ask questions & make the best decision for DSE. Ultimately I decided to hire Ashlee Proffitt Design for my branding & web design. She rocked it; and I’m so blessed I worked with her!!:)

Your brand is more than a logo. I had a logo before. I had a pretty pink logo & a website that matched. I also had notecards & business cards. But even though they all carried the same logo, I didn’t have a true brand. I’m going to steal a line from a recent blog post by B is For Bonnie Design because I couldn’t say it better myself:

“Strong branding enables you to not only control the way your brand is perceived by others, but it also lays the foundation for solid customer relationships and experiences. Branding consists of the series of practices that make up the experience that is your brand. It’s everything from the logo you put on your business cards to the way to interact with your customers. It’s the process that enables people to perceive your business the way you intend for them to. Be it through your print collateral or a simple Instagram post, staying consistent and true to the core of your brand is crucial.”

I rebranding because I never really had a brand to begin with!! I guess instead of “rebranding”, you could say I officially “branded” myself! I realized that even though what I had was working, I could have SO MUCH MORE if I pushed myself & invested in the change. Ashlee challenged me & brought together various elements that I love, and ways I can portray that to my brides.

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So, now that the rebranding process is over, am I reaping the benefits? What ARE the benefits & how have they impacted DSE?

– The rebrand has allowed me to REALLY understand why I’m doing what I’m doing. In short, I’m a wedding planner because I love marriage, and I think you can find lasting love at any age or moment in life. I also love the details & think they should be celebrated!! After all, wedding day is the first day of the rest of your life together!! I want to create lasting moments for my brides so that one their wedding day, they can be stress free, joyful & laugh like this:)

– The rebrand has helped my brides to understand more about me. When you visit my site, what do you see? How does it make you feel? How do you respond to it? I decided very early on to make my business very personal; my blog is an online diary and I share personal posts, business posts & try to engage readers & brides on social media. I want my brides to feel like a friend… I want them to feel like they know me even before they send in an inquiry! My rebrand shows off who I am as a person, and I love that my brides feel a connection with me even before they’re “officially” a DSE Bride.

– The rebrand has given me a stronger online presence. When you look at my new site compared to the old blog, you might laugh out loud like I did:) It’s so.much.better!!!! It’s professional, but still playful. It’s designed to be easy to navigate, full of useful information & a much better presentation of what life is like working with DSE.

– The rebrand allowed me to create stronger collateral & therefore a consistent brand image. My business cards, my notecards, my thank you notes, my client gift(s)… every single things adds to the experience of being a DSE Bride or DSE Friend. I want my brides to feel spoiled & loved & gushed over; I want vendors I work with to feel special & important & absolutely one-of-a-kind. I’ve been able to develop a name for my business based on weddings/shoots I plan, but also on how others feel when they work with me. I want them to have an AMAZING experience, from the Hey There, Sweetheart notecard to the washi tape on the package.

– A good rebrand is worth every single penny. Oh, finances. They’re never fun, right? I remember looking into rebranding & wanting to cry when I saw how much everything would be. Between the branding experience & the web design & ordering collateral materials… it adds up SO FAST. But I knew I needed to hire a professional to do it for me, so I took the plunge. Friends, it was worth every single penny!! This rebrand has truly built the DSE brand. Not only was I was able to increase my prices while continuing to book brides (terrifying!!!), but I could really begin to give my brides a one-of-a-kind experience. I knew I did it when a vendor emailed me with the subject line “Can I be a #dsefriend?” and a bride emailed me saying “I just got engaged and I have to be a #dsebride!!”!! They understood what my company was all about and wanted to be apart of it!! I’ve already been able to reap financial benefits of my rebrand… I know you have sticker shock with you look at the cost, but like any professional service, it is so, so worth it!!!

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Thinking about rebranding? Or officially “branding” your business? Do it. Stop thinking. Stop telling yourself all the reasons you shouldn’t. Take a deep breath & a big leap of faith. You will not regret it!! I promise:)

xo! kat