No professional services firm rebrands on a whim. It’s a big undertaking—and an even bigger investment. So when a firm comes to us and says they’re thinking about a rebrand, the first question we ask isn’t “What kind of logo do you want?” It’s “Why do you want to rebrand?”
That question might sound obvious. But you’d be surprised how many firms skip this step entirely.
Behind every rebrand should be a clear business reason. While every situation is different, and there are many possible reasons a firm might desire a change, we see the same four drivers come up again and again.
- Your brand has grown stale. The marketplace is always evolving. A brand that felt fresh and relevant five years ago can quietly become a liability—dated, generic and out of step with the marketplace or the current state of your firm. Sometimes firms don’t even notice they have a problem until a prospect mentions it.
- A merger or acquisition demands a change. When two (or multiple) firms become one, they produce a patchwork of identities that have little in common. In this situation, a rebrand provides an opportunity to create a fresh, unified brand.It signals to clients and prospects that something meaningful has changed.
- You’re managing a reputational challenge. Sometimes a firm needs a fresh start. A new name or identity can shift market perceptions and give leadership a chance to build something inspiring. Branding is not a silver bullet, but it can be a powerful part of a beleaguered firm’s recovery strategy.
- You’ve never really differentiated yourself. This is the most common reason we encounter, and one some firms are reluctant to admit. Many professional services firms look like, sound like and say more or less the same things as their competitors. A rebrand is an opportunity to uncover what genuinely sets you apart and build a brand around it.
That last one is more common than most leaders would like to admit, which is why we’ve dedicated several recent articles to this very topic, including this one.
A 7-Step Branding Process
At Hinge, we’ve rebranded scores of professional services firms over the past two decades. And while no two engagements look exactly the same, each has followed the same seven step process. Here’s the short version:
- Define the business case for rebranding. Why now? What outcome are you trying to achieve? If you can’t answer these questions clearly, stop and figure them out first.
- Research your firm and your clients. You think you know how clients perceive you. But chances are, you don’t—at least not fully. Independent research is the only way to know for sure. (And as I’ve noted before, what clients tell impartial researchers they won’t always say to your face.)
- Develop your positioning and messaging. Before you design a single visual element, you need to know where you fit in the market and what story you are going to tell. This is the framework upon which everything else is built.
- Build your brand identity. This is the part most people think of as “the rebrand”: the name, logo, colors, tagline. Brand identity is important. But it’s only one piece of your brand, and it should flow directly from Step 3.
- Redesign your website. In a way, your website is the full expression of your brand strategy. It is the single most important communication and business development tool you have. Every buyer who considers you will visit it. A rebrand without a new website is like moving into a freshly renovated building but leaving up the old sign.
- Update your marketing collateral. Pitch decks, proposal templates, brochures, one-pagers—all of these tools need to reflect your new brand.
- Launch your brand. How will you launch the new brand internally? How will you announce it to the outside world? In professional services, your people are your product. If they don’t believe in the brand, your clients won’t either, so don’t miss a crucial opportunity to get your team excited about the change. Your external brand launch can be as simple or extravagant as you like. But start with a plan, and make the most of this rare chance to reintroduce your firm to a broad audience.
What This Looks Like in Practice
When Thiel & Team, a Texas-based hospitality and residential design firm, came to us, they had an excellent reputation and a loyal client base But they were struggling to gain traction in a crowded market. The problem was their work was far more elegant than their brand, and they needed to elevate the way prospective clients perceived them.
Our research confirmed that clients loved the firm’s personable style. But the brand wasn’t communicating the sophistication their high-net-worth clientele expected. Their logo lacked elegance, and their website didn’t reflect the quality of the work their talented team was delivering.
We started with the logo, a lighter, all-caps typeface and a subtle refinement to their signature ampersand mark. Small changes, but they signaled exactly the right things: attention to detail, polish and personality. Next, we reworked their messaging to highlight a true differentiator: their procurement expertise, a service most competitors don’t offer and almost none were talking about.
The new website followed—clean, sophisticated, rich with professional photography and video. We added an Insights section, launched a content marketing and email program, and built out a paid LinkedIn campaign to extend their reach beyond their local area.
Within three months of launch, website traffic was up 50%. Google impressions and clicks had surged 300%. And the firm was generating a steady flow of inbound leads that had already paid for the rebranding investment.
ML&R tells a different story, but with similar lessons and results.
One of the largest accounting and advisory firms in Texas, ML&R aspired to build a national reputation. They had the expertise. They had the client relationships. What they needed was a brand and digital presence that could compete with the biggest players in the industry. At the same time, they didn’t want to sacrifice the warm, people-centric style that their clients appreciated so much.
Using our research as a foundation to inform our many choice, we modernized their visual identity and built a new, high-performance website designed from the ground up to turn ML&R’s expert-led business model into a lead-generating engine. Because their clients work directly with seasoned professionals, not junior staff, we engineered the site to make their specialists and thought leadership highly visible throughout. Custom photography of their actual team brought the brand’s personality to life in a way stock imagery never could.
Today, ML&R is the largest independent CPA firm in Texas, with a steady flow of high-quality inbound digital leads.
Two different firms. Two different challenges. Same principle: When your brand is both differentiated and reflects who you really are, the right clients (and talent!) take notice.
If your firm is considering a rebrand—or if you suspect it’s overdue—I’d love to hear what’s driving the conversation. You know where to find me.
