There’s plenty of buzz around Starbuck’s new “nameless” logo, and brand experts can’t seem to agree whether it’s a stroke of genius of a wild gamble. While it’s easy to find quality rebranding advice about large corporations, such ideas are not always adapted to small business needs. A local entrepreneur, managing a production plant of twenty-or-so employees, faces very different challenges.

Why rebrand?

Small business owners often ask: “Why rebrand my logo? Why change my brand image? It’s worked great so far!”. It’s true that you can run a very successful business with a sketchy brand image, by focusing on quality products and services. However, rebranding becomes a critical step for a company to be considered seriously when expanding to more aggressive markets and fighting competitors with more established brand images. When facing similar pricing and comparable quality in a tight RFP, communicating a brand image that inspires trust and efficiency can tip the balance in your favor.

And if you think Nike became the top brand it is today without ever changing its logo, think again!

Sudden, or gradual rebranding strategy?

SOften, small businesses will insist on keeping outdated brand elements – even when rebranding their image. After all, if your company’s been using the same logo for 10, 20 years, won’t the sudden change confuse your clients?

For many small businesses, the actual logo has very little impact on the brand impact when compared to their strong business relationships or quality products and services. The powerful first impression on new clients made possible by professional brand design often outweighs an outdated or poorly-designed image’s weak brand recognition to existing clients.

While gradual change is generally adopted by large corporations, small businesses enjoy greater flexibility and can afford more drastic change. Rebranding has fewer costly repercussions on small businesses, compared to large corporations who must update signage in multiple locations, reprint large quantities of existing collateral and communicate with a large number of employees.

In the end, successful small business rebranding allows a company to update its brand image, in order to better highlight its growth and evolution to new and existing clients, without being tied down by outdated misconceptions.