Is it Time to Rebrand Your Fitness Studio?
After a tough couple of years for many of us in the fitness industry, many studio owners are looking at their businesses to see if there might be opportunities for improvement. If this is something you’re doing right now, you may find yourself wondering if now is the right time to do a fitness brand redesign.
Maybe you know it’s time to change your brand because you’re intentionally moving in a different direction. Or you’re brand new to the fitness and wellness space. Or you just have a hunch that something is off with your brand but don’t know where to start.
Whatever the reason you’re considering a fitness brand redesign, you’re in the right place! Let’s look at what you need to consider when trying to build a stronger brand.
The difference between your business and your brand
There was a time when being the closest or even the best option in town was enough. But those days are gone. You can’t rely on that anymore. The days of winning customers simply because you’re the ONLY option in town, the CLOSEST option in town, or the BEST at what you do are over.
What got you here won’t get you there. This is precisely why now might be a good time to consider a fitness brand redesign.
However, before discussing embarking on a brand redesign, we should probably start with the basics.
Do you know the difference between your business and your brand?
Business and brands are not the same thing. “Branding” is what we do to influence how customers perceive our businesses. It’s a facet of your business. Branding is how we shape the perception of our business.
Business
The organization and people that deliver your services
Brand
The way that customers perceive your business
The reality is that if you don’t define your specific brand, other people will do it for you.
The foundation of a strong fitness brand redesign
Define the roots of your brand (who, what, why) BEFORE figuring out what color the flowers are going to be!
If you’re thinking about rebranding, it’s essential to first get clear on your intention. What is the big business goal with a redesign?
Is it internally motivated out of boredom or wanting change just for the sake of change?
Or is it to better align with how your audience and services have evolved?
Your brand is not just about standing out. Your brand is defined by what others say about you based on their interactions with your company. The goal is for customers to have a consistent experience across all touch-points.
You’re likely ready for a redesign when the visual representation of your brand doesn’t accurately represent who you are.
It’s normal to want to jump right to the pretty things involved in a rebrand, but you need to start with the foundation of your brand (what, who and how). You need to be very clear on those things before you can work on the part that’s visible to the world, such as your voice, visuals, and experience.
If you don’t do it in the correct order, there’s very likely to be disconnection with your prospects.
Disconnection at best, lack of trust at worst.
Your brand is more than your logo, fonts, and colors. Your brand is defined by WHAT you want to be known for, WHO your audience is, and HOW you serve them
Once you’re clear on that, we want to ensure your voice and visuals accurately represent your brand foundation.
Your brand foundation: (define this FIRST)
What you want to be known for
Who your audience is
How you serve them
Your brand amplified: (THEN update these)
Brand Voice (name, messaging)
Brand Visuals (logo, colors, fonts, photos)
Brand Experience (decor, service, marketing)
Audit your brand: does it match your current business?
A rebrand of your fitness business should be undertaken when your what, who or how has changed AND voice and visuals no longer match.
You’ll know it’s time for a rebrand when one (or more) of those brand foundations no longer accurately represent your brand.
Let’s review some questions to help you take inventory of your what, who, and how.
What do you want to be known for?
Have you already added services?
Do you plan to add or change other services?
Does your current branding support those services?
What are your most profitable services?
Consider how you can reverse engineer this. What can you add, improve or supplement with your existing services that are already profitable?
Who is your audience?
Who are your BEST clients?
Why do they spend time and money with your business?
Who are your most profitable clients?
This is an opportunity to double down on what’s already working.
How are you best serving your clients?
If you don’t know the answer to this, client interviews can be a great way to discover what your clients love about your studio.
How do you serve your audience?
Does your client experience need to change?
Does your pricing structure need to change?
How do you make your audience feel? Comfortable, seen, and heard?
How can you make people feel valued?
You want your clients to feel appreciated, so this is an opportunity to consider how you do this.
Do you do regular client follow-ups?
Do you offer perks to regular clients?
Do you learn everyone’s names and use them when you see them?
Do you include client notes in your studio software to help staff remember personal details?
How can you extend their experience to all touchpoints?
This can be done in many ways, from sending client birthday emails to customizing templates so they fit in with your overall branding.
Upleveling your voice & visuals
Now that you’re clear on the foundational pieces for your fitness brand redesign, we want to ensure your voice and visuals accurately represent you.
This begins with taking inventory of your brand identity and brand voice. Do they accurately represent your brand?
Take a look at:
Your name
Photography
Headlines and copywriting
Colors and fonts
Now, let’s break this down a little more so that you can see how these seemingly little details can make a BIG impact on how your audience interacts with your company.
In 2018, Dunkin’ Donuts announced it would be dropping "Donuts" from its name.
Why? In hopes of reflecting its increasing focus on coffee and other beverages.
This was fitting considering the company slogan is: "America runs on Dunkin” NOT “America runs on donuts.”
On the other hand, Facebook’s rebrand to ‘Meta’ still has people wondering why they did it because just about everyone still calls it Facebook.
Now, let’s talk about photography.
It’s not enough to say something, you need to say AND show it. Think through what you want your studio to be known for and plan your photo shoot accordingly. For example:
If your studio is inclusive, be sure to show a variety of people and body types in your photos.
Community a big part of your studio? Make sure your photos show smiles and people interacting with each other
Do you offer accessible classes suitable for beginners? Be sure to capture that range in your photo shoot
Next up are your headlines and copywriting. Having worked with countless clients on their website redesign projects, this is one area where people often struggle.
But I have a little secret that can be incredibly helpful. Look through your reviews and feedback for what your clients are ACTUALLY saying. Turn your “we” into YOU!
When you read the reviews and feedback, look for common words and phrases that people use to talk about your studio. Then you can weave those into your own writing.
Of course, no fitness brand redesign would be complete without some great fonts and a color story!
Your fonts and colors should reflect your brand, but that’s not their only job. They can evoke emotions, so think about how you want people to feel when they look at your brand.
Your fitness brand redesign should also consider things like accessibility and readability, so choosing high-contrast colors needs to be done thoughtfully. Sure, you may love how bright blue, white, and hot pink look together, but is it easy to read — especially on a mobile device?
The same thing goes for the font. Comic Sans may look cute in an email but spread across your whole website, it may look busy and overwhelming. Fonts can also reflect your voice, so consider how you want to be perceived. Playful? Whimsical? Fun? Authoritative?
Whatever you choose to go with during your fitness brand redesign, it’s all about accurately representing your business.
Is It Time to Rebrand your Fitness Studio?
Whether now is the perfect time for a fitness brand redesign will depend on your specific circumstance. But if you’re considering it, you’re probably going to fall into one of these categories:
Full rebrand: A full rebrand involves changing your name, which is riskier but might be necessarily worth it. This is the most significant commitment, especially if your website domain changes.
Light brand refresh: A light brand refresh is when you don’t change your name but change other visuals or messaging. You won’t risk losing search authority this way (if the domain doesn’t change).
Change of marketing strategy: If your brand is strong, but you’re not seeing the results you’d expect, it may not be your brand that is the problem. This is often a marketing issue that can be resolved without rebranding.
Before you start doing anything, there are a few things you should watch out for:
Will changing your brand require a domain change? Changing domains will affect your Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and you’ll start from scratch.
What operational changes will need to be made if you change your brand? The list for a complete website brand redesign will be much more extensive versus doing just a light rebrand. If you’re changing your business name, that will impact everything from your website to your signage.
How does this support your long term strategy? If you can’t answer this question, your desire for a website brand redesign may be more driven by panic or boredom.
One thing to note is that a rebrand isn’t saving your business if you’re not marketing your business. Maybe your name, colors, logo, etc., are fine and you just need to hone in on better messaging and start using it in your marketing — Facebook ads, website homepage copy, and more.
Build Your Legacy with your Fitness Brand
When you think about great brands, they all have something in common — they’re memorable and leave a legacy. In fact, some brands may even change their industry. So no matter how significantly you plan to grow your brand, your legacy can be as powerful in your local community.
By doing a fitness brand redesign, you can set your business up for success now and in the future.
Considering whether a fitness brand redesign is the right move for you?
Pixality Design offers website design services for fitness studio owners. Contact us to see how we can help!
