When training for an athletic event, we subject ourselves to pain in hopes of getting better. We strain our muscles to the point that cells begin to breakdown. Another way of thinking about this, is that a they die. However a new, stronger cell or group of cells takes its place.
Without the initial expiration of the first cell, the new ones can't exist.
The same goes for your brand. If you are going to change the way people feel about you, or at the very least continue to build and improve upon it, you must say goodbye to the parts that have grown weary.
Some examples of what this would look like:
Cutting services or offerings that don't align with your positioning.
Changing your name to better reflect your brand's character.
Refining the culture of your company to foster the brand.
Creating a unique identity that is totally different from the previous one.
Letting go of toxic people who don't align with your values.
Having the courage to throw it all away in the hopes of creating something greater.
A LinkedIn connection of mine posted a document yesterday asking what titles his connections give themselves. The post contained 20 different variants of designer titles, here are a few:
Oi vey. That's only half. And he didn't even cover all of the options out there. You might be thinking, isn't the point to distinguish ourselves from people? Yes, it is, but it has to be done in a way that matters to the people that make the purchasing decision. Most business owners don't know the difference between UX and UI, hell most people who ascribe the title to themselves don't even know the difference.
It's like the pointless variants of toothpaste:
The only variant of toothpaste that makes sense to a user is when it speaks to a particular need of theirs. Like sensitive teeth being addressed by Sensodyne, who focused on people with this issue entirely.
Now let's apply the same thinking to some of these design titles:
Here's the thing: these titles do nothing for the person on the other side of the table, you know that person who pays money for design services.
What's the solution you ask? Try this:
I'm a designer, I craft things with intention. I've got a portfolio of work and case studies to show the problems I solve. Do any of these sound like you? Cool, let's make something happen.
Everyone loves ice cream, but getting people to agree on a flavor is difficult. You gauge a room of people to see what they want and no one will seem to agree. Especially if someone suggests mint and chip.
My guess is that most people are indifferent, but there are those who vehemently oppose the flavor with everything they've got. Hell, someone even wrote an article on how terrible is it.
Here's the thing though:
One of my closest friends absolutely LOVES mint and chip ice cream. It's her favorite, she will go out of her way to get it and she'd happily argue with the author of that article about why it's a good choice.
Branding a startup works the same way. Some people will love it, some will not. You have to be ok without pleasing everyone.