Updating your brand guidelines is crucial to keeping your company relevant and consistent. Here’s what you need to know:

• Why Update? Consistent branding can boost revenue by up to 23% and improve audience trust. Outdated guidelines risk missed opportunities.
• Steps to Update:
  1. Review Current Guidelines: Audit your logo, colors, messaging, and digital assets for inconsistencies or outdated elements.
  2. Gather Feedback: Get input from internal teams (sales, marketing, etc.) and customers through surveys or interviews.
  3. Update Elements: Refresh visuals (logo, colors, typography) and messaging (mission, voice) to align with current goals.
  4. Share Updates: Centralize guidelines in a digital hub and train teams to ensure consistent use.
  5. Keep Current: Set quarterly and annual reviews to maintain relevance.
• Key Stats:
  • 89% of consumers stay loyal to brands that align with their values.
  • 76% of Gen Z prefers brands with a clear mission.

Updating your brand guidelines regularly ensures consistency, builds trust, and keeps your business competitive.

How to Create Brand Guidelines?

Step 1: Review Current Guidelines

Start by taking a close look at your brand guidelines. This step helps identify gaps or misalignments with your current strategy and sets the stage for making necessary updates.

Identify Areas for Improvement

Examine key elements of your brand to find what needs attention:

Focus on how well these elements align with your overall strategy and whether they resonate with your audience. Often, digital assets are the first to fall behind.

Check Brand Consistency Across Platforms

Once you’ve reviewed the basics, make sure your brand is consistently applied everywhere. Conduct an audit of:

• Website and Digital Presence: Ensure your brand looks good across devices and screen sizes.
• Marketing Materials: Check both digital and print materials for uniform messaging and visuals.
• Social Media Channels: Review profile images, post templates, and tone of voice.
• Partner Usage: Confirm external partners are following your brand guidelines correctly.

A great example of consistent branding is McDonald’s, which maintains uniformity across all its channels and materials.

Finally, dive deeper into specific areas to ensure everything is up to date:

1. Visual Elements: Document how logos, colors, and typography are used. Check for proper spacing, size, and background contrast.
2. Content: Look for consistency in tone and messaging across platforms. Highlight any mismatches.
3. Technical Details: Make sure digital assets meet platform requirements, such as file formats (SVG, PNG, JPG) and resolutions.

This thorough review ensures your brand stays cohesive and effective across all touchpoints.

Step 2: Get Team and Customer Input

After reviewing your guidelines, it’s time to gather input from both your team and your customers. This step helps you gain a well-rounded perspective for making updates that resonate.

Ask Internal Teams

Your team interacts with your brand daily, making them a valuable source of feedback. Use their insights to identify challenges and areas for improvement. Here’s how different teams can contribute:

For example, Help Scout organizes team feedback using Trello boards like "Product Ideas", "Up Next", and "Roadmap" to keep things structured .

"When sales teams deliver information around questions prospects are asking, solutions they are looking for, friction in the sales process, the quality of leads, and other important factors to the marketing team, the marketing team can then create well-thought-out and branded materials to address the above." – Laura Laire, VP of Creative Strategy, LAIRE, Inc.

Once you’ve collected team feedback, it’s time to get input from your customers.

Listen to Customer Feedback

Hearing directly from customers gives you a better understanding of how your brand is perceived. There are several ways to gather this feedback:

• Direct Customer Engagement
  • Conduct CSAT surveys after interactions.
  • Host one-on-one user interviews.
  • Organize focus groups to discuss brand perception.
• Digital Touchpoints
  • Use website feedback widgets.
  • Implement exit-intent surveys.
  • Analyze social media sentiment.
  • Add in-app feedback prompts.
• Transactional Feedback
  • Send post-purchase surveys.
  • Follow up after support interactions.
  • Check in during product usage milestones.

"When done right, customer feedback feeds into the way you do things so that you can improve. It’s not just a nuisance you need to do because your business needs to appear responsive. Rather, it’s something that helps you figure out the external viewpoint. The point is to allow for the customer feedback process to turn into a virtuous cycle where each piece of knowledge will inform your steps, goals, and strategies." – Adam Garcia, Owner, The Stock Dork

Step 3: Update Brand Elements

Use insights from your team and customer feedback to refresh your brand elements. The goal is to align your brand with your current business direction while keeping it recognizable and appealing.

Revise Brand Message and Values

Take a close look at the foundational aspects of your brand. Here’s what to focus on:

Bring together a mix of executives and managers to oversee these updates.

"Corporate mission, vision and values statements are critical components that successful businesses use to support the company culture, align operational efforts and appeal to existing and potential clients." – Michael Timmes, Forbes Councils Member

Research shows that 86% of consumers prioritize how genuine a brand feels when deciding which to support . Once your messaging is aligned, shift your focus to updating your brand’s visual identity.

Update Visual Elements

Modernize your visuals while keeping them recognizable. Here’s how to approach it:

• Logo Evolution
  Review your logo to ensure it:
  • Works seamlessly across digital platforms
  • Reflects the current scope of your business
  • Stays clear and effective at all sizes
  • Connects with your target audience

  For example, Starbucks simplified its logo by removing unnecessary details, making it more adaptable for digital use .

• Color and Typography Updates
  When updating these elements:
  • Keep key colors for brand recognition
  • Add complementary shades that align with current trends
  • Choose fonts that enhance readability, especially online
  • Ensure consistency across all platforms

  Funk/Levis revamped its brand by tweaking fonts and designs while keeping its iconic red square intact .

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Step 4: Share and Use New Guidelines

After updating your brand elements, it’s essential to share and apply your new guidelines effectively across your organization.

Make Guidelines Easy to Access

Set up a centralized digital hub where your team can quickly find all brand assets and guidelines. This ensures everyone has access to the materials they need.

Arts Midwest is a great example of this approach. They combine a detailed PDF with a digital press kit, making resources instantly available to both internal teams and external partners .

"The key to effectively communicating your brand to your organization is to create a presentation deck. The deck should be concise and add visual elements to help enforce graphic standards." – Borja Zamora, Digital Marketer and Presentation Designer

Once you’ve centralized everything, train your team to use the materials consistently.

Train and Empower Teams

To ensure guidelines are followed, take a structured approach:

• Brand Leadership
  Assign brand champions to oversee implementation. They can review branded materials, provide expertise, and offer ongoing support for any questions.
• Training Program
  Host interactive workshops, create self-paced video tutorials, and hold regular update meetings. Include practical exercises to help the team apply what they learn.

"Staying on-brand means maintaining a consistent presence for your audience. It’s about providing a predictable and reliable experience, no matter how or where someone interacts with your brand." – Miss Details

• Quality Assurance
  Set up regular audits to review materials, keep feedback channels open, and address common issues. Track how well the guidelines are adopted and ensure compliance across the board.

Step 5: Keep Guidelines Current

Your brand evolves over time, and your guidelines should, too. Regular updates and refinements ensure your brand stays relevant and effective. Here’s how to set up systems that help your guidelines grow alongside your business.

Set Up Feedback Systems

Establish clear channels to gather input on how your guidelines perform in real-world scenarios. This helps you spot areas for improvement early on. A single, centralized feedback system allows teams to report issues, suggest changes, and request clarifications easily.

With this feedback in hand, you’ll be ready to make updates that keep your brand consistent and effective.

Plan Regular Updates

Establish a routine for reviewing and refreshing your guidelines. A structured update schedule ensures your brand remains in sync with market trends and internal goals. Here’s how to approach it:

• Annual Core Review
  Take a deep dive into all brand elements, considering market position, customer feedback, team insights, and any technological advancements.
• Quarterly Quick Checks
  Focus on smaller updates, like analyzing the performance of digital assets or addressing recent team feedback and market changes.
• Immediate Updates
  Be ready to make quick adjustments when major events occur, such as a company pivot, a new product launch, or a merger.

Leverage tools like Brandbook.io to manage real-time updates efficiently. Clearly distinguish between elements that are fixed and those that can be adjusted. And don’t forget to involve team members from various departments to ensure updates work for everyone across the organization.

Overview of Branding Services

Keeping your brand identity consistent and up-to-date doesn’t have to be complicated. Robust Branding helps small businesses manage and refine their brand identity with affordable digital solutions. Their services are designed to keep your brand looking polished and aligned across all platforms.

Branding Solutions for Small Businesses

Robust Branding provides flexible options to help small companies maintain a professional and cohesive brand presence. Their services include SEO, digital marketing, and dependable web hosting, all tailored to fit different needs and budgets.

Here’s a snapshot of their key offerings:

Studies suggest that consistent branding can boost revenue by as much as 23% . These services are designed to help you maintain and improve your brand identity without breaking the bank.

Tools for Digital Marketing

Robust Branding offers a range of digital tools to ensure your brand stays consistent across all platforms. These tools include:

• Web Hosting Solutions: Reliable hosting with 99.9% uptime and built-in security.
• Social Proof Widgets: Free tools to enhance your brand’s credibility with live previews and analytics.
• Marketing Automation: Tools to simplify content delivery and manage campaigns effectively.
• Brand Analytics: Insights to track performance and guide necessary updates.

"Branding is the art of aligning what you want people to think about your company with what people actually do think about your company. And vice-versa."

These tools work seamlessly with your brand guidelines, ensuring consistent messaging and efficient team collaboration. Additionally, their executives community offers a platform for networking and sharing branding strategies, helping you stay ahead in your industry.

Conclusion: Keeping Brand Guidelines Current

Regularly updating your brand guidelines is key to staying relevant and competitive. Research highlights that consistent branding can boost revenue by up to 23% . Keeping these guidelines current ensures your brand remains adaptable and effective.

Modern brand guidelines serve as dynamic tools, balancing creative expression with brand consistency .

Here’s a quick look at essential maintenance areas:

Brands with "living" guidelines can see 3–4x greater market visibility .

To make this process seamless, consider creating a digital hub for all your brand assets. Why? Because 67% of customers remain loyal to brands they trust . Keeping your guidelines consistent and up-to-date plays a huge role in building trust and fostering loyalty.

Related Blog Posts

• How to Create Brand Guidelines for SMBs
• Why Brand Consistency Matters For SMBs
• 5 Steps To Maintain Brand Consistency
• 7 Visual Hierarchy Tips for SMB Branding