when the rebrand doesn’t change who enquires
Feb 9, 2026
Brought to you by The Art Of Positioning Podcast
You launched the new brand.
Shiny website. Cleaner words. Nicer logo.
And your pipeline… looks exactly the same.
Same mix of small, mid, and “why did we say yes to this?”
Same time‑wasters booking calls.
Same “we’re not quite ready yet, but we’ll keep you in mind.”
Nah, you didn’t imagine that. This happens a lot.
A firm drops big money on a rebrand and 12–18 months later the enquiry list is basically a copy‑paste of what they had before.
It’s not because you picked the wrong colour.
It’s because your 'rebrand' never touched the parts of the business that actually decide who shows up.
Your 'rebrand' didn’t touch your enquiries because…
The pattern usually goes like this:
Agency hired
Logo and colours refreshed
Website rebuilt
“We help X do Y” sentence sharpened
Maybe a couple of nicer case studies
But under the surface:
Minimums are the same
Service list is the same grab‑bag
Same “we work with small to medium businesses… and bigger ones if they ask nicely”
Default on new enquiries is still: “If they’re not completely feral, we’ll take the call”
From the outside, the brand looks more grown‑up.
Under the hood, it’s the same business saying yes to the same mix of customers.
So, of course, the enquiries don’t change.
When positioning is actually doing its job, you feel it in operations, not just on the homepage.
Signs things have changed:
Certain enquiries just stop showing up
Sales calls are mostly with people who sound like your best customers
Your team has the language (and permission) to say “we’re not the right fit” and the ability to complete the sale without you needing to jump in at the eleventh hour.
Signs they haven’t:
Enquiries still range from scrappy to massive, with no real pattern
The nicest words live on the website; the real scope still gets made up on each call
“Ideal client” lives in a Google Doc, not in who actually shows up
You’ve made it easier to like your brand.
You haven’t made it harder for the wrong people to walk in.
That’s why it feels like you “did the thing” and nothing actually shifted.
But let’s do something about that now. 👇
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🏏 Badass tip
Use your last 10 leads to change one thing today
Time to stop guessing.
You’re not going to stare at the logo and divine strategy.
This ain’t theory. Let’s change one thing today.
Step 1 – Grab your last 10 leads
Pull the most recent 10 people who reached out:
Form / email enquiries
“Can we jump on a call?” intros
Referrals that landed in your inbox
For each one, scribble:
Where they came from (referral, website, Google, directory, LinkedIn, etc.)
Rough size / level (tiny, mid, biggish — whatever makes sense in your world)
What they wanted from you (cleanup, once‑off, full build, ongoing, pure advice, etc.)
Gut feel after the interaction: “Glad we spoke” or “Never again”
Step 2 – Sort by drain, not by avatar
Forget the pretty personas.
Look at those 10 and mark each one as:
Light – straightforward enough, clear-ish, you’d be okay with more like them
Heavy – dragged your energy or your team’s, even if the numbers looked decent
Now ignore the Light ones.
Stare at the Heavy list and ask:
What keeps repeating?
You might notice most of them:
Sit under a certain retainer / project band
Come from the same place (a certain directory, generic “free consult” CTA, one referral source)
Keep asking for a type of work you’ve been saying you want less of (tiny fixes, audits with no follow‑on, small jobs)
React the same way when you mention your process or minimums (“oh… we were thinking much smaller / quicker / looser”)
Circle the pattern you see the most.
Step 3 – Change one thing that makes that pattern less likely
Turn that pattern into one concrete move you can make today.
Examples:
If most Heavy leads came from one channel Pause that source for 30 days. Kill or edit the directory listing that sends you misfit work. Turn off the ad group that only attracts “just looking” folks. Remove or hide the “free 30‑minute pick‑your‑brain” button.
If they’re all under a certain size Add one clear line where people first meet you: “Best fit if you’re roughly at [revenue / project size / headcount] and up.” Or put a simple “starts from…” number next to the offer those leads keep trying to squeeze.
If they all wanted work you’re done with Take that service out of your main navigation and “What we do” overview. Move it to a clearly priced, clearly limited option, or retire it completely.
If they’re “picking your brain” types Add a line near your enquiry form or intro deck: “If you’re still in DIY / pre‑revenue / under [floor], start with [resource / referral] — we’re set up for the next stage.”
One pattern → one visible change to how people find you or understand if you’re for them.
You can do heavier stuff later.
Most positioning and brand work you’re sold is additive:
Add a new story
Add better messaging
Add a nicer site
The move that actually changes your pipeline is subtractive:
Removing the invitations to people you don’t want
Retiring offers that drag you back to the old version of the business
Raising the floor so “we’re just getting started” and “we’ll shop this around” opt out
So *uck 40‑page brand decks and surface-level rebrands.
It’s time to focus on what you DON’T want.
- B
