I’d had my business for just over a year and despite a very successful first twelve months I discovered that over half my clients actually weren’t keen on the Roberto Revilla London branding. Customer feedback is critical and in our business building a unique rapport with every customer is essential as they trust you implicitly to make them look and feel the very best they can.

The feedback I was getting was that the “Westminster Street-Sign” style branding was simply too bold. They loved the products but not the branding and I was even getting asked not to include the labels in finished garments or on the hangers.

I really didn’t want to reinvest in the company so early on and I was mindful about rebranding so quickly after starting up. Although half our clients were happy with everything, it was a real splinter in my side when it became apparent that around half were not 100% happy with the offering. In my mind that simply wouldn’t do.

The products were loved but not the brand. Roberto saw it was time for a revamp.

It’s hard to take these things on the chin when you’ve invested heavily in something personally. I hadn’t realised how important branding was to my clients, yet it’s often something that can be so easily overlooked and have a real impact on business growth.

Many of my customers are prominent business figures and I respect their opinions. I knew then what I needed to do so I decided to bring in a rebranding specialist, choosing a company based in Cornwall, ‘Friends by Design’ who are young, dynamic entrepreneurs.

As hard as it was I actually stepped away from the project in the first instance and let them proceed with the job in hand- spearheaded by my wife and business partner, Carolina – surveying my customers regularly throughout the process to help reshape and redesign the brand, including the website and all the garment labelling.

What they came back with exceeded all my expectations and immediately helped give the brand a more premium/ luxury feel which is more in keeping with what we actually do. It was sharper, stylish and became an instant hit with all of our customers (it also helped that they’d had a say in how the re-brand took shape!).

The new brand is stylish - in keeping with the products

Straight away we saw a huge step change in demand for our bespoke services with a significant increase in referrals and repeat business and I know that despite being a difficult decision to make at first, the rebrand was right for our business.

Branding is undoubtedly a hugely critical component of any good business, you only have to look at iconic global brands - whether it’s Apple or Nike - to see how much focus they invest in this area.

Shop around for a good brand architect whose ideas you like and who has a sound reputation. Then speak to your key stakeholders and value their input. Digest different ideas, then follow your instinct.

We’ve been able to grow the business way in excess of our original forecast. That was nearly three years ago and to quote a phrase, ‘we’ve never looked back’.